The Cruel Sea (1953)

Admirable film.

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

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

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.

Another fine British war movie of the 1950s. This one tackles the subject of the war in the Atlantic and features the crew of a British warship as they tackle the U-Boat menace. The film is based on a non-fiction novel by Monsarrat and thus has a ring of authenticity to it. There's certainly no jingoism or flag-waving here, just a sweaty and suspenseful account of what it's like to fight submarines in a theatre where the sea itself is an enemy.The cinematography is fine and the story gives a fair balance to both characters and plot. As is usual for this era, the cast is very fine, ranging from Jack Hawkins as the rugged sea commander to Denholm Elliott and Donald Sinden as his fresh-faced recruits. Stanley Baker has another stand-out turn as the sausage-loving first officer. Even Virginia McKenna is here, years before she became known for her work on BORN FREE. I wouldn't call THE CRUEL SEA quite top-tier material but it's certainly an enthralling and moving film nonetheless and above average for its genre.

This film is superb, tremendous atmosphere, brilliant acting and just the right length. The two ships are a Flower class corvette and a Castle class frigate-correct for the period portrayed. They both add to the atmosphere that convoy escort must have been like cold, wet and occasional terror/excitement. Jack Hawkins is spot on as the captain, Stanley Baker gives a wonderful portrayal of a bullying 1st Lieutenant, Virginia McKenna looking gorgeous, Donald Sinden may have done a better role, but I have not seen it and there is not a single weak character amongst the rest of the cast. Almost a documentary and a great reminder of a country that was the greatest in the world and is now just a sad shadow of her former self.

A classic of British cinema, director Charles Frend's "The Cruel Sea" documents five years in the lives of a motley group of British sailors. They're tasked with escorting Allied convoys during World War 2, but it's a seemingly impossible task; Germany's U-boat fleets prowl the seas and feast incessantly on British ships.Unlike most naval films of the era, "The Cruel Sea" is grim, depressing, gritty, pessimistic, suffused with futility and captures well the nuts and bolts banality of wartime. Occasionally the film's ship-board action gives way to several land-based, melodramatic subplots, which borrow heavily from the then burgeoning "kitchen sink" movement. Ealing Studio legend Jack Hawkins stars as the world-weary captain of a torpedo corvette.8/10 – Frend directed a number of British war films, but "The Cruel Sea" was his best. See too "Das Boot", "The Sand Pebbles", "The Last Detail", "Damn the Defiant", "Run Silent Run Deep" and "Sink the Bismarck!".