Film Review
The only submarine war film that bears a favourable comparison with
Wolfgang Petersen's magnificent
Das Boot (1981) is this little
known British gem, made at the Gaumont British studios during the
Second World War. Skilfully eluding the idiotic clichés to
which the genre is devastatingly prone,
We Dive at Dawn distinguishes
itself with its near-documentary realism, convincing down-to-Earth characters
and meticulous plotting, all of which make it one of the most
compelling British war films of the 1940s.
The eerily cramped submarine interiors and some superb underwater model
sequences (which surpass those seen in
Das Boot) help to create an aura of
forbidding menace and tension, which is heightened further by the
exemplary performances and some imaginative direction and
camerawork. The film concludes with a stunningly executed battle
scene, which belies the modest budget and is surprisingly vicious for
its time, its intense visceral impact enhanced by some stylish editing.
An unusually swarthy John Mills leads a solid cast of great British
character actors that includes Eric Portman, Niall MacGinnis and Jack
Watling, each delivering a convincing character portrayal rather than
the usual wartime stereotype. The film was directed by
Anthony Asquith, who had previously worked with Mills on another
wartime drama,
Cottage to Let (1941), but is
far better known for his stage play adaptations, notably
Pygmalion
(1938) and
The Importance of Being Earnest
(1952). Although action films of this kind were not Asquith's
forte, he does a superb job here and crafts a tense adventure drama
that still holds up remarkably well today.
© James Travers 2010
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Anthony Asquith film:
Fanny by Gaslight (1944)
Film Synopsis
When the Royal Navy submarine
Sea
Tiger returns to base after a long period at sea, her crew, led
by Lieutenant Taylor, is looking forward to some well-earned
leave. But leave is cancelled and the crew find themselves with a
new assignment, to sink the German battleship
Brandenburg before it begins sea
trials in the Baltic Sea. On the way, the submarine picks
up three German airmen, who are stranded on a buoy after being shot
down. One of the Germans panics and reveals that
Brandenburg has already passed into
the Baltic Sea. Although fuel is running low, Taylor gives the
order for
Sea Tiger to
follow the battleship. Having launched five torpedoes on
Brandenburg,
Sea Tiger is herself attacked by
German destroyers...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.