Sea Hunt Forums

At least my impression of the 1950's has been everyone wore suits, dress shoes, etc except for farmers and those on vacation. So it is really cool to see Mike Nelson and many of the others on "Sea Hunt" wearing sneakers (UK: plimsolls), as much as people are wearing them today.

In another thread (about what do you like about Sea Hunt), I mention how I like seeing the people wearing sneakers. While I thought about adding thoughts about sneakers there, I decided against it, as the purpose of the thread isn't sneakers exclusively. The other thread is about all the reasons people enjoy "Sea Hunt" and not just sneakers / plimsolls.

Well, this thread is about the sneakers (UK: plimsolls / trainers) we see in the series, as well as comments about sneakers in the 1950's, 1960's, and how they compare to those people wear today (especially the similar ones). I hope you'll find the discussion interesting and useful, when you meet with it! :-) Whenever it might occur!

I'm watching the first episode of the series - Sixty Feet Below. Mike just got the jet pilot out of the plane and is sending him up to the surface. We can clearly see him wearing a pair of sneakers. They look to be athletic style (e.g. UK trainers). While the rubber sides are white and so are the laces, the rest looks to be black or say navy blue. The toe box is not white, as in Chucks, but the same color as the sides. I took a screen grab of it and uploaded to Flickr.

Screen Grab at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6710014817/in/photostream and the full original at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6710014817/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Do you recognize the sneakers / UK:Trainers? Yeah, I know its blury, but it is the best I have at the present time.

In the episode "Underwater Curtain" - Season 2, Episode 18 - there is a goof involving sneakers / plimsolls. At the 6 minute mark (with commercials) six men come ashore on a rubber raft and head for a small cove. (BTW, they're wearing sneakers.) Mike decides to go and check them out. When he leaves the cave where he and his friends are staying, he's barefoot. Yet, when you see him next, he's waring a pair of white canvas CVO sneakers (around the 7 minute mark). They look to be Sperry Top-Sider, as the bottoms are white. They don't look to be Keds Champions, Keds Surfers, and I think Converse CVO at the time used blue bottoms.

Image page at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6710355985/

Original at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6710355985/sizes/o/in/photostream/

In the episode "Nerve Gas" - season 2, episode 15 ( http://www.tv.com/shows/sea-hunt/nerve-gas-111455/ ) - there are two scenes with sneakers / plimsolls. The first is when the nerve gas affects Mike and his friend has to subdue him. The guy is in a pair of navy blue sneakers / plimsolls. Again these look to be Sperry Top-Sider instead of Keds Surfers, because the sole is entirely white (while the Keds Surfer used a smooth flat gum sole), nor do they look to be Keds Champions or Converse Skid-Grips. The second is at the end when Mike is walking towards a cliff to watch the US Navy destroy the nerve gas. He looks to be wearing a pair of white sneakers but its quick and not at a good angle.

Photo grabs associated with this message:

Overview: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6721900189/in/set-72157628900609387
Original: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6721900189/sizes/o/in/set-72157628900609387/

Overview: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6721900065/in/set-72157628900609387/
Original: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6721900065/sizes/o/in/set-72157628900609387/

Overview: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6721900557/in/set-72157628900609387/
Original: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6721900557/sizes/o/in/set-72157628900609387/

Overview: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6721900647/in/set-72157628900609387/
Original: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6721900647/sizes/o/in/set-72157628900609387/

Overview: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6721900777/in/set-72157628900609387/
Original: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6721900777/sizes/o/in/set-72157628900609387/

In the episode "Mr. Guinea Pig" - season 1, episode 7 ( www.tv.com/shows/sea-hunt/mr-guinea-pig-64058/ ) - there are three scenes with sneakers / plimsolls one can clearly see. The fourth (where they are coming down a walkway to the boat) is too blurry to capture well. These three snapshots occur in Mike's home. Mike is wearing a pair of navy blue sneakers / plimsolls - CVO. In the first he's talking to a friend who is asking to borrow some of Mike's diving gear. The second one finds Mike at home reading, when the door knocks. The first (and final) is after Mike's friend hit Mike in the jaw sending him into a chair. Mike offers to take continue the fight (outdoors), but the friend declines. In this last snapshot, we can see the heel of Mike's plimsolls / sneakers. I think the heel shoes the Sperry Top-Sider logo. I'm not sure though. Note: Keds Surfers, when they first came out, didn't have a logo on the heel. Instead it was inlaid in the smooth flat gum sole of the CVO sneakers / plimsolls. I think Mike is wearing the canvas navy blue Sperry Top Sider CVO sneakers / plimsolls in this episode.

