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''The Sharkfighters'' is a 1956 American adventure film about U.S. Navy scientists working to invent a shark repellent to protect military personnel down at sea. Directed by Jerry Hopper, it starred Victor Mature, James Olson, and Claude Akins. The fictional storyline is based on the invention of "Shark Chaser," an historical shark repellent developed by researchers during World War II.〔, pp. 4-9〕 ==Plot== In August 1943, Lt. Commander Ben Staves (Mature), recovering from the sinking of his destroyer in battle and the loss of part of his surviving crew to shark attack, is flown to Project Shark Chaser, a tiny and isolated Naval Research Laboratory post on the Isle of Pines in Cuba. Its rich environment for sharks and indigenous English-speaking population of Caymanero fishermen makes it an ideal testing ground for the development of an effective shark repellent. The small research team has been led during its first ten months of investigation by Lt. Commander Leonard "Len" Evans (Coolidge), an ichthyologist formerly with the Scripps Institution, assisted by a chemist, Ensign "Dunk" Duncan (Olson), and a cameraman, Chief Petty Officer "Gordy" Gordon (Akins). Ben assures Evans that he is there to help him, not take over the project. When Evans tells him they'll get started "first thing in the morning," Ben counters with "Why not now?" and the team heads out into the bay on a small fishing boat crewed by a local Caymanero and his teenage son Carlos (Campos) to test copper acetate as a repellent. Evans advises that the project has already tested over 200 methods, including poisons, repulsive odors, color clouds, and ultrasonics, none of which has a lasting effect in driving away sharks. The test is initially successful until the acetate cloud dissipates after a few minutes. Duncan approaches Ben and asks for a transfer to sea duty, but relents when Ben asks him to postpone the request, which he would have to disapprove because the young chemist is too valuable to the project. Ben reviews Evans's reports, chafing at the slowness of the numerous trials, but Evans defends his work, saying their best success has been only 80% effective because they don't have human test subjects. Ben suggests that they test other methods simultaneously. Evans resents Ben's emphasis on urgency over carefully drawn scientific conclusions. When Duncan supports Evans, Ben informs them that they will work seven days a week without their usual weekends off in Havana. Gordy suggests that the officers substitute for him every other weekend on trips to Havana to have the classified color film processed. Ben's wife Martha (Steele) is staying in Havana, and during a night out dancing on their next visit, Evans tells Martha that while he admires Ben's determination, he is worried that Ben never lets down his guard. She replies that he and Ben are a lot alike in their integrity, and that Ben and the scientist make a perfect team to achieve success. Two weeks into the next series of tests, 72 consecutive positive results convince Ben that they've found the answer. Evans still shows reluctance, suggesting two more weeks of trials are needed, so Ben angrily pulls rank on him and orders the results submitted. Carlos accidentally falls overboard while clowning around on the boat, and swims into the repellent cloud for protection. He panics and stabs a shark that ventures too close, drawing a pack that kills him despite the repellent. After Carlos' funeral, the demoralized Evans rebels when Ben suggests they try an earlier theory about using octopod ink as a repellent. He admits his resentment of being told by Ben how to do his job, and of not being listened to when he had doubts about the repellent that didn't save Carlos. Ben agrees not to push for results this time, but announces that if the tests are conclusive, he's going to put a man in the water to test it before he sends it up. When tests with an octopus are promising, Duncan creates a repellent combining synthetic ink, copper acetate, and water-soluble wax to keep dissipation from occurring. He volunteers as the human bait but Ben is noncommittal. Before the tests begin, Evans sets up a viewing of the film of Carlos' death to show that although the acetate dissipated when the pack gathered, the octopus tests showed that group attacks can be deterred. Ben forces Len to commit to a hard number of further tests, which is twice what they have done before. Ben cuts the number in half and when Evans sneers that it "has to be your way," Ben retorts that "it's my neck"—he is the logical candidate for the human test—and accuses Len of trying to stop him by using the film as a scare tactic. Ben visits the embassy in Havana to request the naval attaché (Neise) to assign two expert riflemen to the project. The suspicious attaché maneuvers Ben into revealing his plan to run a test on himself and advises him to seek Navy approval first, but agrees to send the riflemen after Ben insists that he's only setting up preliminary plans. After more positive results than they've ever achieved before, Ben abruptly orders the final test for the next day. Evans argues but begrudgingly acquiesces, admitting to Duncan that Ben has always been right. The repellent works effectively. As numerous sharks begin circling Ben, a marksman nervously shoots one, causing a feeding frenzy. Ben makes for the boat as Evans frantically showers him with extra repellent, which deters the frenzied sharks from attacking. Back aboard, Ben celebrates their success with a beer. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Sharkfighters」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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