The Cruel Sea (1953)

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The Cruel Sea (1953)

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Adapted from the famous novel by Nicholas Monsarrat, Charles Frend's The Cruel Sea tells the story of Captain Ericson (Jack Hawkins, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Ben-Hur), who is put in charge with Compass Rose, a fast corvette, and its inexperienced crew. Captain Ericson is assisted by two young officers, Lockhart (Donald Sinden, Mogambo, Your Money or Your Wife) and Ferraby (John Stratton, The Third Key, Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell), who have never before been in open sea.

As the Compass Rose begins searching for German U-Boats, Captain Ericson and Lockhart form a bond that proves crucial for the success of their mission. Eventually, they begin relying on each other's instincts and trusting each other's judgment.

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The Cruel Sea (1953)

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The U-Boats sink a number of ships but it is the ocean that proves a lot more dangerous. A couple of very strong storms, for instance, force the Compass Rose to change its course and even sink other corvettes patrolling the same waters.

The film is slow and methodical, allowing the audience to get a real feel of the combat. The terminology and various tactical descriptions are incredibly accurate, so much so that from time to time it is rather difficult to immediately understand the complex issues the crew must address (there is plenty of documentary footage used in the film as well). This is not to say, however, that the film lacks intensity; on the contrary, because of the enormous emphasis on detail the tragic events chronicled in the film are that much more impressive.

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The Cruel Sea (1953)

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The film's greatest strength, however, is the characterization. It is incredibly easy to relate to the main protagonists because they are all real people, not heroes, who despite their training and ranks show real emotions when they are faced with difficult dilemmas. For example, in one of the film's most memorable sequences Captain Ericson decides to ignore a group of survivors in order to sink a U-Boat. Later on, he is tormented by their desperate screams for help. Elsewhere, one of Captain Ericson's officers, Morell (Denholm Elliott, A Room with a View, Raiders of the Lost Ark), accidentally discovers that his wife has started seeing another man. He returns to the corvette but for some time his thoughts remain with his wife and he struggles enormously.

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The Cruel Sea (1953)

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The enemy is never seen, which is why most of the time the atmosphere in the film is incredibly tense. There is genuine sense of fear amongst the men because everyone realizes that a torpedo can sink the Compass Rose at any time.

Hawkins is outstanding as the strong and authoritative but never cocky captain who has seen it all. He is a tough, real man who isn't afraid to show emotion, which is why everyone on board of the Compass Rose respects him. Sinden is also brilliant as his right-hand man, understanding well that together they could accomplish a lot. Stratton exudes confidence but never arrogance.

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The Cruel Sea (1953)

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Charles Frend's The Cruel Sea is undoubtedly one of the very best British war films ever made. Shot on board of an actual Royal Navy corvette, the film is incredibly realistic, occasionally looking like a big documentary feature. Simply terrific. Like Cross of Iron and Ice Cold in Alex, The Cruel Sea has been recently restored.

by Dr. Svet Atanasov