In 1957, World War 2 was only twelve years old. The general depiction of Germans and Japanese in 1950s films was of brutal, nasty savages hell-bent on doing all sorts of bad things to “clean” “decent” Americans and or British, the epitome of “Western civilisation”.
This 1957 film changed that.
It was one of the earliest films to show Germans as equal professionals doing their job.
The fictional story is set over a 24-hour period where an American destroyer hunts a German U-boat in the South Atlantic. Captain Murrell (Robert Mitchum) clearly states that the U Boat is a menace to commercial ships. Since he is equipped to deal with it, he relentlessly pursues the U Boat.
The U Boat Captain von Stolberg (Curt Jurgens) is an equally committed man who is clear that he will do everything he can to evade the destroyer and move on to the lanes where there is easy prey.
Soon, it is a battle of wits as one ship, the destroyer, relentlessly pursues another ship, the submerged submarine. But is it one ship chasing another? What about the men? Is it a matter of technology versus technology, or do the men using the technology matter? Are the men and the ships means to an end, or is the end everything?
All these questions are left unsaid as we watch the cat-and-mouse game. As much as we want the American Captain to succeed, we want the German Captain to escape.
This is where the film scores. In an era where all Germans were Nazis and all Americans were whiter than white, the two Captains are shown as humans doing a difficult job in impossible circumstances. (Yes – there is the obligatory Nazi who reads Mein Kampf aloud, while the Captain and his crew exchange sarcastic looks with each other).
So what about the flaws? Simple. While the US destroyer is real – an actual US navy WW2 destroyer – the submarine scenes are a bit unreal (since there were hardly any real U Boats available). The U Boat interiors are “too roomy”, and the crew look “too clean”.
Most WW2 pics showed submarine crews returning from patrol with heavy beards and sweat-stained uniforms. All contemporary accounts of those subs say that the interiors stank to high heaven due to a mix of diesel and body odours. In comparison (as said earlier), the German crews in this film look “too clean.”
Robert Mitchum, then a Hollywood Superstar, brings his considerable star charisma to the role of the American Captain. Curt Jurgens, famous to James Bond movie fans as Bond villain Stromberg (in The Spy Who Loved Me), shines in his first English film.
For all the opprobrium heaped during wartime by Allied propaganda, the U Boat crews suffered the maximum casualties in one branch (submarine branch) of any service (Navy). 739 U Boats were lost during WW2 out of 1160 built – a loss rate of almost 64% – with 30,000 men dead in watery graves. (In comparison, 52 American Subs, 79 British subs, and 63 Japanese subs were lost.)
It’s a game of machine vs machine and the men who operate them. Will the better man prevail?
Or will the better machine? The film brings out these aspects very well. Except for the submarine settings and models, all the other actions, including the exploding depth charges, are real.
Man versus man or machine versus machine? You decide. It is free on YouTube.
The film is produced and directed by Dick Powell, who was a singing star in 1930s Hollywood! Shows amazing empathy for the characters.
Real History/ Historical background – 4 out of 5
Equipment and Kit – 4 out of 5
Locations or substitutes – 4 out of 5
Script – 5 out of 5
Overall Rating – 4.3 out of 5
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