Operation Disaster (1950) User Reviews

"Pull yourself together Stokes" *slap* "Thankyou sir I needed that"

[shell-26 · 8/10 · 29 March 1999]

John Mills is superb as the indomitable submarine captain who leaves his wife and baby for a routine patrol. Richard Attenborough excels as the young sailor who cracks under pressure.

A wonderful film which may have started as a play. Well formed with portrayals which are both intimate and skilful. The "character" actors are enjoyable and colourful as the submarine sets sail, all leading to heightened drama when tragedy strikes.

If you like British black and white films about stiff upper lips and devotion to duty, you cannot do better.

God save the King.

Close To the Knuckle

[screenman · 7/10 · 9 December 2008]

Here's a very rare movie about submarine disaster. In fact, I don't rightly know of another. Perhaps because its the worst-case scenario for submariners and exposes the evident command futility in a crisis that other countries have not wanted the images portrayed. Having the courage merely to tackle such an awkward subject then certainly deserves some stars.

Life for submariners routinely entails a quantum leap of hazard compared to those within surface vessels. Anything going wrong - anything at all - might compromise the vessel and its crew. And this is what happens. John Mills - that diminutive, but ever-present military stalwart of the time - commands a British submarine out on 'routine' patrol. Things go wrong. It sinks within its test depth. Can the crew be rescued? There's a thoroughly decent cast make-up the crew, including Richard Attenborough (who goes to pieces once more, as he did in Coward's 'In Which We Serve'). All of the usual issues are addressed, and to that extent it's pretty formulaic. Where it differs from any other formula movie is that non of the solutions work.

A residuum of crew are doomed to death.

As I say; it's a grim little movie that ultimately evaluates reconciliation to the last hours of life. Submariners of Britain, USA, and Russia have all experienced this nightmare, as indeed have their families ashore. And although submarines have been around for over 100 years, even now there appears to be no dedicated response or recovery protocol either at a national or international level, as the relatives of the Kursk's crew discovered only too well.

If you have friends or relations serving in the silent navies, you may want to give this a miss. Otherwise dismiss its vintage and pay attention. What would we do today?

Down Into the Sea in Boats.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 4 October 2009]

A British submarine, Trojan, accidentally runs into a drifting mine that blows off her bow and floods her stern. The central section sinks to the bottom with twelve men left alive. Submarine rescue ships come to her aid but it's a long hard slog, introducing air into the hull and trying to lift the wreck with wires. There is a means of escape from the submarine but it will accommodate only eight of the survivors, leaving four men (chosen by lot) to a problematic future.

Frightened men trapped aboard a disabled submarine at the bottom of the ocean. You'd expect a lot of drama, speech making, and philosophizing on what it's all about. Well -- there is a little of that, but not too much.

The drama centers around the stoker, one of the four losers, played by a baby-faced Richard Attenborough. When the boat is disabled, he reveals himself as a sniveling coward. (Note: No cowardice is complete without its "sniveling" qualifier.) But in the course of their isolation, the four remaining men are drawn together and Attenborough learns to overcome his fear and to care for a shipmate who is sick.

John Mills is the captain who remains behind. And aside from Attenborough, there are also Wylie Watson as the comical but sensitive cook who doesn't know how to pronounce the word "Pisces" in the Astrology column, and Nigel Patrick as Number One.

Happily, although these four are stuck in a disabled undersea wreck, the film makers are not. Scenes in the submarine alternate with the efforts of those ashore and those in the rescue craft to haul the mauled hull to the surface. These men are led by the reassuring Bernard Lee. Lee is a fine actor but, as it turns out, can't solve every problem that comes along.

Because we are able to keep abreast of the rescue efforts and the difficulties involved, we're spared the isolation and claustrophobia of that sunken wardroom. This turns what could have been an ordinary, stiff-upper-lip talkfest into a rather dramatic and well-done story of men facing death while others try to help them.

It's based on a play. I can't imagine a play about a situation like this being anything but deadly, but it's a nicely executed film. Good and craftsmanlike.

I saw this in first run when I was about 7 years old. Scenes are still vivid in my memory.

