The film received a mixed reception: it was panned by some critics for its brooding melodrama[2] while being praised by others.

[3] During the Pacific War, Lieutenant Commander Ken White orders the submarine USS Tiger Shark to crash dive to evade a Japanese aerial attack.

A rescue mission is being mounted; White's job is to land men at two points to knock out enemy coastal installations in advance of a paratrooper airborne assault on the prison camp.

However, after dropping off Morris's unit first, one of the Tiger Shark's engines begins overheating, endangering the timing of the second landing.

Once he sees the signal that the mission has been successful, he surfaces in order to notify his admiral, even though that exposes the submarine to fire from shore batteries.

When the Tiger Shark is hit and starts sinking, White orders the crew to abandon ship.

His demons finally exorcised, he later attends the launching of another Tiger Shark with his wife, their baby and Boyer.

The fictional Tiger Shark in the film has the hull number SS-306, which belonged to USS Tang (SS-306) (lost in 1944).