The Cruel Sea is a 1953 British film from Ealing Studios. It was directed by Charles Frend and starred Jack Hawkins and (in his first film) Donald Sinden, with Denholm Elliott, Stanley Baker, Virginia McKenna and Moira Lister.
It was based on the bestselling novel The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat. It is a strikingly accurate portrayal of the war between the Royal Navy and Germany's U-Boats from the viewpoint of the British naval officers and s...
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The Cruel Sea is a 1953 British film from Ealing Studios. It was directed by Charles Frend and starred Jack Hawkins and (in his first film) Donald Sinden, with Denholm Elliott, Stanley Baker, Virginia McKenna and Moira Lister.
It was based on the bestselling novel The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat. It is a strikingly accurate portrayal of the war between the Royal Navy and Germany's U-Boats from the viewpoint of the British naval officers and seamen who served in escort vessels during World War II, although the screenplay by Eric Ambler omitted some of Monsarrat's grimmest images.
No concessions were made to the American audience, unlike (for example) The Enemy Below. This lower circulation novel on the same theme by a different author was turned into an almost equally popular film, with the British commander transformed into an American, played by Robert Mitchum.
The action commences in the early months of World War II, before the Battle of the Atlantic becomes the brutal struggle...
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