Attack on the Iron Coast (1968)

One of my all time favorites.

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Lloyd Bridges and Andrew Keir play WWII commando leaders who lead a group of soldiers on a suicide mission to destroy a Nazi naval stronghold on the French coast by means of a dead ship turned into a live bomb . As the valiant soldiers sailed it down the throat of the enemy . They carry out their risked assignment while keeping their activities hidden from outsiders and German airplanes . At the end , they arrive in the enemy port commanded by Nazi officers : Van Horst (Walter Gotell) and Captain Strasser (George Mikell) . The Germans had a number of reinforced submarine pens, but the target of the actual attack was the dry dock facilities . It was called ¨The St Nazaire Raid¨ or ¨Operation Chariot¨ that commenced on March 28th, 1942 , it was a successful British amphibious attack on the heavily defended Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire in German-occupied France during the Second World War.World War II war film loosely based on the Operation Chariot , an attack on the Iron coast in St Nazaire . It's a fictionalized recounting of the known mission on St Nazaire , here called LeClair (Ste-Nazaire) with a sustained and predictable story , although partially based on true deeds . Acceptable acting from Lloyd Bridges and Andrew Keir as two commanders who take on a strong battle of wits . The film progresses with Commander Major Jamie Wilson/Lloyd Bridges -takeoff on Lord Mountbatten- training the crews of the ships , even though the crew lacks faith in his command abilities . He must overcome tensions with his antagonist Captain Franklin/Andrew Keir . This and the 1952 film "Gift Horse" are based on the same World War Two raid carried out by British forces on the locks of the French port of St Nazaire in 1942 . The highlights of the movie are the violent as well as exciting fights of the crews who successfully fend off an final attack at St. Nazaire or LeClair . And thrilling scenes at the final when the ship penetrates the highly armored stronghold , nets in the port , and explosives blow up under the dry dock . It includes stock WWII , especially when show up some planes , the clips of the diversionary air raid were taken from the film The Dam Busters (1955) . Atmospheric cinematography by Paul Beeson , Walt Disney's usual cameraman, though an alright remastering is necessary . Being filmed on location , shooting was filmed in Gaddesden Place, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire,Millwall Dock, Millwall, London, England, UK (French port of St. Nazaire) and St Katharine Docks, London, England, UK . Good and enjoyable musical score by Gerard Schurmann , though parts of Ron Goodwin's score from Squadron 633 (1964) were used without credit. The film was produced by Oakmont production , a company exclusively dedicated to warfare films (Submarine X1 , Hell boats , Mosquito Squadron , Thousand plane raid , Last escape) . The motion picture was professionally realized by Paul Wendkos who displays enough spectacular images to keep things interesting . Apparently, director worked on the film's original screen story with writer/producer John C. Champion but is uncredited for such . Wendkos whose works remain undervalued in USA directed various TV series and some films as ¨Guns of the Magnificent Seven¨ , ¨Cannon for Cordoba¨, ¨Gidget¨, ¨The Flight¨, ¨The legend of Lizzie Borden¨ and ¨Hell boats¨The film is based on real facts , these were the followings : The operation was undertaken by the Royal Navy and British Commandos under the auspices of Combined Operations Headquarters on 28 March 1942. The extra ships were along to transport all those who took part back to England after the operation. All of the 18 addition ships were sank during the attack. Other ships did accompany the attack but remained outside the area of the attack. In the actual operation the obsolete destroyer HMS Campbeltown was the lead ship in the attack. She was accompanied by 18 other smaller craft. St Nazaire was targeted because the loss of its dry dock would force any large German warship in need of repairs, such as the Tirpitz, to return to home waters via either the English Channel or the GIUK gap, both of which were heavily defended by British units including the Royal Navy's Home Fleet, rather than having a haven available on the Atlantic coast. The obsolete destroyer HMS Campbeltown, accompanied by 18 smaller craft, crossed the English Channel to the Atlantic coast of France and was rammed into the Normandie dock gates. The ship had been packed with delayed-action explosives, well hidden within a steel and concrete case, that detonated later that day, putting the dock out of service for the remainder of the war and up to five years after. A force of commandos landed to destroy machinery and other structures. Heavy German gunfire sank, set ablaze or immobilised virtually all the small craft intended to transport the commandos back to England ; the commandos had to fight their way out through the town to try to escape overland. Almost all were forced to surrender when their ammunition was expended and they were surrounded . After the raid 228 men of the force of 611 returned to Britain; 169 were killed and 215 became prisoners of war. German casualties were over 360 dead, some killed after the raid when Campbeltown exploded. To recognise their bravery, 89 decorations were awarded to members of the raiding party, including five Victoria Crosses. After the war, St Nazaire was one of 38 battle honours awarded to the Commandos; the operation has since become known as The Greatest Raid of All within military circles. The men who took part in this attack received more awards for bravery then any other operation of it's length then any other operation before or since.

I'm putting this movie up as one of my favourites. It wasn't glitzy war movie like others common in that time period /ie, Kelly's Heroes/Bridge at Remagen, Dirty Dozen.... It does a great job covering tragedies of war in a wide range of areas - loved ones/ young soldiers/training casualties. Also a great insight from dilemmas faced by operation planners -with limited resources available- right down to fears of rank and file. I always had a keen interest on the Raid of St.Nazaire and Brit commmandos so I was quite pleasantly surprised to stumble upon this movie to see it based on that. Sgt.Slaughter made an error in his review headline- it wasn't Canadian commandos portrayed in the movie -they were British led by a Canadian major -Bridges. The movie's raid action was great. The uniforms / weaponry had a very authentic look too. WW2 Buffs will love this movie -one overlooked unfortunately perhaps due to its lack-lustre box cover design.

Just wanted to add further to the comment about this movie being based on Operation Chariot. The purpose of the raid was to disable the only dry dock on the French coast that was large enough for the German battleship Tirpitz, sister ship to the Bismark. During this stage of the war, this was a very important consideration as the Tirpitz could of created a great deal of havoc if it where to get into the North Atlantic and attack the vital convoys that where keeping England in the war. The actual raid was a success. The dry dock and associated equipment was damaged so thoroughly that it no longer was a viable option for the Germans to risk their last battleship in the North Atlantic. It was also a very costly mission. A bombing raid that was supposed to provide a diversion actually had the opposite effect and alerted the Germans. The losses incurred where described as appalling, with most of the commandos killed, wounded or captured. To reflect the importance of this raid, 5 Victoria crosses and 68 additional awards where handed out to the some of the 600 particpants. Only the battle of Rorkes drift saw more Victoria crosses awarded for a single action.

Well yes this is a bad movie, there is nothing I can do or say that can change that. Its story is unbelievable and impractical, why would a group of soliders go all the way over to france with no possible way back!!! almost facing death ( pre June 44` that is ). Bridges gives a strange performance as the troubled leader of this rough bunch of men, ready to do all for England. He constantly seems troubled in what he is actually doing.Iron Coast follows a whole host of war movies that tries to follow that boys adventure story routine. It also tries to relate also to the Nazi situation by familiarising you with its officers. Some cast performances are worth memorising however, particularly private Pringle ( Dick Haydon ) but he is my uncle so I am a little predudice. Overall this movie is a flop, shame but the truth.