La tigre del mare

This movie is all about reality, submarine warfare in WW2 was not a clean precise science. There were no computers giving exact enemy details, there was no precise instrumentation to 100% control the sub. Not all the crew went to fight with a song in their heart, and a smile on their dial.

People with expectations of seeing a "pretty war" in this movie will be grossly disappointed, .............. GOOD, they deserve to be disappointed, they deserve to have reality shoved into their face.

War is not clean, exact, fought by people about to break into song. It is endured by scared, cold/burnt, hungry, desperate people willing to do anything to survive.

"We Dive at Dawn" is a fine example portraying a desperate situation needing desperate actions.

Whilst I enjoy submarine action films, I wasn't expecting much from one created in the midst of WW2. Nevertheless, this must be one of the best wartime films actually created mid-conflict I have viewed, once the initial rather predictable scenes regarding being called to action are cast to one side. The film managed to convey the tension of life aboard a submarine at this time, with the weakest parts those based outside of the submarine. John Mills' face shows great communication when presented with difficult decisions and made the film work, whilst not going so far as being unbelievable. A very good effort in what must have been tricky film making times.

In most US made submarine action movies the process of torpedoing the enemy appears fairly straightforward and painless. Clark Gable, Cary Grant and Tyrone Power never seem to miss. In this movie one gets the sense that it is not so easy to sink an enemy ship at range. In this movie during the battle scene the Coxswain can't seem to keep the boat level in the water, the first officer forgets to read the bearing, someone else seems to be asleep at the switch at a vital moment. This little bit of realisim was appreciated by this viewer.

The best line in the movie is when the cook bites into a dinner sausage prepared for the crew grimmaces and comments "No wonder they stopped dog racing" or words to that effect.

Anthony Asquith's wartime action film is surprisingly good, given the constraints under which it was made. The battle sequences are well staged, with stock footage intercut with interior sequences taking place in the submarine. Asquith captures the claustrophobic life of the crew at sea, with each man trying to live as best they can under highly cramped conditions, while remaining loyal to their captain, Lt. Taylor (John Mills). Everyone accepts that death might occur at any time, yet they try their best to extricate themselves from a difficult situation, after trying to torpedo a German battleship, the Brandenburg. WE DIVE AT DAWN is an interesting example of a wartime propaganda film in which every social class is represented, from the upper class officer Lt. Gordon (Jack Watling), to the no-nonsense working class L/S Hobson (Eric Portman), who believes that his wife Alice (Josephine Wilson) has left him for the local fish-and-chip shop owner. Once aboard the submarine, however, social divisions are forgotten: everyone is committed to the cause of destroying the battleship and returning home safely. This message of all people pulling together was one of the most familiar refrains of World War II, both on the home and the battle fronts. In the end the crew succeed in their task, but not without a daring raid on a Danish port in order to purloin some fuel oil, which they achieve in the face of spirited resistance from the Germans. It is chiefly due to Hobson's resourcefulness that the crew succeeds. WE DIVE AT DAWN might seem a little antiquated now, its social attitudes redolent of a bygone age, but it still stands up as an effective piece of wartime propaganda.

Looking back from the safety of 2005 it is difficult to conceive of the difficulties that must have ensued in making decent films in Britian at the height of WW II. Of course they are going to be patriotic, flag-waving type of affairs but within the constraints of the time there were some fine stories, excellent acting and first rate directing.

We Dive At Dawn is not one of the absolute best of this genre but it is very good. Any film involving John Mills would have a problem being bad. And there is also the marvellous Eric Portman.

Sir John's recent death, happily after a long, long life, brings home the journeyman qualities of so many modern actors. He was equally at home, and equally convincing, as a private soldier, airman or naval rating, or as a senior officer. It is difficult to think that many of today's crop, who seem to speak with their own regional accents both on and off duty, are anything like as versatile, and very few are anywhere near as good.

As to the film, it is a rattling good yarn, with glimpses of the family life and problems of some of the crew. I recently watched it again on afternoon television and was still entertained royally.

I had to smile at an American reviewer having difficulty with English accents. We British have to put up with all sorts of American accents in films all the time.