This is a strange one. Robert Wagner plays the son of a Greek sponge diver in 1950s Florida. Most of the big sponges have already been cleaned out, though, leaving the divers with only two options, neither of which are good: look for sponges in deeper waters or search for them in areas controlled by conch fishermen. Naturally the conch fishermen and the sponge divers don't get along too well, which sets in motion a Romeo and Juliet thing when Wagner meets Terry Moore, a tomboy living on the conch side of town.

Beneath the 12-Mile Reef is the kind of movie that passed as family entertainment in the 1950s. It suffers from a bit of schizophrenia and at times actually seems like a musical without the music -- you half expect the characters to suddenly break into song for no apparent reason.

The dive scenes themselves are moderately interesting, made more so since all the diving is done in the old Mark V helmets. We can't really recommend it, though. The best we can say is that if you don't have to exert yourself too much to watch it and you have absolutely nothing else to do, go for it. Otherwise, take a pass.