The Transatlantic Tunnel

1935 - England
Directed By Maurice Elvey



SYNOPSIS
A group of scientists led by Mack (Richard Dix) proposes an undersea tunnel to connect Britain and the United States. His dedication to his work causes him to miss his young son's birthday angering his wife (Madge Evans.) She has an affair with Mack's business partner Robbie (Leslie Banks) leading to a divorce. After several years of work, Mack's son is grown and working in the mine when a major disaster strikes.

MY THOUGHTS

While watching The Transatlantic Tunnel, I couldn't help but think of some of the more serious-minded sci-fi films of the 1950's like Destination: Moon or It: The Terror From Beyond Space. Those films featured bland but driven scientists working toward accomplishing a great mission in space.  This is the same setup, but  underground.

The acting is bland, but that could be due to the script. Like the later 50's sci-fi fare, Tunnel doesn't give any dimension to its characters. Each character seemingly only has one motivation throughout the film. Mack's only focus is on completing the tunnel. His son only wants to make his dad proud, the wife wants love and attention, etc.

The script (based on a book) also lacks depth or subtlety and feels like a rush-job. It clearly sets up the tunnel as a dangerous place... so when Mack's son joins up to work there, even a kid watching their first movie would not be surprised at what happens next. Mack is written so one-dimensionally, the film never gives him time to grieve. The relationship between Mack and his wife is also handled without much subtlety or even tension.

Tunnel's greatest feat is its vision of the future. It takes place in the near future (near to 1935) and has far-out gadgets like videophones, television, and massive drills. I'm sure the British filmmakers could hear the war drums pounding in Europe and knew a tunnel connecting them with America would be very topical concept to address.

The set designs of the tunnel are outstanding. They resemble some of the more imaginative underground sets from the original Star Trek series, but look far more realistic in black and white than Trek's (often silly) Technicolor palate.

This is the sort of film that Hollywood SHOULD remake. It's a great concept that is poorly executed here.