Photo grabs associated with this message:

Overview: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6727973929/in/photostream/
Original: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6727973929/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Overview: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6727973995/in/photostream/
Original: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6727973995/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Overview: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6727974283/in/photostream/
Original: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6727974283/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Mike goes sockless. I know in some episode Mike wears socks, but in this one "Sonar Queen" you can see him going without socks, while wearing a pair of CVO navy blue plimsolls / sneakers.

I got a snapshot of a pair of navy blue CVO sneakers / plimsolls that I think is cool.

Episode Name: Hermes
Season: 2
Episode: 19
Aired: 5/10/1959

It is at:

Broad view Overview: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6741399437/in/photostream
Broad view Original: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6741399437/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Close up Overview: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6741399523/in/set-72157628900609387/
Close up Original: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6741399523/sizes/o/in/set-72157628900609387/

During the rest of the episode Mike wears a pair of white CVO sneakers / plimsolls, while the "bad" guy continues to wear the same pair of navy blue (but in the B&W film the black / dark) CVO sneakers / plimsolls. Both pairs have white soles, BTW.

In the episode "Female of the Species" (season 1, episode 6) the first time we see Mike, he's home and surprisingly in dress shoes, instead of plimsolls / sneakers. Later in the episode he's wearing white CVO sneakers / plimsolls (such as at the dock after the first day of lessons for Kay). When Mike reaches the ocean to go after Kay / Joanna Mason, he's wearing a pair of navy blue CVO plimsolls / sneakers. None of these scenes really are worth posting, but I thought I'd mention the episode because he's wearing dress shoes.

In the episode "Recovery" (season 1, episode 10) Mike and at least two of the enemy agents are wearing navy blue CVO sneakers / plimsolls (white soles for one of the enemy agent). The footwear of the other characters isn't clear.

In the episode "Gold Below" (season 1, episode 9) Mike and his assistant, Billy, wear white CVO sneakers / plimsolls. The bad guys wear leather work / dress shoes (e.g. non-sneakers). One of the interesting points is how Mike looks after arriving by airplane. While we don't see him on the plane, when we do see him, he's in a sport jacket, polo shirt, dress pants, and white CVO sneakers / plimsolls. Many people in the 1950's would dress up in their Sunday best when flying, obviously Mike is a casual dresser for the 1950s. Billy (Mike's assistant) wears blue jean pants and shirt. I can't tell if they are Levi 501, but they do have the look of those famous button fly jeans.

I captured a few frames from the episode showing Mike and Billy in their sneakers / plimsolls, as well as Billy in his denim shirt and pants.

Overview: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6757629333/in/photostream/
Original: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6757629333/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Overview: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6757629935/in/photostream/
Original: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6757629935/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Overview: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6757629647/in/photostream/
Original: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6757629647/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Overview: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6757629541/in/photostream/
Original: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6757629541/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Overview: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6757629453/in/photostream/
Original: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6757629453/sizes/o/in/photostream/

In the episode "Strange Salvage" (season 2, episode 16), we see Mike wearing a different pair of footwear. The seem similar to the Keds Chukka with suede for the uppers and a rubber sole with a heal. They might be a form of sneaker / plimsolls, I'm just not sure. I don't think they are, but could be; why don't you tell me?

Later on when Mike is in the field investigating, he's wearing his normal white canvas CVO sneakers / plimsolls. In this episode the bad guy also wears a pair of white CVO sneakers / plimsolls.

Overview: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6761335229/in/set-72157628900609387
Original: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6761335229/sizes/o/in/set-72157628900609387/

Overview: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6761335471/in/set-72157628900609387/
Original: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6761335471/sizes/o/in/set-72157628900609387/

Overview: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6761335743/in/set-72157628900609387/
Original: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6761335743/sizes/o/in/set-72157628900609387/

Overview: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6761336301/in/set-72157628900609387/
Original: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6761336301/sizes/o/in/set-72157628900609387/

Overview: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6761336635/in/set-72157628900609387/
Original: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10283584@N05/6761336635/sizes/o/in/set-72157628900609387/