Trinta Homens e uma Mulher

The ol' man and the sea .... The grumpy captain(well acted by finch) is a lech and a drunk in this obscure film - one guaranteed not to be memorable. Diane cilento must have had an inkling of whats to happen being the only female(and a good looking one at that) on board .Overlong ,unbelievable and doldrummic.

Set in 1931 (hence the portrait of George V on captain Peter Finch's cabin wall) and made back in the days when Hugh Griffith was clean-shaven and Michael Craig playing rough trade.

Talky and studio-bound until it livens up at the end. The extensive matte work of the sea doubtless provided cameraman Geoffrey Unsworth's with useful experience of process work ten years later when he took on '2001'.

Meanwhile the arrival of the almost supernaturally lovely young Diane Cilento among all these men with already frayed nerves has tragically inevitable consequences.

The film consists almost entirely of a merchant navy captain's first voyage in charge of a ship with a passenger on board. How that voyage turns out - and it lasts about thirty days - makes for gripping viewing, as passions run high on several issues, by no means only on account of the comely female passenger. There are many well-known British actors on duty here, and they turn in solid performances.