The Cruel Sea (1953)

the audience applauded

An absolute waste of money

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

I must have seen this film fifty times, the first time on TV 55 years when I was a small boy, in fact I am watching it now. At that time I had ambitions to join the Navy, thankfully my father and music helped me change my mind. My father had been in the Royal Navy during WW2 on ships like the Compass Rose and he said this was a realistic portrayal of what it had been like on those Atlantic and Russian convoys.When Hollywood was making films where John Wayne and the like singlehandedly won the war, this was a refreshing change. I read somewhere that had this been an American made film (thankfully none were crow-bared into it) Jack Hawkins and Donald Sinden would have been Oscar nominated, something I whole heartedly would have applauded.Naval war films were and still are a rarity, this is the best. It's the same age as I am and I can say it has aged better than me. If you haven't seen it, see it.

My grandfather served on corvettes (the type of ships portrayed in this film)and he always said that this movie was one of the few examples of what it was truly like to serve on these boats in the North Atlantic convoys of WWII. I have watched this film many times and it is a great film and a true classic. I highly encourage anyone wanting a taste of what life was like for those brave sailors to watch this movie. It will not disappoint. The acting is excellent and the plot generally follows that of the novel of the same name, by Nicholas Monsarrat. It shows the tedious boredom of life afloat, the nerve-wracking suspense of the hunter and the hunted, and the intense action of combat. One of the finest war movies ever produced.

Almost 60 years on this film retains its quality. If you haven't seen it for many years or read the book I strongly recommend you revisit them; they both stand the test of time extremely well. If you haven't seen the film and/or read the book I suggest you do so - you won't regret it. The film suffers a little from the decisions that are necessarily made in order to fit a long book to the time constraints imposed by a film although for its time it is quite long. There are several vignettes of individuals that are excluded completely. The character of Ferraby is neglected to a certain degree for it is he that Monserrat hangs much of the elements of horror in the story on. However overall the adaptation is sound and the film is lucid and extremely effective in its accurate portrayal of the longest and bloodiest battle of the second world war.

I first saw this film many years ago but only just got around to watching it again after sorting through some DVDs that came free with the Telegraph; I wish I hadn't waited so long as it is a cracking film. As it opens former Merchant seaman Lieutenant-Commander George Ericson is about to take his first command in the Royal Naval Reserve; HMS Compass Rose. We are quickly introduced to new officers Lockhart and Ferraby who are fresh out of shore based training and the first officer Sub-Lieutenant Morell. After a brief period of training the ship joins the Atlantic convoys where her crew must contend with German U-boats and the harsh conditions. Not everybody is cut out for it; Morell; a martinet when things were going well can't handle the stress and is hospitalised with an ulcer; much to the relief of the junior officers! As their war progresses they must deal with the effects of U-boats on the ships they are escorting and live in constant fear that they could be the next ship to go down. Victories are few and far between and when their luck finally runs out the losses are significant and the survivors will never be the same again.Most wars films made after the war had finished either concentrate on one particular action or glorify the heroics of our heroes over their dastardly foe; here things are different to follows a ships commander from the time of his first command till the war is over. Both he and his crew are seen as real people who are affected by the events they live though and the decisions they make. Nothing illustrates this more than the scene where Ericson has to take actions that will kill survivors of an attack in order to destroy the U-boat and ultimately save more lives. Jack Hawkins does a fantastic job as Ericson and is ably supported by Donald Sinden, John Stratton, Denholm Elliot and Stanley Baker. Surprisingly the film hardly seems to have dated; some of the model work looks a bit obvious by today's standards but the rest of the film looks just about perfect; no amount of CGI can equal footage of real depth charges detonating or the seamless inclusion of actual war time footage. Even the fact that the film is black and white doesn't date it; in fact it just adds to the sense of reality and the bleakness of their situation. There are no blood and guts to be seen but there are some incredibly tense scenes; I flinched at every noise as they had to repair the engine knowing that a U-boat could spot them at any moment and the scenes in the life rafts were distressing as the number of survivors fell. Even away from the sea it wasn't all happiness as one of the crew learns that his sister has died in an air raid and another discovers that his glamorous wife is being unfaithful. If you have any interest in naval warfare or just want a cracking film with believably real characters then I heartily recommend this; it is a classic.