La mer cruelle

I first read this book when I was 14 (and had my father take it back from me when I had to ask "what's 'urinate' mean, dad?"). Monserrat is a master at the depiction of men at war - from his extraordinary technical knowledge to his ability to convey the fatigue, the cross feelings living in close quarters, the bitterness, the moments of triumph or relief.

This film does Monserrat justice. This movie is the opposite of the "boys' own adventure" sorts of movies. There are no striking heroics - just the very real feeling of people performing onerous often dangerous duties as well as they're able - which is heroic itself. The movie does not skimp on the danger either - the shocking losses of ships in convoys that the corvette "protects", the extreme difficulty of finding and sinking U-boats, almost gives one the feeling, "what's the point of convoys?" (Imagine all surgeons operating with an average 3% survival rate - well, 3% recovery is better than none - but imagine the wear on the surgeons).

The film is gritty, and just has the feel of the 1940s in its bones. The sounds, the movement, the look of cities and harbors, the clothes - it's as if one's uncles' tales have all come to life.

Jack Hawkins and Donald Sinden are wonderful - almost always (and necessarily in wartime) stiff upper lip. The movie's moral dramas (bearing upon decisions the captain must make) are wonderfully conceived and executed.

This is truly a superb movie - a great credit to all who worked on it - a memorial to many. It's a completely different - and superior - genre to such movies as Pearl Harbor. I even prefer it to its natural rival, In Which We Serve - good though the latter is.

Archetypal British WW2 fare which is very clearly a cut above the rest. Jack Hawkins steers HMS Compass Rose, a small escort ship, through the perils of convoy duty and the ever present risk of U-boats.

Hawkins excels as the exhausted Captain in this no frills account of men battling against a constant and ruthless enemy - the sea. A melancholic soundtrack and the distinct lack of jingoism create a forlorn atmosphere as the ship's company endures periods of grinding boredom interrupted only by the sudden terror of U-boat attacks. In the tensest of scenes, during a rare heady pursuit, the radar gives Hawkins his firmest ever indication of an enemy submarine. "There are men in the water just there" he murmurs, realising that as Captain he is alone in making an agonising decision - whether to drop depth charges and risk killing a group of British survivors floating ahead of him. The attack is pressed home, killing the defenceless men but failing to hit the U-boat, and leads to a moving scene where Hawkins' resolute professionalism crumbles in a brief but heartfelt show of drunken emotion.

The trips to sea are punctuated by tableaux scenes on shore, where the tribulations of officers and crew are no less fraught with threats and worry. In a country under siege there can be no escape from air-raids or even an adulterous wife. "It's no-ones fault" says Hawkins "It's the war, the whole bloody war." A strong supporting cast, includes 'youngsters' Denholm Elliot, Donald Sinden and Stanley Baker.

This is a film that succeeds in telling how dangerously close to the edge the British came during the Battle of the Atlantic and of the enormous impact it had on ordinary individuals. The closing scene leaves the audience with a real sense of how, after five long years of war, a nation was left exhausted and emotionally drained.

If my ship were going down, and I had that one last moment to grab a treasured something, my copy of the book, THE CRUEL SEA by Nicholas Monsarrat might well be what I choose. (That is supposing I already had my life vest on.) This book has affected my life deeply since I first came across it as a teenager. It is why I joined the US Navy. (where I ironically ended up in the submarine service.) It formed an invaluable step in teaching me what `duty' meant, and `honor.' It is therefore a bit more difficult for me to judge this motion picture than most. Were it horrid, I should still love it, I suppose. Fortunately it is not horrid. `The Cruel Sea is in fact first rate.

It is difficult to translate any full-length novel to the screen. There are too many `moments in time' to get them all in. So the adaptation of a novel by a screenwriter becomes a process of selection. Eric Ambler did his usual excellent job in writing this script, and if he left out some of the better bits, he also got the best bits in. Charles Frend directs it well within the style of the early 1950's. The special effects are above average for the time and not unacceptable by today's standards, although they are not spectacular. The film editing is clean and crisp with little to complain about. The musical score is not intrusive, but not up to the rest of the effort. It would be ten years before the art of Movie Music caught up to the rest, and here the score is no worse any other film of 1953. It is however the acting that gives this movie the push to get it far above the rest.

