Froschmann Crabb

A superb wartime adventure, the Silent Enemy is the true story of Lieutenant Crabbe, a Royal Navy bomb and mine disposal officer sent to Gibraltar on a urgent mission to undo damage being inflicted on the fleet by sly Italian frogmen led by a brilliant underwater engineer. Though he has never dived before Crabbe takes to the underwater world like a fish, and with the help of a plucky NCO and dedicated but tiny band of men turns back the hidden menace. Crabbe and his courageous crew ultimately stop the Italian 10th Flotilla divers from turning the tide of the war.

Characters and acting are sharp. Cinematography and staging on land and especially underwater are very good. Writing is great too. The military historical significance is that these underwater demolition techniques and technologies are the precursors of modern Navy SEALs, Special Boat Squads, etc. The movie significance is that the characters and plot elements foreshadow every James Bond and action movie that's ever had frogmen, underwater fight scenes, secret ships, mini-subs, or stealty sub-surface saboteurs. Being drawn from real life, I found The Silent Enemy even more compelling.

They don't make them like this anymore. Rousing drama action based on the real life exploits of British Navy Lieutenant Lionel Crabbe and his contributions to underwater demolition work during World War II and later on in salvaging operations.

World War II history buffs will appreciate the military technology depicted in this film and the impact it caused to Allied as well as Axis shipping.

Exciting underwater action combined with a decent cast and good dialogue contribute to the suspense.

Laurence Harvey in, I think his best role, playing Lionel Kenneth "Buster" Crabb OBE GM. I love this film, based on a true story and a real life hero. Crabb was awarded the George Medal for his work in Gibraltar to disarm mines from British warships based there.

There is a great mix of fact and some humour thrown in with the appearance of Sid James as a Chief Petty Officer charged with getting the new frogmen fit for the long and dangerous work they had to undertake. A classic British Black and white war film in every sense.

Its also a film close to my heart as my late father actually dived with Lt Cdr. Crabb on HMS Reclaim just before he went missing undertaking secret dives underneath the soviet cruiser Ordzhonikidze in Portsmouth Harbour.

Overall a great must watch film for B&W war film fans.

Lt. Lionel Crabb, RNVR, is sent to the Royal Navy base at Gibraltar as Bomb and Mine Disposal Officer. Rather than simply dispose of unexploded mines and explosives he wants to locate enemy devices and protect the ships anchored in the harbour. He assembles a team of divers. Their greatest enemy is Italian frogmen riding "chariots" - human torpedoes. Recently two British battleships were severely damaged in Alexandria harbour and now they've shifted their attention to Gibraltar.

A rather novel WW2 film in that it concentrates on divers and underwater missions. Can't think of too many other films on the subject.

Based on a true story, though a large degree of poetic licence has been taken, the film is quite entertaining. While not entirely true to the Lionel Crabb story it's reasonably realistic-feeling. The action scenes are great and you get a good sense for the important work the divers did, often with limited resources.

"The Silent Enemy" is a most unusual film because I have never seen another movie like it. The plot, needless to say, is very unusual. It's about the exploits of Lieutenant Crabb (Laurence Harvey), the leader of a group of underwater divers who were responsible for protecting British ships in Gibraltar. To do so, they helped to create the first generation scuba gear--dangerous stuff considering mistakes cost you your life.

The style of the film, as other reviewers have said, is a bit like a documentary and I appreciate that the film lacked the extreme fanfare and 'bigness' of many war films. Instead, it's personal and interesting...a film about some really amazing people.