We Dive at Dawn

The submarine used was NOT Varangian! 'It' was in fact two boats, P614 and P615, both built for Turkey by Vickers Armstorng at Barrow-in-Furness but kept hold of by the Royal Navy for the duration of the war. P615 was sunk but P614 was eventually delivered in 1945.

The confusion no doubt arose because someone looked up P61 (as I did) and found Varangian! When in fact, the last digit of both P614 and P615 was in fact just painted out....

There are some extremely realistic moments in the film. These Turkish boats were very similar to the S-class. As no S-class submarines survive, the shots of them (as P61) and of the depot ship "Forth" form part of an interesting record now, as well as an excellent film.

Whilst I enjoy submarine action films, I wasn't expecting much from one created in the midst of WW2. Nevertheless, this must be one of the best wartime films actually created mid-conflict I have viewed, once the initial rather predictable scenes regarding being called to action are cast to one side. The film managed to convey the tension of life aboard a submarine at this time, with the weakest parts those based outside of the submarine. John Mills' face shows great communication when presented with difficult decisions and made the film work, whilst not going so far as being unbelievable. A very good effort in what must have been tricky film making times.

I am a fan of submarine books and movies. Most of the movies are crap. I happened to stumble on this movie on UCSD-TV (San Diego) last night and was instantly enthralled. So much more realistic (IMHO) than the typical (American) submarine movie. Compare to "Destination Tokyo" (which I like), for instance. In that movie everything is bright and shiny and relatively uncramped. In WDaD I was thinking "whoa, Das Boot but British". Yeah, it's not perfect but I (like a previous reviewer) was impressed by the portrayal of the difficult submerged attack on the "Brandenburg".

So is this where the old "shoot a bunch of junk out of a torpedo tube so they'll think we're sunk" ploy actually originated?

Anyhoo, on my (short) list of good WWII submarine movies, I would have to put this in the top 5.

Anthony Asquith's wartime action film is surprisingly good, given the constraints under which it was made. The battle sequences are well staged, with stock footage intercut with interior sequences taking place in the submarine. Asquith captures the claustrophobic life of the crew at sea, with each man trying to live as best they can under highly cramped conditions, while remaining loyal to their captain, Lt. Taylor (John Mills). Everyone accepts that death might occur at any time, yet they try their best to extricate themselves from a difficult situation, after trying to torpedo a German battleship, the Brandenburg. WE DIVE AT DAWN is an interesting example of a wartime propaganda film in which every social class is represented, from the upper class officer Lt. Gordon (Jack Watling), to the no-nonsense working class L/S Hobson (Eric Portman), who believes that his wife Alice (Josephine Wilson) has left him for the local fish-and-chip shop owner. Once aboard the submarine, however, social divisions are forgotten: everyone is committed to the cause of destroying the battleship and returning home safely. This message of all people pulling together was one of the most familiar refrains of World War II, both on the home and the battle fronts. In the end the crew succeed in their task, but not without a daring raid on a Danish port in order to purloin some fuel oil, which they achieve in the face of spirited resistance from the Germans. It is chiefly due to Hobson's resourcefulness that the crew succeeds. WE DIVE AT DAWN might seem a little antiquated now, its social attitudes redolent of a bygone age, but it still stands up as an effective piece of wartime propaganda.

I very much agree with the comment about the verisimilitude of the control room dialogue and action during the torpedo shoot. However, the scenes that really struck me most forcibly as realistic were those in the engine room during the episode where the Baltic A/S net was penetrated. The mechanician operating the electric motor was (in my opinion!) definitely not an actor - he was a matelot doing his regular job, and he was obviously jolly proud of it too. The repetition of these "ahead/astern" scenes suggests that the director was as fascinated as I was. The film is and will remain well worth watching for scenes like these. And for our US friends who find the dialogue difficult - well, I often use the subtitles option when watching modern Hollywood action films, like "Get Shorty". Doesn't stop my enjoyment, and I can then understand about 90% on a second unaided viewing!