This is a really first-rate film, much more convincing than the fairly crude WWII propaganda films the US studios were turning out around the same time. The good guys and the bad guys are just as clearly delineated, but in some ways - perhaps the consistent understatement of emotions and the sometimes over-the-top stiff upper lips displayed by the characters - the stakes, and the dangers, seem clearer. There are no John Waynes or Errol Flynns on this ship.
The acting is extremely good, although Noel Coward seems a little stiff and uncomfortable in his leading role. John Mills and Bernard Miles are outstanding, and Celia Johnson (in her first film role) is simply extraordinary. The final scene, where Coward as the captain of the lost ship shakes hands with the survivors, is unexpectedly moving.
The acting is extremely good, although Noel Coward seems a little stiff and uncomfortable in his leading role. John Mills and Bernard Miles are outstanding, and Celia Johnson (in her first film role) is simply extraordinary. The final scene, where Coward as the captain of the lost ship shakes hands with the survivors, is unexpectedly moving.