The Cruel Sea

This has to be one of my favourite wartime adventures that really quite powerfully illustrates not only the perils of those sailing the Atlantic during the Second World War but the courage of the ordinary folks drafted in to man these tiny ships at the mercy of the weather and the U-boats. "Ericson" (Jack Hawkins) has been put in command of an convoy escort that's staffed by a rather obnoxious former used-car salesman "Bennett" (Stanley Baker) and two green-around-the-gills sub-lieutenants "Ferraby" (John Stratton) and "Lockhart" (Donald Sinden). Initially, their task is mainly to keep afloat in the turbulent waters but as continental Europe falls to the Nazis, the threat from Grand Admiral Doenitz's wolf-pack system of submarine attacks makes their jobs even more deadly. With their enemy largely unseen and highly manoeuvrable, it's difficult enough to see one let alone attack it, but they've all got a job to do. There's a strong dynamic here between Sinden and Hawkins and the story is peppered with back references to the lives ashore of many of the crew who have families in a homeland that is constantly being bombed. It was made long after the war finished, but it still manages to convey an effective sense of the danger - physical and emotional - faced by these men who left home uncertain as to what might await them on their return. It grittily encapsulates so much of the human story of the war, but there's also a little time for some romance (cue Virginia McKenna) and a little light banter from Liam Redmond, Bruce Seton and the always reliable Megs Jenkins who can't be bothered to fix up the blackout curtains. Moira Lister adds a bit of shallow glamour to the proceedings and by the half way mark we have a pretty comprehensive appraisal of the people's Royal Navy that's well captured by some chilling photography and haunting audio.