One of British cinema’s great What-Ifs, writer/director Pen Tennyson had something of a charmed life before dying in a WWII plane crash at 28. Mentored by producer Michael Balcon, his first real industry job was assistant director on Alfred Hitchcock’s THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH/’34, the Balcon production that got Hitch back on track. Even better, he found future wife Nova Pilbeam on set as the young kidnap victim. Sticking with Balcon as Ealing Studios started up, he steadily advanced to directing, this the last of his three films.* You’ll need a bit of tolerance for low-tech model ships, stiff-upper-lip British war sensibilities & period special effects (technology & budgets limited by fiat), but Tennyson an obvious natural laying out character, story & action. Captain Clive Brook (rigid) and new-to-ship Lt. John Clements (more at ease) must put their past romantic rivalry on hold to serve together, part of a fleet escorting a merchant ship convoy past the enemy. Their relationship comes to a head when a merchant vessel under German attack turns out to hold Brook’s ‘Ex’ among refugees trying to reach England. What he doesn’t know is that she’s also Clements’ ‘Ex.’ In fact, she left him! What he does know is that he’d need to pull his modest cruiser out of the convoy to help her and hold off the massive German battleship which is using the threatened merchant ship as bait to find the entire convoy. Great vignettes on all decks with various well-known players on hand (Stewart Granger, Michael Wilding, John Laurie, Edward Chapman, Mervyn Johns), tasty bits adding to the fun and (as war closes in) sentiment.
DOUBLE-BILL : *His two other films: THE PROUD VALLEY/’40 (Paul Robson joins Welsh miners in song & in the pit), and THERE AIN’T NO JUSTICE/’39 (not seen here).
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: Look for the 90" British cut. Stateside release losing a reel-and-a-half of footage.
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