The Cruel Sea (1953 film)

The Cruel Sea is a 1953 British war film 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.The film stars Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden, Denholm Elliott, Stanley Baker, Liam Redmond, Virginia McKenna and Moira Lister.The movie was made by Ealing Studios seven years after the end of World War II, and was directed by Charles Frend and produced by Leslie Norman.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.The first lieutenant is put ashore due to illness, the junior officers mature and the ship crosses the Atlantic many times escorting convoys, often in brutal weather.Donald Sinden (playing Lockhart) suffered in real life from negative buoyancy, meaning that he was unable to float or swim in water, which was discovered while filming the sequence when the ship Compass Rose is sinking.The evacuation of the ship was the first scene to be shot in the tank, which was about an acre in size, 10 feet deep and contained two giant wave-making machines and an aeroplane propeller which had a fire-hose aimed at it to create the spray.[9] In his second autobiography, Donald Sinden wrote: The editor, Peter Tanner, showed me a clip of film in which the Compass Rose was sailing from left to right across the screen.In 1954 a recommissioned Royal Canadian Navy River-class frigate HMCS New Glasgow was made available to play the fictional HMS Rockhampton in the John Wayne film The Sea Chase.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.These coastal waters and a summer shooting schedule meant that the sea was generally too calm to portray conditions on the Atlantic in winter, so the ships were taken to the Portland Race.Although only a couple of miles offshore, a number of conflicting tidal streams and a sandbank provide predictable, albeit often dangerous, large waves and a disturbed sea.In 1956, according to the documentary Fifties British War Films: Days of Glory, when Elstree Studios was being sold to the BBC, Sir Michael Balcon was asked what had been his greatest achievement during his tenure.
Charles FrendEric AmblerThe Cruel SeaNicholas MonsarratLeslie NormanNorman PriggenMichael BalconJack HawkinsDonald SindenDenholm ElliottVirginia McKennaStanley BakerGordon DinesPeter TannerAlan RawsthorneEaling StudiosUniversal-Internationalwar filmnovel of the same nameLiam RedmondMoira ListerWorld War IIBattle of the AtlanticRoyal NavyU-boatsconvoyLieutenant-CommanderBritish Merchant NavyRoyal Naval ReserveFlower-classcorvettesub-lieutenantsmartinetFall of FranceFrancodepth chargetorpedoedliferaftscommanderCastle-classArctic convoysLieutenant CommanderSub-LieutenantJohn StrattonLieutenantJohn WarnerBruce SetonPetty OfficerChief Petty OfficerCoxswainEngine Room ArtificerJune ThorburnMegs JenkinsMeredith EdwardsYeoman of SignalsGlyn HoustonAlec McCowenLeadingSignalmanFred GriffithsStokerSam KyddJohn SingerGerard HeinzAndrew CruickshankBarry LettsHarold GoodwinGeorge CurzonAdmiralRonald SimpsonCaptainDon SharpRussell Watersscreen-testedPlymouth Naval DockyardEnglish ChannelDenham Studiosnegative buoyancystuntmanDirectorcamera operatoreditorHMS CoreopsisAdmiraltyJack BroomeConvoy PQ 17Hellenic Navypennant numberHMS Portchester CastleRiver-class frigateRoyal Canadian NavyHMCS New GlasgowJohn WayneThe Sea ChaseSaltashPlymouthPlymouth SoundRiver MerseyPortland RaceBritish Film Institutetop 100 British filmscrossing the lineHalliwell's Film GuideBFI Top 100 British filmsDas BootGreyhoundThe Australian Women's WeeklyWayback MachineThe AdvertiserThe MailSunday TimesNavy NewsTCM Movie DatabaseScreenonlineRotten TomatoesYouTubeHalifax, Nova ScotiaThe Big BlockadeThe Foreman Went to FranceSan Demetrio LondonThe Return of the VikingsJohnny FrenchmanThe Loves of Joanna GoddenScott of the AntarcticA Run for Your MoneyThe MagnetLease of LifeThe Long ArmBarnacle BillCone of SilenceGirl on ApprovalTorpedo BayThe Sky BikeThe RatThe Sea UrchinThe Triumph of the RatThe Mountain EagleBlightyDownhillThe Rolling RoadEasy VirtueOne of the BestThe VortexA South Sea BubbleA Light WomanThe First BornThe WreckerThe Return of the RatCity of PlayTaxi for TwoWoman to WomanJack's the BoyI Was a SpyIt's a BoyFriday the ThirteenthPrincess CharmingEvergreenRed EnsignThe Man Who Knew Too MuchCar of DreamsFirst a GirlMe and MarlboroughThe 39 StepsStormy WeatherThings Are Looking UpThe First OffenceTudor RoseThe Man Who Changed His MindSecret AgentWhere There's a WillWindbag the SailorDoctor SynA Yank at OxfordThe Gaunt StrangerThe Four Just MenCheer Boys CheerLet George Do It!The Proud ValleyThe Ghost of St. Michael'sShips with WingsTurned Out Nice AgainWent the Day Well?The Black Sheep of WhitehallMy Learned FriendUndercoverThe Bells Go DownNine MenFor Those in PerilChampagne CharlieThe Halfway HouseFiddlers ThreeDead of NightPink String and Sealing WaxThey Came to a CityThe Captive HeartThe OverlandersHue and CryIt Always Rains on SundayThe Life and Adventures of Nicholas NicklebyFriedaAgainst the WindSaraband for Dead LoversAnother ShoreTrain of EventsPassport to PimlicoWhisky Galore!Kind Hearts and CoronetsCage of GoldThe Blue LampThe Lavender Hill MobPool of LondonThe Man in the White SuitThe MaggieThe Night My Number Came UpTouch and GoThe LadykillersThe Man in the SkyThe ShiraleeDunkirkThe Siege of PinchgutThe ScapegoatThe Long and the Short and the Tall