J ohn Howard & Marguerite Chapman in "Submarine Raider" (1942)

                                On the afternoon of 6 Dec 1941, a Japanese aircraft carrier, the Hiranamu , drifts quietly in the South Pacific when a message from Tokyo suddenly brings the vessel to life. Ordering full steam ahead, Capt. Yamanada (Nino Pipitone) looks at his map and draws a circle around Pearl Harbor. That afternoon, in the same waters, Grant Duncan (Roger Clark) entertains some friends on the yacht Vayu , while the American submarine, Sea Serpent, under the command of Commander Chris Warren (John Howard), is taking a routine cruise. Yamanada informs his aides that there are to be no witnesses to the carrier's presence and orders the yacht shelled. The yacht sinks and only Sue Curry (Marguerite Chapman) and two other passengers survive. Sue and the others are relieved to see a plane flying overhead until its Japanese pilot rakes their lifeboat with his guns. Sue escapes by jumping over the side and is later picked up by the Sea Serpent. Shortly after the Japanese pilot returns and knowing that the pilot failed, Yamanada orders him to kill himself. Then he dispatches another plane, piloted by his own son, to sink the submarine. The radio operator aboard the carrier jams the airwaves to prevent the submarine's messages from reaching the mainland. When the plane attacks the sub, Chris saves his craft by making a crash dive. In the return fire, the pilot is wounded, sending the plane crashing out of control to a watery death. With night approaching, the Hiranamu steals ahead. As darkness covers Pearl Harbor, Bill Warren (Warren Ashe), Chris's brother and a government agent, senses impending disaster. Early in the evening, an attempt is made on Bill's life. Later, at a café, Bill notices some strange signaling being sent from a room in the café to an offshore ship. Sneaking into the office from which the signals emanate, Bill is struck from behind by a Japanese operative and left unconscious. The next morning, Japanese planes buzz overhead, and bomb Pearl Harbor. Listening unemotionally as his brother's death is announced, Chris hatches a plan to trap the Japanese carrier. Knowing that the Hiranamu is somewhere in the vicinity, Chris instructs a Japanese speaking sailor to impersonate the downed pilot, hoping to lure the carrier to the submarine. After the planes responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor return to the carrier, Capt. Yamanada steers the ship toward the submarine. As the carrier nears, the Sea Serpent torpedoes the ship, thus avenging Pearl Harbor. A 1942 American Black & White war film directed by Lew Landers and Budd Boetticher (uncredited), produced by Wallace MacDonald, screenplay by Aubrey Wisberg, cinematography by Franz Planer, starring John Howard, Marguerite Chapman, Bruce Bennett, Warren Ashe, Eileen O'Hearn, Pipitone, Philip Ahn, Larry Parks, Rudy Robles, Roger Clark, Forrest Tucker, Eddie Laughton, Stanley Brown, John Shay, and Gary Breckner. Screen debut appearance of Alma Carroll. Released by Columbia Pictures, which specialized in fast paced "B" films Lloyd Bridges' voice is heard over the sub intercom, in an uncredited role. John Howard (1913-1995), born John Richard Cox Jr. in Cleveland, Ohio, was an American actor. He is best remembered for his roles in the films "Lost Horizon" (1937) and "The Philadelphia Story" (1940). Howard played Bulldog Drummond in seven films produced by Paramount. He also appeared in many television series and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Howard served in the United States Navy as a lieutenant during World War II. As an executive officer aboard the minesweeper USS YMS-24, he participated in landing operations at the Allied invasion of Sicily, Allied invasion of Italy, and Anzio, and deception operations against the island of Sardinia and in "Operation Dragoon" on the South coast of Vichy France. He was awarded the United States' Navy Cross and the French Croix de Guerre. Budd Boetticher was working as an assistant director at Columbia Pictures, notably to George Stevens on "The More the Merrier" (1943). Harry Cohn took a liking to Boetticher and got him to direct the last two days of filming. Boetticher said it was a 12-day picture and recalled "my God, I studied! I prepared every angle, I went over the script line by line, I prepared for those two days as if I were directing Gone With the Wind, because I didn't have any talent for it." Boetticher called Landers "a no-talent guy. They called him the "D" director there at Columbia; he just wasn't any good. Whenever they had a picture they didn't really care about, they'd give it to Landers." He later performed a similar task on U-Boat Prisoner (1944). When the US entered WWII, Hollywood's studios suddenly became ultra-patriotic and they made a ton of propaganda films aimed at bolstering the war effort. There were many that were A class, some which were B class, and then there was this one. A competently managed programmer with an interesting 1940's feel to it that can appeal to historians.