In the mid 1950s a film about the development of shark repellent no doubt sounded exciting, but now we know it isn't particularly useful there's something hollow about it. The treatment here doesn't conquer those problems - it's about the US army working on shark repellent. Victor Mature doesn't like sharks. A Cuban kid dies. Then the repellent works. The end.
The best thing about it is location filming in Cuba. I also liked the final shark attack where two sharks swim around Mature's body double. And the cast isn't bad - there's Mature, and also a young James Olson (not bald but looking one step away), and the striking Karen Steele as Mature's wife.
But it's a dud story. There's no ticking clock, no villain, no enemy spy. The shark attacks are staged. The human relationships are dull. Why have Mature and Steele married? Why not have them fall in love? Why not give Steele something more to do than run around in a bikini and handle exposition?
Maybe there's simply no good film to be made out of shark repellent . But it could have been better than this.
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