The Battle of the River Plate

A former teacher of mine who had previously served in the navy was a fan of this film and made a passionate speech once in school about the underlying themes of the film which was about understanding and respecting your enemies.

The admirable filmmaking partnership Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger turn their attention to The Battle of the River Plate 10 years after the end of the second world war with an entertaining reconstruction of three smaller warships against the German Pocket Battleship 'Graf Spee' skippered by a seemingly honourable Captain Langsdorf (Peter Finch) although in opening scenes it looks like the Graf Spee has sunk a British vessel inside Portuguese territorial waters.

There is a lot of cat and mouse as the British commanders anticipate Langsdorf's next moves, in between the lull you have diplomatic manoeuvrings between the Allies and Nazis against the Uruguayan government. In the climax you have a live American broadcast from a cafe/bar in the harbour with Christopher Lee playing a South American bar owner.

Powell and Pressburger shy away from the jingoism and histrionics that plagued a lot of post war films, I guess they did their bit for the war effort during the war itself with films like Colonel Blimp and as always were ahead of their time even when making a post war film looking back at the start of the war.

There is little about the personal lives of the seamen, we do not see them reminiscing about the loved ones waiting for them back home. Its all about strategy and getting the job done with a few scenes of comic relief.

The film is very well photographed and they had the cooperation of the Royal Navy that supplied naval ships for the film. However they could had done with some model work as their were some jarring scenes with the studio shots that do not stand up too well these days.

I saw this film as a little boy when it came out in the 50's and thought it was great. I still think it is a good film by war film standards, but certainly not as strong as something like "The Cruel Sea" which is a more harder hitting adult film.

The film sticks pretty much to the actual historical events and doesn't wander off the straight and narrow, which many war films sometimes do! The cast is like a who's who of all the well known British actors of the time, and they are all very competent and all work hard to keep their upper lips very stiff and correct.

It is good to see that the Germans are dealt with sympathetically and not portrayed as 'villains', as sometimes happens if the film had been made purely in Hollywood.

It is also good to see that real ships are used in the general shots, instead of models in a bath tub, and some of the camera shots of the battle are excellent.

One very minor gripe is that in some of the shots of the "Graf Spee" the US Navy extras playing the 'German' sailors are still wearing US Navy uniforms! Oh dear! Ah well, it does not detract from what is overall a good film.

This is a splendid British film concerning historic deeds during WWII , the naval battle in the South Atlantic between British cruiser squadron of three ships and the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee , Dic 1939 . The main and secondary cast are stunningly incarnated by a magnificent plethora of English actors . The film contains a colorful and glimmer cinematography by Christopher Challis and an atmospheric musical score . The movie is well produced by Archers production and professionally directed by Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell . The motion picture will appeal to warlike genre buffs and British classic movie fans . Rating : Better than average .

The film is based on true events , these are the following : Though the British cruisers were no match for the battleship , Admiral Sir Henry Harwood (Anthony Quayle) launched an attack to Graf Spee (with 6 cannons,280 mm) . German fire seriously damaged HMS Exeter (commanded by John Cregson as captain Bell) with cannons 203mm , put half of HMS Ajax (captain Woodhouse played by Ian Hunter)'s guns out of action , and then damaged Achilles (cannons 152 mm) , but the cruisers did sufficient damage to the German ship to make its captain break off and run for shelter in Montevideo , Uruguay . The British followed and waited in international waters outside the neutral port . The Uruguay government ordered the Germans to leave after 72 hours . The British cruisers called Royal and Renown were near from Montevideo and Langsdorff (Peter Finch) didn't wait possibilities to vanquish . Hitler , reluctant to risk the Graf Spee being sunk by heavier British warship which were sailing for the River Plate , ordered the captain to scuttle the vessel . He did so 17 Dec 1939 and three days later shot himself .

The Events around the Battle of the River Plate have always been somewhat special next to the sinking of the Bismarck for me, as Germany does not have such a rich history of sea battles as England does. Two things stand out : First the very positive display of the Captain of the Graf Spee, Langsdorff, treating his prisoners positively and trying to kill ships but not humans and even saving his crew from heroic death in Battle by sinking the ship by himself and refusing to go into battle. And his tragic end by suicide. Second, the laconic display of the British Officers and Men in Battle. This is where my title quote is coming from, as a message issued by the Captain of the shut-down and burning Exeter trying to escape to safety after the Battle and heavy hits. Otherwise it seems to be a rather careful display of events, although the scenes in Montevideo are sometimes play out like a prelude to a Carry On Farce. Greatest weakness is, that we totally loose sight of the German views and events on board Graf Spee once the battle has started. Totally 6 of 10

"The Battle of the River Plate" (1956) is Powell and Pressburger's most underrated movie. Set in 1939, its about the British navy trying to capture "The Graf Spee" pursued by the "HMS Ajax", "HMS Exeter" and "HMS Achilles".Most people say it is not up to the standard as, say, "A Matter of Life and Death", but I disagree. As it is not one of the more wider known parts of World War Two, it makes the first half tense and exciting. But its the second half, when "The Graf Spee" hides in a neutral port where it kicks into high gear. The whole place reeks of atmosphere, unequalled in any over Powell and Pressburger film. As I have said before, a very underrated movie, that is well worth watching.