The Cockleshell Heroes (1955)

You won't be disappointed!

Wonderful character development!

Very best movie i ever watch

disgusting, overrated, pointless

Nice and entertaining war movie made or influenced by the Hollywood war film school of the 50s. Soft made army life and war fighting and dying adapted to the eye of the watcher of that time. Beautiful and everlasting colors of the Technicolor war film typical for war epic movie which this film definitely isn't. Good and saturated film composition, typical gags for the time of filming are pretty much watchable today. Imaginative dose of sarcasm that tends to launch Hollywood humor of that era in this UK film suits the whole idea pretty nice. Very realistic depiction of the action itself without exaggeration which is almost impossible to see in the US movies on the same topic even today. All in all, cute WWII film, especially recommended to the WWII buffs. 6 out of 10.

An excellent film,however the continuity is slightly wrong in the scene where the Germans are searching for the commandos,they are using,Lee Enfield rifles and Sten Guns instead of Mauser rifles & either Mp 38's or Mp 40 sub machine guns. The name of the expedition leader,who in real life was called Major Hasler,known to one and all as Blondie was changed in the film to Major Stringer! And Marine Sparks was called Marine Clarke.Otherwise an enjoyable film. The French take the raid very seriously,having dedicated a footpath of 100 Kilometers from Blaye on the Gironde to Ruffec,where the two survivors met with the resistance.

I was ten-years-old, growing up during the war in England, when this, and other raids were being made against the Nazis.In 1955, I had completed a three-year enlistment with the U.S. Marines, and therefore extremely interested in commando-style warfare."Cockleshell Heroes" was entertaining, even though Columbia Pictures capitalized on a suicide mission and glorified it, thus overlooking the rugged training, and horrible cost in lives.Nonetheless, glory aside, the film triumphantly displays loyalty, dedication, that is the trademark of the Royal Marines. But after reading the first person account of the raid, you don't really appreciate what these heroic men did until you read the book.The first misconception given in the film is that this was a commando unit, when in fact, the dozen selected, were regular Marines who volunteered. The hardships endured don't come across as hard in the movie as they do in the book. The loss of food, inability to move for hours at a stretch, not able to relieve themselves, are just a few of the oversights that would have shown the ruggedness of the mission.However, even with some sour notes, I still like the film for showing the Marines as one of the best fighting forces in the world.

These were the last words spoken by an officer to his men before their execution by a German firing-squad...Trevor Howard was a devoted officer and a gentleman, never afraid to give his life for his country... Howard was a great character actor with a big presence on the screen in many good films as "Mutiny On the Bounty," "Ryan's Daughter," "The Sea Wolves," and "Gandhi."The motion picture deals with the silly mission of ten British Royal Marines, who after embarking a submarine from the English Channel port of Portsmouth traveled by flimsy canoe into Bordeaux harbor, southern France on the Garonne River, blowing enemy ships by attach limpet-mines..Directed and starred by Jose Ferrer (1909-92) star of "Cyrano De Bergerac" and "Moulin Rouge," and photographed in CinemaScope and Technicolor, the film succeeds in reflecting the brave deed of the English Commando and is somewhat exciting and tense in its depiction of the hazardous journey into enemy territory in World War II...