While not as utterly hilarious as one would hope given this film's premise and cast, this is still an entertaining farce. A Russian submarine runs aground off the coast of a very Nantucket-ish island and the locals go nuts either fleeing or trying to defend themselves. Vacationing writer Carl Reiner & wife Eva Marie Saint appear to be the only sane denizens but even they get caught up in the goofy shenanigans that ensue. There are a few big laughs delivered by the likes of Paul Ford and Doro Merande. The enormous cast includes Alan Arkin, Brian Keith, Jonathan Winters, Ben Blue, Theodore Bikel (as the sub captain), John Phillip Law, Tessie O'Shea and Michael J. Pollard. Norman Jewison directed with a decidedly light touch and the script is by William Rose. The clever music score, combining patriotic tunes from the US and Russian, is provided by Johnny Mandel. The movie made a fortune and earned a bunch of Oscar nominations including one for Best Picture and one for Arkin as Best Actor.
