The Cockleshell Heroes

¨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 .

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.

I saw the cockleshell heroes many years ago and greatly enjoyed it.I was impressed enough to read the factual account of the unit and mission depicted in the film.The film was good but did not begin to show the reality of the training and the hardships these men went through.The actual mission was pretty much as depicted in the film.The Royal Commandoes that made up the real unit went on to form the nucleus of what is now known as the SBS or special boat section.This is the British version of the Navy Seals,but formed many years earlier.I highly recommend reading the book.You will appreciate the film even more.

The Fifties were Jose Ferrer's peak years as an actor and he was getting acclaim for all kinds of roles he was trying out. Ferrer has never been thought of as an action hero, but in a film in which he directed himself The Cockleshell Heroes, Ferrer is outstanding in a part that someone like Clint Eastwood would have been more identified with.

This was one impossible mission given to the Royal Marines. I'm sure rowing crew at Oxford would have gotten one a starring birth on this squad. The idea here is to demolish German ships in the port of Bordeaux and render the harbor useless. The problem is that Bordeaux ain't on the coast, it's up the Gironde River.

In an amphibious operation the idea is for a picked bunch of Royal Marines to row kayak like canoes up the river after having been landed by submarine at the coast under cover of darkness. The canoes are there to insure silence so that no unaccounted for motors are heard on the river. Then the Marines are to attach mines to the various ships and hopefully they will blow up and the Marines would escape inland with the help of the French Resistance.

Sounds absolutely impossible, but it really did happen. The film takes us through the training and the mission and most of the Marines are killed.

This was typical back in the day, get a known American star for a British production to insure international distribution. In Ferrer's case having one of the great speaking voices ever in film, he could be acceptably British for the audience.

Ferrer the director got some great performances out of Ferrer the actor and the rest of his cast, particularly Trevor Howard as his second in command and administrative officer. Howard was the best in the cast, a tough man with a deep secret, he failed under fire just as World War I was ending and has a black mark on him. He gets a second chance 25 years later in another war.

Also to be noted is David Lodge the young Royal Marine who goes AWOL to settle some trouble back home with an unfaithful wife in Beatrice Campbell.

The film bears some resemblance to The Dirty Dozen and The Devil's Brigade, American productions from the next decade. But these Royal Marines weren't misfits made into a fighting force. They were some of the best of that generation who went on a mission impossible knowing that they most likely would not come back.

And it's to them and the rest of the Royal Marines that this American dedicates this review to.

This is an excellent movie that depicts a little known part of WWII history and well acted with a good story line. Jose Ferrar did an excellent job of acting and directing this movie and I am trying to locate a VHS (North American) Copy to add to my library.