The Battle of the River Plate

"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.

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 BATTLE OF THE RIVER PLATE, a docu-drama on the sinking of the German pocket battleship Graf Spee, represents an interesting marriage of talents. One the one hand the film is written and directed by the Powell-Pressburger team, a fact that ensures that its quality is lifted above the run-of-the-mill war films of the period. Whereas films such as REACH FOR THE SKY (also 1956) focused on notions of British heroism under overwhelming odds, THE BATTLE OF THE RIVER PLATE looks at the experiences of those involved in conflict at sea, whether British or German. On the other hand the cast contains just about every leading male actor of the period - a prime example of the Rank Organization's doomed attempt to replicate the star-laden productions popular in Hollywood at that time. Sometimes the experience of watching the film becomes an exercise in actor-recognition: Peter Finch, Anthony Quayle, John Gregson and Ian Hunter all have leading roles, supported by stalwart character actors such as Bernard Lee, Michael Goodliffe and David Farrar (as the narrator), with John le Mesurier turning up in a cameo role. Nonetheless THE BATTLE OF THE RIVER PLATE is worth watching, not least because of its balanced treatment of both sides involved in the conflict. We learn a lot about Captain Langdsorff's (Finch's( qualities at the helm of the Graf Spee; he is not only an adept sailor, but he knows how to treat British prisoners-of-war fairly. His character seems more sympathetic as compared with (say) Quayle's more bluff British Commodore Harwood. In terms of special effects the battle-sequences seem a little primitive as compared to today's epics, but the characterization and plotting remain as sharp and incisive as in other Powell/Pressburger movies.

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.