Submarine Command (1951)

William Holden: Lt. Cmdr. Ken White

Photos 

Quotes 

• Lt. Cmdr. Ken White : Looks like a nice day for a swim.

  Cmdr. Joshua Rice : You wouldn't like it Ken. The water's about 50.

  Lt. Cmdr. Ken White : Back in Michigan we call that warm.

  Cmdr. Joshua Rice : Down in Kentucky we chop it up and pour bourbon over it .

• Rear Adm. Joshua Rice : Naturally, everybody wanted to go up for Josh and Perkins, but it was your job to stop them. Sometimes it's harder to do the right thing than it is the...

  Lt. Cmdr. Ken White : Courageous thing, sir?

  Rear Adm. Joshua Rice : Were you afraid?

  Lt. Cmdr. Ken White : No sir, I don't think so.

  Rear Adm. Joshua Rice : Neither do I. You did the right thing. And the courageous thing. If you'd been up there instead of Josh, he'd have done exactly what you did. He would have thought of the ship first.

• Sailor : I'm gonna settle down in Joplin, Missouri.

  Lt. Cmdr. Ken White : Why Joplin, Missouri?

  Sailor : 'Cos there ain't an ocean in 1500 miles in any direction.

• Gavin : [contemplating the mothballed submarines]  How many of 'em you got here?

  Lt. Cmdr. Ken White : 64.

  Gavin : At 6 million bucks apiece that's close to 400 million dollars. Why don't you junk 'em, instead of just letting 'em sit there. That way the tax-payers would get something back for their money.

  Lt. Cmdr. Ken White : What if we should need 'em again?

  Gavin : Aw - it's my guess the next war'll be fought with push-buttons.