88. The Cruel Sea (1953)

SYNOPSIS:  “This is a story of the Battle of the Atlantic, the story of an ocean, two ships, and a handful of men. The men are the heroes; the heroines are the ships. The only villain is the sea, the cruel sea, that man has made more cruel...”  The first ship is the HMS Compass Rose, a corvette used for escort duty in the Battle of the Atlantic.  Its captain (Jack Hawkins) and crew are going to go through the realistic activities, frustrations, and hardships of convoy duty.

BACK-STORY:  The movie is based on the best-seller by Nicholas Monsorrat.  Monsorrat was a Lt. Commander in the Royal Navy in the North Atlantic so the novel was semi-autobiographical.  The HMS Compass Rose was played by the HMS Coreopsis which was on loan to the Hellenic Navy and was due to be disposed of.  The Royal Navy had already disposed of all its WWII era corvettes.  Scenes were shot in the English Channel and the water tank at Denham Studios.  The movie was the biggest hit of 1953 in Great Britain and a surprise hit in America.

TRIVIA:  Wikipedia, imdb, BFI screen online

1.  The movie made a star out of Jack Hawkins.

2.  Hawkins saved Donald Sinden from drowning in the water tank in the sinking scene.

3.  Upon returning to port, the cinematic Compass Rose collided with the HMS Camperdown and did significant damage to it.

4.  The scene where Ericson breaks down as he thinks about the controversial depth charging was shot several times with varying amounts of tears.  The movie ended up using the first, weepiest take.

Belle and Blade  =  2.0

Brassey’s              =  4.0

Video Hound       =  N/A

War Movies         =  4.4

Military History  =  not on list

Channel 4             =  #41

Film Site                =  no

101 War Movies   =  yes

OPINION:  “The Cruel Sea” is a good movie. It is not rip-roaring, which makes it a realistic depiction of sometimes boring convoy duty. The sea does play a major role. The weather is the biggest problem the crews face. This is one of the wettest movies ever made. It is a good examination of command and command relationships. It is one of the most realistic naval combat movies ever made, which means it not all about the combat.  Its place at #88 seems about right.

ANTIQUE or CLASSIC? "Action in the North Atlantic"

    

     “Action in the North Atlantic” is a propagandistic war movie from 1943 that praises the Merchant Marine. It stars Humphrey Bogart as Humphrey Bogart. It was shot entirely on the Warner Brothers back lot and sound stages. It was used as a recruiting film for the Merchant Marine and also as a training film. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. At one point during the filming, drunken Bogart and Massey replaced their stunt men for a dive from a burning ship.


     The movie opens strong with the S.S. Northstar being torpedoed by a u-boat. In one of the fieriest scenes in movie history (think “Backdraft” on a ship), they abandon ship. The dastardly German submarine commander rams their lifeboat and leaves laughing. It would be great if they could get revenge on that bastard!

     After eleven days on a raft (with no visible food or water), they are back in port and then home. Capt. Jarvis (Raymond Massey) reunites with his loving wife who understands that “to a sailor’s wife, war is just another storm.” Meanwhile, Lt. Rossi (Bogart) punches out a guy blabbing about convoys and then marries a singer. The rest of the crew frequents the union hall waiting for another ship. This is one of the rare references to unions in movies from that time period. One sailor reluctant to risk his life again is shamed into being a patriot.

     The new ship is a Liberty ship called the "Seawitch". It joins an international convoy heading for Murmansk. Anyone expecting it to be a milk run – think again. There is a new officer on board, Cadet Parker from the Merchant Marine Academy. He shows Rossi a picture of his girl – cliché alert! In a fog bank, they tow a big wooden arrow so the next ship can follow. Another ship scrapes them.

     A wolfpack attacks the convoy. There is frantic action as the torpedoes wreak havoc and the convoy disperses. The escorts depth charge their foes. There are plenty of explosions. The Seawitch gets to fire its deck gun at submarines that inexplicably are on the surface in daylight. When the battle ends, they are alone, but being stalked by u-boat-know-who. It is a cat and mouse game and during the night both go silent.

     The next day, they are attacked by two German flying boats (obvious models, but authentic). They strafe and both are shot down because in war movies anti-aircraft crews on cargo ships are unbelievably accurate. The second plane crashes into the ship in a very fake looking effect. Guess what soon to be married character is killed? Dude, never show a picture of your girl in a war movie!

     Suddenly they are torpedoed. Rossi (in command because Jarvis was injured in the plane attack) orders fires to be set and smoke made to lure the stupid Germans up. Sure enough, it works. Dramatically the Seawitch comes out of the smoke and rams the u-boat. Turn about is fair play. The pompous German commander drowns. High five! Somehow Rossi knows it’s the same sub.

     They arrive to cheering crowds in Murmansk. The Russians love us. We get a montage of merchant ships and some FDR quotes to swell the audience's pride a little more before they got in their Model As to go home.

     The movie is actually not that bad for a propaganda piece made during the war. It is preachy, but not overly so. The action is good as is the acting. The cast has a lot of recognizable faces and their sailor banter below decks is humorous in a 1940s way. The special effects are low grade, but what do you expect for the time period? The duel with the sub is a little ridiculous and unrealistic so the ending does not match the first set piece.

Classic or antique? Classic.

Rating – 7/10