Jack Hawkins is marvelous in his understated competence as Captain Ericson, and the actors who play his officers (including a very young and very British Denholm Elliot) all turn in workman-like performances. It is however the overall excellence of the entire cast that is impressive. One of the major strengths of British films from the end of the Second World War through the 1970's was the incredibly fine ensemble casting that provided first-rate acting even in the smallest parts. Walter Fitzgerald in his 30 second role as the air raid warden shows true compassion when he says, `Yes, Mister Tallow, that was your house, wasn't it?'

All of the vivid, bloody color that made `Platoon' and `Saving Private Ryan' the two best combat films ever made are absent here. This was a different type of warfare, the blood, all of the color washed away by the cruel sea. The Battle of the North Atlantic was a very British battle. A five and a half year long stoic battle of endurance, of perseverance, of honor and duty. This is the side of the Second Word War that most lived, but few have ever been able to put into words. `The Cruel Sea' is much more than just a history lesson though. It is a very good movie, and it is a beautiful example of what British film could be in 1953. I highly recommend it.

Post British World War II movies helped sustain the ailing British Film industry in the 1950's. There were some truly awful movies made - probably so those who were really there could turn to their girls and say - "you know it wasn't really like that".

The Cruel Sea is an exceptional exception. Firstly it is based on a superb book, secondly it is well cast with Jack Hawkins at the height of his powers playing Captain Ericsson and thirdly it is well abridged. Getting a 500 page novel into 121 mins means that there will be cuts - but they are well done and the narrative thread of the book is not lost. There is also very little "messing with the story" so prevalent in Hollywood.

The Royal Navy obviously thought the movie worth supporting and helped find a real Flower Class corvette. Of all 135 built - 22 had been sunk by the enemy, 13 lost in bad weather and the rest paid off after the war. "Compass Rose" sails across the screen - firing her weapons and throwing her depth charges (you want to see what REAL depth charges are like when they go off - watch this) in beautifully photographed black and white action sequences.

Suspend your historical accuracy regarding true ship detail however - throughout the movie the Flower is in her 1945 paid off configuration with a lantern style radar that wasn't introduced till half way through the war and the continuity switches from moderate weather to flat calm at the flick of a scene as needed when the ship is making turns. Still you want to see heavy weather - there is some real rough stuff with the corvette punching into it and some stock wartime footage very carefully grafted in to give the necessary verisimilitude.

But the real narrative is how the specks of humanity are treated by the war and the cruel sea and it is amply conveyed in the morning after a torpedo'ing. Count how many are INCREDIBLY lucky to be found alive in rafts and remember how many were on the ship that was sunk in the night. It's a grim ratio and a vivid portrayal of the real cost of the Battle of the Atlantic.

Young and upcoming Donald Sinden, Denholm Elliot and Virginia McKenna support this superb movie - it made Donald Sinden.

I hope there is a DVD coming because the photography is clearly good enough to be shown at a higher resolution but this should not stop you watching this now.

The best thing about this WWII naval picture is that it is so ordinary. What I mean by this is that there is no bigger-than-life Hollywood style hero who is invincible, but a collection of normal men showing great heroism collectively--sort of a tribute to the unsung heroes of the war. It's set aboard a convoy escort ship's captain and crew--through their tense moments, trials, successes and failures. In other words, its a WHOLE portrait of the war as seen through these sailors' eyes--the good, the bad and the mundane.

The second best thing is the lovely look and feel--with great acting and direction. Jack Hawkins was, as always, wonderful but all the actors playing the crew did so well--and it's a tribute to the production and direction--this didn't just happen by chance.

In many ways, this film plays a lot like the great British film "In Which We Serve"--though unlike "In Which", "The Cruel Sea" was made after the war. Both films together would make a wonderful night of movie viewing. Solid and exceptional.