Glory at Sea

Plot: A disgraced captain fights to turn his inexperienced sailors, rebellious officers and outdated ship into a fighting force This underrated little gem is about a little known historical episode in the Second World War where British island bases were swapped for antiquated American ships. The plot is fairly standard; a tough-but-fair officer has to turn an inexperienced crew into a crack fighting force before they are thrown into a final challenge that will test them to the limit. In between the plot adopts an episodic format, shifting between (largely failed) missions at sea and moments for the crew to bond (and fight with other crews) on land. There are lots of familiar but nonetheless effective moments; the chap whose girl runs off with another man, the former trade unionist turned ship's lawyer, the deaths of family in German bombing raids. Like many 1950s films there is a reliance on sets rather than location shooting, and on archive to fill in the gaps. It's obvious but acceptable, and more than made up for by a fast-paced, witty screenplay full of neat historical detail and deeply human moments. The climax, involving the Raid on St Nazaire, is a slightly under-utilised - five more minutes of screen-time to stretch out the tension would have made for a much better ending - but nonetheless heroic end. There is one terrific scene where the camera cuts away from a bar-room brawl and instead illustrates the fight by cutting to photographs of boxers on the wall (the pub landlord's former career) every time a blow is landed. What makes the film so good is the terrific banter between the crew, and the magnificent understatement of the actors. There is no shouting, only a deep and dignified horror at the effects of war; the quiet grief of the characters is infinitely more powerful for not being Hollywood histrionics. Highly recommended.

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.

I've just watched The Gift Horse, a world war two film in black and white from 1952. I remember many titles of films from childhood which I never had the chance to see and so catch up with them now, and this is one of them. Based on a true incident where we made a swap with the Americans to obtain 50 old warships, this follows the exploits of one of these, commanded by the dependable Trevor Howard, who really carries the film, with a determined, but vulnerable performance, marvelous to watch. James Donald another actor known for these roles at the time, also has a major part, but is saddled with a side story which involves him romantically with Joan Rice, and consequently leaves him miscast. Robin Bailey is prominent and well cast I thought, as is the great Sid James, who runs a pub and there's a lovely scene where a fight breaks out in the pub and the camera ignores the guys fighting and goes to photographs on the wall of Sid in his boxing days, very novel. Lovely to see the wonderful Dora Bryan, and sadly I watched this only two days after she died at the age of 91. She would have been about 28 at the time. The film looks very dated and some of the scenes on the ship look like they were filmed in an old TV studio, but it's the acting that excels here, particularly Trevor Howard.

"Glory at Sea" (aka "Gift Horse") is a rather unusual naval film. This is because of the movie centering on a glamorous ship, such as a battleship or aircraft carrier, the setting is an old destroyer which was used by the British through the Lend-Lease program. In other words, older and more obsolete American ships were leased to the Brits during the darkest days of WWII (before the US officially joined). However, this is NOT to say that the ship's record was undistinguished...in fact, what they ultimately did was incredibly brave and daring. Overall, this is a very good and inspiring war film. It is odd that Sunny Tufts is in the picture...but despite his presence, the movie is well made and worth seeing.

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.

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 is the only film I know that dealt with Anglo-American destroyers for naval base leases trade that Roosevelt and Churchill made before America entered World War II. Monetary transactions were forbidden by the Neutrality Act so FDR came up with the idea to give up 50 aged American destroyers in turn for leases on naval bases the British had in the Western Hemisphere. This was the precursor of Lend Lease. Trevor Howard plays the captain of a crew taking over one of these ships and remember the ships are old. But as he said addressing his crew it was good to remember that old expression about never looking a gift horse in the mouth. He plays the part well in the best stiff upper lip tradition. Supporting Howard are James Donald, Richard Attenborough and over from America, Sonny Tufts. Good easy to take war film about a little remembered historical event and the old gift horse does meet a gallant end.

Just to add to malcolmgsw's comments. The film has some elements of truth to it. The original destroyer concerned was USS Buchanan, renamed in the Royal Navy HMS Campbelltown. This ship did indeed carry out the raid on St Nazaire, in March 1942. The purpose was to prevent the use of the dock by the German battleship Tirpitz in case she should ever breakout into the Atlantic. It was the only dock outside Germany which could accommodate the ship. One scene stands out for me in the film. It takes place in ex boxer Sid James's pub where some of the crew of our ship are relaxing. A crew of another ship starts to wind them up and this leads to a fight. However, we don't see this fight. As it begins, a bell goes off like the bell at the start of a boxing match. At the same time, the camera focuses on a photo of Sid in his boxing days, one of many which adorn the walls of his pub. Then as the fight ensues, the camera fixes on other boxing pictures from the wall as each blow is struck. Very enjoyable!

GLORY AT SEA is a typical wartime seafaring drama of the 1950s, with a better-than-average cast and enough dynamism and heroism to see it through. In some ways the back-on-land character material is in many respects more engaging than the more familiar naval battle, although things do build to a suspenseful climax. The stand-out here is Trevor Howard as the crusty lead and Richard Attenborough as the somewhat green sailor in an against-type role, while Bernard Lee is also good value. I could have done without the traditional romantic sub-plots but otherwise this is acceptable fare.