El infierno de los héroes

I was ten-years-old, growing up during the war in England, when this, and other raids were being made against the Nazis.

In 1955, I had completed a three-year enlistment with the U.S. Marines, and therefore extremely interested in commando-style warfare.

"Cockleshell Heroes" was entertaining, even though Columbia Pictures capitalized on a suicide mission and glorified it, thus overlooking the rugged training, and horrible cost in lives.

Nonetheless, glory aside, the film triumphantly displays loyalty, dedication, that is the trademark of the Royal Marines. But after reading the first person account of the raid, you don't really appreciate what these heroic men did until you read the book.

The first misconception given in the film is that this was a commando unit, when in fact, the dozen selected, were regular Marines who volunteered. The hardships endured don't come across as hard in the movie as they do in the book. The loss of food, inability to move for hours at a stretch, not able to relieve themselves, are just a few of the oversights that would have shown the ruggedness of the mission.

However, even with some sour notes, I still like the film for showing the Marines as one of the best fighting forces in the world.

¨The Marines were formed 28 October 1664. On 29th April 1802 His Majesty King George III directed that they should ¨The Royal Marines ¨. At a critical stage of the war just Merchant ships operating from Bordeaux were seriously endangering the British Blockade . For political reasons saturation bombing was rejected . The Navy was unable to penetrate the defenses without air cover . The Royal Marines were given the job. Postmouth , England-March-1942¨.

Based on historical events with screenplay by Bryan Forbes and Richard Maibaum from the story by George Kent , including technical advisers as Colonel Hasler and ex-Marine W.E. Sparks . The film starts when a Major of Marines is arrested by the patrol boat for canoeing in a restricted area . He is Major Stringer (Jose Ferrer) under orders to execute a dangerous mission. The captain Thompson (Trevor Howard) has been appointed as the administrative officer . The Major joined in a fit of boyish enthusiasm and the High Command put him in in charge of the unit , while the captain is a WWI veteran ; going to be awfully difficult to get used to taking orders from a young officer. The mission results to be the following : It seems German ships are running in and out of Bordeaux , getting past out blockade and bringing vital raw materials to the German war machine . The job is to get all the way up there , try to blow up those enemy ships in the docks , by means of cockleshell canoes , they'll be traveling at night and hiding in the day . The'll be dropped out somewhere outside the minefield , 75 miles to the target , should be able to make it in three or four nights of paddling . The team , a group of highly-trained volunteers (Peter Arne , Anthony Newley, Percy Herbert , Victor Madden , David Lodge , among others ) for hazardous service .

This is an exciting movie about warlike fits dealing with the blowing up of German warships by an expert squadron of soldiers in cockleshell canoes . The picture contains thrills , action , suspense , and amusement when the training of the soldiers take place . First-class performances from Jose Ferrer as obstinate Major and Trevor Howard as second-in-command captain . Large plethora of secondary cast and new-comers actors as Percy Herbert, Anthony Newley , Peter Arne and Victor Maddern as stiff Sergeant Craig . Furthermore brief appearance of Christopher Lee as submarine commandant. Evocative cinematography in glimmer Colour by John Wilcox and Ted Moore , produced at Shepperton Studios , England , being one of the first English movies to be realized in Technicolor . Good musical score including patriotic tunes by John Addison and conducted by the usual Muir Mathieson with the London Symphony Orchestra. The producers -Irwing Allen and Albert R. Broccoli who subsequently would produce James Bond series- acknowledge the assistance given to them in the making of this film by ¨The Royal Marines¨ and other branches of the ¨Royal Navy¨. The motion picture is well played and directed by Jose Ferrer . Rating . Better than average, worthwhile watching .

The movie was based on a real mission, called Operation Frankton. It was a successful Commando raid, despite the loss of life. The number of casualties in the film is accurate to those in real life. The training regime is somewhat questionable, and some elements would of only been added to make the movie more fun. However, a lot of training has been cut from the movie, as it simply would not be enjoyable to watch at all. All in all the film is fun to watch, you'll learn something about WW2 and although no film cannot capture just exactly what those men went through, it's a brilliant tribute to those who did not make it back.

Excellent account of the ten "canoe commandoes" story, who faced fantastic hazards to complete their mission. But only two survivors returned. Good cast of players, specifically Trevor Howard and Anthony Newley, (pre "Stop the World" fame and before his big film break in "Idle On Parade"). Made by Broccoli who later churned out the impressive James Bond films. This is one for the Sunday afternoon thrill!

This has been a favorite movie of mine for many years. Its narrative relates the story of a group of eccentrics--the British Army leaders were looking for imaginative minds--to undertake a hazardous mission is small rowing boats--cockleshells--against the Nazis' ships berthed up a river. The body of this very-entertaining film comprises four parts: 1. recruiting the volunteers. 2. early training of the successful applicants. 3. later training under better discipline and 4. the raid itself and its aftermath. The underlying theme here is that even minds free of dictatorial-system thinking require self-discipline, and regulation by authorities. The films is B/W and very ruggedly filmed. The director was Jose Ferrer also, with major contributions by writers Bryan Forbes, Richard Maibaum and George Kent. Music by John Addison adds greatly to the proceedings. The serviceable cast includes Jose Ferrer as the group's enigmatic and unorthodox leader, Trevor Howard as the man who wants more discipline and is proved correct, Anthony Newley, Victor Madden, Dora Bryan, David Lodge, Peter Arne, Percy Herbert and many others. The highlight of the early part of the film is an illegal challenge exercise--the volunteers hare told to try to get back to camp from a long way off with no resources whatever. Training at managing the kayak-like craft to be used on the raid also provides some early laughs. This is an honest, well-mounted and vastly- entertaining film whose subject is really human nature and the demands made on imagination and on self-discipline in times of war. The great raid itself is staged mostly at night and is extremely well-presented visually and in its blocking. The escape following the success of the raiders' efforts against German ships that are their targets is the final achievement in this taut and very-well-made film. But the individuals, their relationships, characters and actions are what one remembers. A very-well remembered film, and one admired by many, including myself.