[johnfadrian · 9 December 2003]

I saw this in first run when I was about 7 years old. It was on a double bill with a Francis the Talking Mule film. My older sister made a deal with me: She'd sit through Francis if I'd sit through OPERATION DISASTER.

I remember nothing of the Francis film, but scenes from this film are still vivid in my memory. In the late 1950s John Mills was a guest on the JACK PAAR SHOW and spoke of how life imitated art in that a British submarine was lost in the North Sea under very similar circumstances to those portrayed in the film between the completion of shooting and release in the UK. He said there was criticism in the British press at the time for it's release.

I wish it was available on VHS or DVD in the Unites States, but I haven't been able to find it. I would love to see it again.

Routine equipment exercise goes very wrong for submariners.

[irvingwarner · 7/10 · 7 August 2008]

A Rank production, with passable production quality and excellent acting. Much stock footage and a healthy amt. of rear projection, par for keeping costs down on Rank dramatic quickies. Since the screenplay was adapted from a play, its stage origins are still somewhat apparent. The performances of Mills, and a very young Attenborough, plus seemingly one-half the J.R. Rank stable of regulars are very good. The sets and costumes were surprisingly ratty--long in the tooth! Still, this is only a few years after the war, and things were still very hard-up in England. Ultimately, this is a "talker" and not an "actioner", and it does fairly well for all that, though not spectacularly so. The ending, to me, disappointed. I do recommend this for classic movie fans.

Maintaining discipline under pressure

[seanbmurphy · 7/10 · 19 March 2013]

Life for these submariners isn't easy above or below the ocean waves. Above the ocean waves it begins by showing some of the crew on leave with their family and the problems and decisions that they face in their personal life such as whether to stay in the navy or not. Below the waves what begins as a routine training mission quickly gets out of hand due to a disturbed mine going off.

It turns into a race against time to free the crew before their air runs out. It is complicated by faulty escape equipment where only some of the crew can quickly escape through the hatch when they are initially discovered by rescuers. The turn of a card can literally determine the fate of the men. A low card leaves an unlucky few to wait in the submarine to see if they can be raised to safety. The weather now combines with time to become their enemy and the race is on.

The action takes place in a confined space and the way people come together in a crisis is deftly handled. A solid although not a totally original performance from John Mills who as the commander tries to get his crew to safety and maintain discipline under difficult circumstances. A much underrated Nigel Patrick does well as his second-in-command; he acts alongside Richard Attenborough with whom he is reunited in the excellent League of Gentleman many years later.

Overall it is an enjoyable and watchable film.

A bit claustrophobic....

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 21 November 2011]

This is a creepy story about a doomed sub. I say creepy because of the plot AND because shortly after they filmed this movie, the sub actually did sink--killing many of its crew.

"Operation Disaster" is about a submarine that is out on routine maneuvers during peacetime--so, you wouldn't expect problems. However, the ship accidentally collides with an old unexploded mine. Most of the crew are killed except for a dozen men trapped in the control room. Eventually, their whereabouts are determined and most of the crew are able to make emergency ascents to the surface. However, there isn't emergency equipment for all--and four are forced to remain behind. Hopefully, the ship can be raised in time to save these brave men.

All in all, this is a very claustrophobic film--the sort that certainly won't appeal to everyone. Despite this, however, the acting is quite nice and the film never gets dull. Well worth seeing.

An accurate portrayal of courageous men

[susmant5-1 · 10/10 · 6 May 2009]

I first saw this movie at the time of its original release, & it has remained in my memory quite indelibly. Particularly as one of your submissions referred to the sinking of an actual British submarine at the time of the release of "morning departure". HMS "Truculent" was the name of that submarine & the nation was very somber, but I believe the the movie realistically brought home to the public what these submariners went through. My father had served in the Royal Navy during WWII on Destoyers & had his ship sunk under him while in the Mediterranean. So I appreciated the fine acting & portrayal of the courage of the men in the Royal Navy. John Mills always epitomized the character of the rolls he took & this was one of his best for me, except for maybe Scott of the Antartic, but that's another story.

in which A.B. 'iggins perishes 'umbly with his superiors...........

