Gray Lady Down

Directed by David Greene

PG

1978 1h 51mThriller, Adventure,

6.263%37%6.4

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The USS Neptune, a nuclear submarine, is sunk off the coast of Connecticut after a collision with a Norwegian cargo ship. The navy must attempt a potentially dangerous rescue in the hope of saving the lives of the crew.

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Cast of Gray Lady Down

Charlton HestonCaptain Paul Blanchard
David CarradineCaptain Gates
Stacy KeachCaptain Bennett
Ned BeattyMickey
Stephen McHattieMurphy
Ronny CoxCommander Samuelson
Dorian HarewoodFowler
Rosemary ForsythVickie Blanchard
Hilly HicksPage
Charles CioffiAdmiral Barnes
William JordanWaters
Jack RaderHarkness
Antony PonziniCaruso
Michael O'KeefeHarris
Charles RobinsonMcAllister
Christopher ReevePhillips
Melendy BrittLiz Bennett
Jeffrey Druce
Charles Cyphers
James Davidson
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Gray Lady Down Ratings & Reviews

Magnus PardeSeptember 21, 2025
Let’s be clear: this isn’t Das Boot. It doesn’t have the claustrophobic dread, the psychological unraveling, or the visceral tension that made Wolfgang Petersen’s submarine epic a benchmark. But Gray Lady Down still manages to carve out a few respectable moments in the deep. The premise is classic disaster fare: a U.S. nuclear submarine collides with a freighter and sinks to a precarious ledge on the ocean floor. What follows is a race against time, with the Navy deploying experimental rescue craft to save the trapped crew. The tension is intermittent—sometimes gripping, sometimes oddly relaxed (flute-playing and movie screenings while oxygen runs low don’t help the stakes). What elevates the film is its rich ensemble cast. Charlton Heston anchors the story with his usual gravitas, while David Carradine adds a rebellious edge as the maverick submersible pilot. Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox, Stacy Keach, and even a young Christopher Reeve round out a lineup that’s almost too good for the material. Will Geer also pops up, adding a touch of warmth and authority. 📌 Verdict: Gray Lady Down is watchable, competently made, and occasionally suspenseful. But it’s also a bit too polished, too safe. It lacks the raw intensity of its European counterpart and fades quickly from memory once the credits roll. A decent entry in the 1970s disaster genre—just don’t expect it to linger.

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Gray Lady Down Trivia

Gray Lady Down was released on March 22, 1978.

Gray Lady Down was directed by David Greene.

Gray Lady Down has a runtime of 1 hr 51 min.

Gray Lady Down was produced by Walter Mirisch.

The key characters in Gray Lady Down are Captain Paul Blanchard (Charlton Heston), Captain Gates (David Carradine), Captain Bennett (Stacy Keach).

Gray Lady Down is rated PG.

Gray Lady Down is a Thriller, Adventure, Action film.

Gray Lady Down has an audience rating of 3.7 out of 10.

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