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Titans of the Deep

Director: Otis Barton (Dir) Release Date: 28 Oct 1938 Duration (in mins): 39-40 or 47-48 Duration (in feet): 4,353 or 4,256 Duration (in reels): 5			Print this page Display Movie Summary

Cast:		Dr. William Beebe
		Otis Barton
		John Tee Van
		Gloria Hollister
		Joan Igou
		Jocelyn Crane

Summary:

After an introduction to Otis Barton and an explanation of his bathysphere, which is strong enough to withstand the pressue of deep-sea diving due to its spherical shape and extremely durable cast of an alloy of chrome and nichol, Barton discusses with narrator Lowell Thomas all of the functions of the bathysphere. Following this explanation, the bathysphere is taken by boat to the waters surrounding the island of Bermuda. Dr. William Beebe, a noted scientist, and his assistant, Joan Igou, prepare for the undersea expedition, and soon make a dive. During the expedition, the scientists encounter many undersea creatures, including tiger sharks, octopi, giant ray, and lobsters. During one of the dives, another female scientist, Yvonne, is trapped by a barracuda, and Igou rushes to her aid, killing the barracuda with a 22 callibre rifle. On another dive, Igou is rescued by members of the party when her air hose is cut by the wreckage of an old ship. Finally, when a shark comes too close to Barton, he is forced to throw his camera equipment at the shark to save his life. The shark is killed when the camera crashes into his mouth, and in order to retrieve the equipment, the ship's crew must pull the shark up on deck and cut open its stomach.

Distribution Company:	Grand National Pictures, Inc.
Director:	Otis Barton	(Dir)
Producer:	E. W. Hammons	(Pres)
	Otis Barton	(Prod)
Writer:	Lowell Thomas	(Story)
Photography:	Frank Dalrymple	(Photog)
	Edward Ewer	(Photog)
Film Editor:	Sam Citron	(Ed)
Production Misc:	Lowell Thomas	(Narr)
Country:	United States

Copyright Claimant	Copyright Date	Copyright Number
Grand National Pictures, Inc.	28/10/1938 dd/mm/yyyy	MU8848

Physical Properties:	Sd:
	b&w:


Genre:	Documentary

Subjects (Major):	William Barton
	Dr. William Beebe
	Divers and diving
	Expeditions
	Scientists
	Sea animals

Subjects (Minor):	Bathyspheres
	Bermuda Islands
	Deep-sea sounding
	Fish
	Lobsters
	Octopi
	Scientific apparatus and instruments
	Sea rescues
	Sharks

Note:	Plot information is taken from the film's cutting continuity, contained within copyright records. That continuity lists the picture's length as 4,353 ft, although records from the New York state censor board lists the length as 4,256 ft. Although the cutting continuity lists a PCA certificate number, 02086, that certificate number was not issued for this film. No information on the film was located in the MPAA/PCA Collection files in the AMPAS Library. A written foreword to the documentary states: "The Beebe Bathysphere Expeditions are historic in the study of the oceanic depths. For ages mankind dreamed of deep-sea exploration, but the great pressures of the underwater were invincible--until this modern era created the bathysphere, in which the sub-oceanic explorer has descended into the abyss of the sea. The diving sphere was built by Otis Barton, himself a naturalist, who joined forces with Dr. William Beebe and was a partner in the Bermuda Deep Sea Expeditions. And Otis Barton made other motion picture records of memorable adventures in the deep. These are the motion pictures of the bathysphere exploration of the submerged realm of the sea--a classic of scientic exploration and adventure." As noted in the film, Barton was the inventor of the Bathysphere, a device used for underwater exploration and photography. Reviewers noted that the picture was a "longish" short subject, but not the usual length of feature documentaries.

Bibliographic Sources:	Date	Page
Film Daily	14 Nov 38	p. 6.
Motion Picture Daily	11 Nov 38	p. 8.
Motion Picture Herald	19 Nov 38	p. 42.
New York Post	10-Nov-38
New York Times	10 Nov 38	p.33.

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The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.



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