[8] Compass Rose carries the pennant number "K49", which was in reality the number of HMS Crocus. The Cruel Sea is a 1953 British war film starring Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden, Denholm Elliott, Stanley Baker, Liam Redmond, Virginia McKenna and Moira Lister. X Join the mailing list. I was certainly swimming past but, as the camera operator Chic Waterson spotted – underwater. The film has cult like status within The Royal Navy, with the mess deck tradition of “Cruel Sea Night” in which new mess joiners will watch the film whilst wearing life jackets and sprayed with beer whenever HMS COMPASS ROSE hits heavy weather or certain lines such as “Snorkers!” is said. Their best-known songs are "Better Get a La… The Cruel Sea is up there with the best of them. Ericson, faced with an appalling choice, drops the depth charges that will destroy the enemy but will also kill his countrymen. Both films together would make a wonderful night of movie viewing. The Admiralty had disposed of all its wartime corvettes, but Coreopsis was located in Malta by one of the film's technical advisers, Capt. Ericson is assigned to convoy escort HMS Compass Rose with inexperienced officers and men just out of training. ", The most traumatic scene in the film occurs after a submarine has caused havoc to the convoy and the ASDIC (sonar detector) reveals that it is beneath a group of British sailors who are struggling in the water, hoping to be rescued. It transpired that the First thought that I had been joking when I said I couldn't swim! The best thing about this WWII naval picture is that it is so ordinary. The First Assistant Director, Norman Priggen, came to me and asked 'Can you swim?' Quotes. In late 1939, just as war breaks out, Ericson is recalled to the Royal Navy and given command of HMS Compass Rose, a newly built Flower-class corvette intended for convoy escort duties. The Cruel Sea is a seafaring drama set during WWII, following an escort ship and its crew battling German U-boats. The first feature film to be made by the state of Kuwait. Although she had been paid off in 1947, she was held in reserve until broken up in 1958, and so could be made available for use in the film. The Cruel Sea It's set aboard a convoy escort ship's captain and crew--through their tense moments, trials, successes and failures. Yes. Two days later, after seeing it cut together, Michael Balcon asked Charles Frend to re-shoot it with Hawkins keeping a grip on himself. Donald Sinden and Jack Hawkins in The Cruel Sea (1953) I asked him what he meant and he said 'The eye of the viewer accepts anything travelling from left to right as going away from home, anything going from right to left is returning home. In other words, its a WHOLE portrait of the war as seen through these sailors' eyes--the good, the bad and the mundane.The second best thing is the lovely look and feel--with great acting and direction. The Cruel Sea is one of the very best wartime service epics to be filmed. It’s a portrait. But we had to do it another five times, with me in a different position now. Scenes showing the sailors in the water were shot in the open-air water-tank at Denham Studios. The Cruel Sea was an enormous success on its release in 1953 and it proved to be the most successful film at the box office that year. Most of the crew are lost. Use the HTML below. It is based on the best-selling 1951 novel of the same name by former naval officer Nicholas Monsarrat, though the screenplay by Eric Ambler omits some of the novel's grimmest moments. [17], "Fifties British War Films: Days of Glory". This use of real warships was in line with an Admiralty policy of co-operation with film-makers, which saw the corvettes HMS Coreopsis and reactivated in 1952 for the film version of The Cruel Sea; the cruiser and the minelayer used in the 1953 film Sailor of the King, and the destroyer and frigate used in the 1955 film Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. The night was cold and cast and crew shivered as we waited for the 'sea' to become rough enough: and then 'ACTION!' The film was selected as the Kuwaiti entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 45th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. The Cruel Sea (1953) was a British film starring Jack Hawkins, Denholm Elliott and Virginia McKenna. (1953). The winter seas make life miserable enough, but the men must also harden themselves to rescuing survivors of U-Boat attacks, while seldom able to strike back. At first their worst enemy is the weather, since German submarines lack the range to attack shipping far into the Atlantic. But Newfoundland is fighting back. These ships were significantly larger than the Castle-class corvettes, but had been paid off or sold abroad when the film was made. The winter seas make life miserable enough, but the men must also harden themselves to rescuing survivors of U-Boat attacks, while seldom able to strike back. Despite these initial disadvantages, the ship's company gains hard experience and becomes an effective fighting unit. Bas Ya Bahar) is a 1972 Kuwaiti drama film directed by Khalid Al Siddiq.It was the first Kuwaiti film to be produced. [10] It earned £215,000 (approximately £4.9million by 2013 standards) in the United States, a high figure for British films at the time. One of the best classic war films, made in britain and a fine memorial for the men and ships of the convoy escort groups in the North Atlantic. It was the most successful film at the British box office in 1953 and caused Jack Hawkins to be voted the most popular star with British audiences.[9]. He dived in again and pulled me out just in time. In the film, when boarding their new ship, the characters of Ericson and Lockhart remark that neither of them have heard of a castle in Saltash – in reality there is no such thing, although there are a number of fortifications in the local area. The World War II story of the Royal Navy's effort to defeat Nazi Germany's most powerful warship. The Cruel Sea is a 1951 novel by Nicholas Monsarrat.It follows the lives of a group of Royal Navy sailors fighting the Battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War.It contains seven chapters, each describing a year during the war. The film portrays the conditions in which the Battle of the Atlantic was fought between the Royal Navy and Germany's U-boats, seen from the viewpoint of the British naval officers and seamen who served in convoy escorts. 12 of 12 people found this review helpful. All leave is cancelled so that a British submarine can be sent after a new German warship. Life and death on an Atlantic corvette during World War II. It is ranked number 75 on the British Film Institute's list of the top 100 British films. Although the role of the cowardly officer Bennett was an Australian in the book, the Englishman Donald Sinden was originally screen-tested for the part and the Welshman Stanley Baker was screen-tested for the part of Lockhart. The film is a classic war film about the Royal Navy during World War II. The Cruel Sea (1953) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Then two days later, after another viewing, it was decided that a little emotion was needed after all; the scene was re-shot with just an odd tear or two and again the verdict was that it was now dead right. "The Cruel Sea" is an outstanding example of why the British are recognized for making the best war movies. English actor Jack Hawkins and 'Janky' Clark down a tot of rum after filming a lifeboat scene for the film 'The Cruel Sea', 1952. Whereas American war films tended to stress patriotism, flag-waving and individual heroism, the Brits underplayed the role of the individual, focusing instead upon quiet national stoicism and steady resolve. Her Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport, Plymouth, Devon, England, UK. From Wings to Parasite, here's a look back at all of the Best Picture Oscar winners in the history of the ceremony. 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