Beneath The 12 Mile Reef (1953)

Set in the Florida Keys, two rival families who dive for sponges clash over diving rights but when the Greek son (Robert Wagner) of one diver (Gilbert Roland) falls in love with the daughter (Terry Moore) of the patriarch (Richard Boone) of the rival clan, complications ensue. After the celebrated success of THE ROBE and HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE, this was the third film to be released in the CinemaScope format. Its simple Romeo & Juliet storyline is overshadowed by the underwater diving sequences, which while no doubt impressive in CinemaScope to 1953 audiences, result in tedium today and slow down the narrative. Wagner and Moore are likable enough but they lack the screen presence that's needed to keep us focused on the trifling storyline. The cinematography by Edward Cronjager received an Oscar nomination but the real star of the film is the eloquent score by Bernard Herrmann which binds the film together both below the sea and on the land. With J. Carrol Naish, Peter Graves, Angela Clarke, Jacques Aubuchon, Jay Novello and Harry Carey Jr.