Il cacciatorpediniere maledetto

He's quite interesting to watch is old Trevor Howard. His quintessential upper class English manner is endearing and engaging. He does have the grit between his teeth, and a depth of range in his voice. He won me over in this film.

This film was shown last week on Channel 4.The critic in the Radio Times rather annoyed me as he was rather disparaging about it,saying that it took a long time to get going.He seems to forget that this film is of its era and likes to take its time to tell its story.I have to say that in fact i think that many of the action sequences look rather cheaply staged and some of the special effects work is very amateurish by current standards.However this film does stand up very well mainly because of the marvelous performance from Trevor Howard.In particular the scene when he receives news that his son has been killed in action.I would say that this is only slightly inferior to the marvelous "The Cruel Sea" which sets the standard by which all such films of the period must be set.The only jarring note was the obligatory fading American star to boost the chances of a sale to the USA.Sonny Tufts had to be one of the worst actors of that or any other period.

Trevor Howard makes for an eminently plausible "Lt. Cdr. Fraser" in command of a dilapidated ex-USN destroyer - renamed HMS Ballantrae - whose stiff upper lip, by the book, approach to his men causes considerable resentment. Gradually, though - and not before the ship has a few mishaps - he begins to turn them around before their ultimate mission to attack a Nazi-occupied French dry dock. A good ensemble cast including James Donald, Bernard Lee and Richard Attenborough help keep the pace quick and interesting. The latter part of the film is based on a real-life raid on St. Nazaire and is quite an exciting ride. I enjoyed this.

In the beginning of the war when Britain was fighting for her life with France lost and German U-boats sinking all her convoys, Churchill desperately pleaded to Roosevelt for any kind of assistance. Roosevelt was rather reluctant to help a sinking ship, as he (like the ambassador Joseph Kennedy in London) thought it probable that Britain would have to submit to Germany, but he condescendingly let off some battle ships that were taken out of circulation and would be scrapped anyway. This is the story of such a ship, called "Gift Horse" all through the film, and Captain Trevor Howard very wisely considers it best not to look into the mouth of a gift horse. Of course, there is trouble with the ship all the way, as there is always something crucial that doesn't work when the situation becomes critical. So there are many incidents, but the most interesting thing about the film is how it almost documentarily goes into the private lives of the sailors. There are many extremely interesting insights into different fates of the war, including many heart-breaking trials, of course. Richard Attenborough is one of the crew, and there are some wonderful pub scenes with fighting parties, of which the second earns a place in lasting memorability. It's a great film on a minor scale but the more interesting for its absolute realism.

Compton Bennett's surefooted direction and a sterling performance from Trevor Howard keeps this leaky old vessel afloat. You have to wonder though at the misguided optimism of the producers in thinking that casting the execrable Sonny Tufts would be a draw across the Pond. Curiously the part that was obviously written for an American, the raffish Canadian first officer, goes to that archetypal English gent, James Donald. And very uncomfortable he looks too. The most interesting character is Richard Attenborough's Dripper Daniels. It is Attenborough in familiar mouthy ranker mode, but with the added twist that his character is a trade union organiser in civilian life. Some fun is had with this, but the portrayal is perhaps more sympathetic than it would have been if the film had been made a few years later. The message of all-pulling together is a reminder of just how soon after the war this film was made. The film certainly takes its time to build up to the raid on St.Nazaire, which is dealt with rather perfunctorily. This must count as a missed opportunity as the raid was one of the most remarkable operations of the war. Instead we have a rather conventional tale of a raggle taggle ship's crew bonding into a disciplined fighting force. In fairness the vintage of the film means that some of the clichés may not then have been clichés, but it is fairly turgid at times, not least the anodyne romance between Donald and wren Joan Rice. An unrecognisably youthful Robin Bailey and a winsome Dora Bryan shine out among the supporting players.