Above Us the Waves (1955)

Sorry, this movie sucks

So much average

hyped garbage

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This movie depicts "Operation Source" the Royal Navy's secret operation to destroy the Tirpitz. This is probably the best movie depicting midget submarines and chariots. Sir John Mills in fine form, and made in the mid 1950s, depicts gear, uniforms and setting not too far from the era. Plot line, it actually follows the basic facts of the real operation, and an earlier operation involving chariots. Some tense moments in the mini subs, and it says a lot for a film where a lot of drama can occur just in one set. Germans are all speaking German and don't come across as 2 dimensional which is always good - though no subtitles (they didn't get used in film before the 1960s). Only problem I would say is the film doesn't make it clear what the results of the mission were, but a minor point.

Reference A Boy's Own Story. It was actually Donald Sinden and not John Gregson who pushed the mine away. Otherwise a good summary as are all the others. I had not seen this film for many years and it brought back memories of an earlier time when things were so much simpler The acting was good and the Brit stiff upper lip was very evident. The actions of the Germans was as I expect they were in the German Navy. At the time of the making of this movie many Brit movies, whether comedy or drama were being made and the acting was good and there were no overt scenes of gratuitous sex and violence in those days. It would have been good in color but not much of that in those days.

OK so the script is mundane and the atmosphere is rather too pukha to be true, but I have no hesitation in recommending Above Us The Waves to all serious buffs out there. It's rather like a fanciful trip down memory lane into a bygone era that was very real to the actors but only a dream to us. The world in which public school educated Commanders strode up and down wharfs wearing immaculate stiff collars and Gieves and Hawkes tailored uniforms. The world in which a beaten enemy saluted their conquerors with trays of brandy and warm dry blankets. That's the real value of the film; it acts as a glimpse into that half forgotten world of sheer courage and decency that has long been lost in the senseless chase for mammon. When men gave their lives for honour and principal rather than offering their time for glamour and ego. And the film has its moments of well staged tension to keep us alert. John Gregson and James Kenney give memorable performances when a mine drifts dangerously close to their surfaced sub and they must fend it off with outstretched feet. Don't listen to the detractors on this one - grab a good cup of strong cocoa and allow your dreams to drift back in time.

Made during the austere 1950s (for us in the UK) with the usual British humour to lighten the grim events. Wonderful to see James Robertson-Justice not as a grumpy surgeon but as a grumpy admiral who manages to smile when he realises his ship has been 'attacked' by the heroes of the tale (to prove their merit). I wonder how accurate that part is? The incredible bravery of the men in the midget subs is well rendered, and one can forgive the film makers of the time - so soon after the war - for the German stereotypes on the Tirpitz, yet their Captain salutes the "brave men" who have arrived to attack his boat.A wonderful British war movie!