[ianlouisiana · 7/10 · 24 November 2011]

Many a second world war film perpetuated the portrait of Britain as a society where the upper classes held the upper hand,but few were as explicit in their depiction of the "officers and men" ethos as those depicting the Senior Service. From Noel Coward's patronising the lower deck in "In which we serve" onwards,servile cockneys,mancs and scousers(and Bernard Miles doing his country boy schtick)lurked in the passageways waiting for some nob from Dartmouth to put a bit of spine in 'em and tell 'em what to do. Not until "Up the creek",many years after the war,was the balance redressed,with Peter Sellers' C.P.O, showing who really ran the ship. With "Morning Departure",we get very much the mixture as before,albeit purveyed rather more insidiously than many. Mr John Mills is the archetypal movie naval hero;articulate but not a wordsmith,brave but not reckless,a loving husband but not soppy. When his submarine sinks after an accident it soon becomes clear that there is not enough rescue equipment to go round,and after a lottery,four men have to stay behind.Two officers and two O.R.s. That nice Mr Nigel Patrick(claustrophobic) is the First Lieutenant who bravely volunteers,Mr Richard Attenborough,bravely overcomes his former cowardice and Mr James Hayter is Able Seaman Higgins,the ageing cockney sparrer,with his Old Kent Road philosophising that keeps the others going until they are claimed by the Grim Reaper. That's not to say there isn't much to enjoy (if that's the right word) in "Morning departure".There is a fine performance from Mr Bernard Lee as the O.C. Rescue Operations,and you don't get the feeling that actually not much is happening,because the plight of the crew is very involving despite the over - familiarity of the performances. I first saw the film when I was 10 years old,and my grandmother sniffled into her handkerchief throughout. 60 years on and a grandfather myself,I may be made of sterner stuff,less impressed with the trappings of social status(my grandmother called her doctor "sir") and less enamoured with chirpy cockneys,but it's stark black and white images are still affecting,and Mr Mills is still just the man I'd like to be on a doomed submarine with.

One of the most compelling movies (in a good way) I've ever seen

[paulyboy · 10/10 · 16 November 1999]

Morning Departure had a somewhat slow beginning but it quickly immerses you in the characters and their relationships with one another and with their duty. Whereas a lot of movies these days really try and make you care about the characters by the end of this movie your wondering if there is anything you could do at home to help them out! I actually saw this movie for the first time about 3 years ago but seriously rate this as my favorite movie to date when not influenced by current blockbusters.

Baker does it again...

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 22 December 2016]

MORNING DEPARTURE is another exemplary seafaring thriller from British director Roy Ward Baker, who was definitely one of our most interesting talents during the 1950s and 1960s. Baker directs the tale with a steely eye for realism, refusing to fall for overt sentimentality and creating a rough, tough tale that is all the better for it. It's almost as good as Baker's Titanic classic A NIGHT TO REMEMBER (still the definitive re-telling of the disaster).

The story is simple enough, about a submarine which is accidentally damaged and grounded on the sea bed. While rescue vessels are sent to help out, the men on board the sub begin to work out their own predicament and come up with ways that they can help themselves. To say more of the plot would be to spoil the experience, and this is definitely one film you don't want to get spoiled before watching.

The cast is one of those fantastic all-star ensembles, headed by the reliable John Mills and Nigel Patrick as his second in command. Richard Attenborough cements his reputation for creating a lot out of a little, while the scene-stealer of the piece is the delightful James Hayter playing the cook. Others like George Cole, Bernard Lee, Kenneth More, and Victor Maddern do their bit with aplomb. MORNING DEPARTURE is a tense, gripping, character-focused piece of drama that proves to be another highlight of British film-making in the 1950s.

A Submarine Disaster Situation

[theowinthrop · 10/10 · 18 March 2006]

Every now and then we are reminded of the so-called "silent service" - the submarine arm of the navy. It is hard to believe nowadays but active use of submarines in warfare is barely over one century old. There had been three attempts at getting submarines into warfare before the 1880s: in the American Revolution, when Connecticut inventor David Bushnell designed the "Turtle" to attack Admiral Howe's flagship in New York Harbor; when Robert Fulton attempted to interest Napoleon Bonaparte in his submarine as a weapon against the British fleet in 1800; and when the Confederate (and Northern) navies experimented with torpedo boats and submarines - culminating in the success of the C.S.S. Hunley - in the American Civil War. But the real spur was anti-British animus in Irish-American circles in the 1880s, when they financed the researches of John P. Holland. It was his successful submarine that became the model adopted by most navies.

But that was after 1900, and the early submarines were small and unpleasant and smelly craft (due to the closed space and the gasoline fumes). Disasters occurred frequently enough. It was not until the sinking of three British cruisers on one day in 1914 by U-boat Captain Weddingen that their power became widely realized. The number of maritime fatalities (led by R.M.S. Lusitania) demonstrated how deadly these ships could become. So by the end of the war everyone was improving their submarine fleets.

But the ships still had major disasters in the 1920s and 1930s. 1939 was a banner year with major French, British, and American sub disasters. But the last one, the U.S.S. Squalus off Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was important for another reason. For one of the few times in modern history, the crew of a disabled submarine was mostly rescued. Diving bells and decompression chambers saved nearly two thirds of Squalus' crew (and the sub was raised, repaired, and recommissioned to be of use in World War II). But Squalus sank very close to land, and the depth was not an impossibly deep one as a result. Still it was quite a rarity to have survivors of a sub sinking. With a normal shipwreck (of a surface vessel) the crew has a chance to use lifeboats, life preservers, floating wreckage, rafts. You can't readily do that if you are underwater to begin with.

For some reason submarine disaster films have rarely appeared on screen. There were films about submarines (several versions of Jules Verne's TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, for instance), and even of the wartime subs. For instance RUN SILENT, RUN DEEP, and DESTINATION, TOKYO were two. Some misfires also appeared. Charles Laughton appeared as an insanely jealous submarine commander opposite Gary Cooper and Tallulah Bankhead in THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP (he scuttles his own vessel at the end, going down with the ship). But films about actual tragedies never popped up. Except for this British film.

John Mills is the commander of a submarine out on maneuvers in the British Channel. A mechanical failure causes it to sink. Mills is able to get most of his men out using snorkel breathing apparatus, and shooting them out of the torpedo tube. But he is unable to do it for the last three men in the sub with him: James Hayter, Richard Attenborough, and Nigel Patrick.

In their situation they have to just wait out official attempts at rescue. But this is based on the amount of oxygen left on board, and how long it will last. Also, it is turning the ship into a huge tomb for them. And Attenborough, who has claustrophobic problems to begin with, is going over the edge. Patrick turns out to have physical problems that if not treated will possibly be fatal. It is not a happy situation.

It is a gritty little movie, and it has it's moments of unexpected reality. Hayter was not supposed to be on the cruise, but at the last moment he agreed to go in place of a fellow seaman who had to attend an ailing wife. Details like that make one realize what a gamble our daily life experiences can be.

As a look at a disaster that is normally uncommon (but still possible - remember the Russian tragedy of the "Kursk"), with four good performances in it, I strongly urge catching this film.

Nicely executed, although clichéd

[daniele-iannarelli · 7/10 · 18 May 2019]

Nicely executed film with a commonly presented maritime theme of submariners trapped in their sunken vessel.

First-of-all, after Attenborough's fine performance two years prior to this movie as Pinky Brown in 'Brighton Rock' (1948), I'm extremely surprised he's listed so far down ('Stoker Snipes') in the end credits. Can't quite work that one out.

Excellent acting performances all round, although I think the statutory 'lovable clown' role (here, James Hayter as 'Able Seaman Higgins') often seen in this type of film can be sometimes a bit wearing and clichéd.

The paranoid claustrophobic role (here, Richard Attenborough as 'Stoker Snipes'), also somewhat clichéd, didn't quite work for me. After his heroic decision to stay down below, his claustrophobia seemed to disappear and was never again mentioned. Although Attenborough is deservedly appreciated as one of the great British actors, this disparity came over as somewhat confusing. Additionally, although his marital relationship was presented as similarly problematic to Lieutenant Commander Armstrong's (John Mills), not a lot was made of the connection.

Another frustration for me was Lieutenant Manson's (Nigel Patrick) illness. All-of-a-sudden he became ill, with no indication whatsoever as to what the problem may have been nor as to how/why he died with it.

The final frustration was the unsatisfactory ending. The impression was that the film perhaps ran out of funding, or it was deemed too long, or simply that a more suitable ending just couldn't be concocted. Either way, although the point was made (i.e. they weren't coming out alive), it did seem a bit of a 'cop-out'.

Nevertheless, overall, due to the acting and production values, I think the film deserves (for me) a 6.7 rating... which I'll round upwards to 7/10.

Morning Departure

[CinemaSerf · 7/10 · 5 February 2024]

This is quite an anxious wartime drama that goes some way to illustrating the perils faced by those in HM Submarine Service. John Mills is the captain "Armstrong" who takes his crew on a routine maritime patrol only for their gear to become ensnared in a mine cable. A suddens stop and reverse engines doesn't quite do the trick and to the bottom they go. Largely in one piece and not in such deep water, they are optimistic of rescue and, indeed, help arrives fairly sharpish allowing the first four of the twelve survivors to don their emergency gear and head to the surface. The sense of enclosure now builds as their air starts to thin, the first officer "Manson" (Nigel Patrick) becomes ill and we discover that "Snipe" (Richard Attenborough) only joined the service for the extra pay and he actually does suffer from claustrophobia. With four gone, its now the turn of the next four - but there is a snag. The damage from the explosion has ensured that these are the last four escape kits. A lottery needs to be held and that further raises the tension as those left behind will have to await the raising of the ship - and that's dependent on fair weather above! The story develops well here, with Mills (who did like snapping his fingers a lot in these roles!) working well with Patrick, an on form James Hayter as the cook and general dogsbody "Higgins" and Attenborough who really does present us with a plausible sensation of his panic at being shut up in this metal tube deep under the sea as well as the growing guilt he feels at the selfishness of his behaviour. The script marries a bit of dark humour with the accruing peril and Roy Baker keeps the pace taut for the duration of this rather more impactful story.

Submarine Trapped!

[boblipton · 7/10 · 30 October 2023]

John Mills is a submarine captain, ordered with his crew to take part in maneuvers. On their way to the site, they run into a mine and are sunk. After they settle at 15 fathoms, Mills and his XO are confident their absence will be noted, and they will be located and saved. As operations proceed, however, problems arise, leaving four of them trapped.

It's based on a stage play by Kenneth Woolard, and I can see it in my mind's eye, a one-set piece. Under the reliable Roy Ward Baker, it's opened up with a prologue showing us Mills wife, and later, unsleeping Bernard Miles, leading the rescue operation. At its core, we still get to see the four characters with increasing clarity: Mills, of course, his Number One, Nigel Patrick, stoker Richard Attenborough, who starts out panicky but grows up, and stalwart Able Seaman James Hayter. As the days pass and the characters become more than sketches, the potential tragedy becomes greater.

For those of us who have seen submarine-trapped-on-the-seabed movies from several eras, it's interesting to see the evolution in rescue technology.

A challenge that would daunt any captain

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 6 November 2015]

One of the finest and most realistic military dramas that ever came out of the English speaking cinema was Morning Departure about Captain John Mills on a British submarine that goes to the bottom, but intact. Mills faces a challenge that would daunt any captain in this drama keeping his crew together until rescue comes.

Some definite influence of In Which We Serve is present here as well, especially accented by the presence of Mills and Richard Attenborough in the cast. The submarine is based in a small English coastal town where the officers and crew live as well. The domestic scenes with some of them including Mills and wife Helen Cherry (who was Mrs. Trevor Howard in real life) are taken straight from In Which We Serve.

When disaster strikes the men with the exception of Attenborough behave like the professional sailors they are. Attenborough who volunteered for submarine duty because of the extra pay suffers from claustrophobia, carefully hidden except in a crisis it comes out. Eventually Attenborough proves to have the right stuff as well.

The film benefits from the highly realistic rescue scenes when the Navy learns of the disaster. It also benefits from the superb playing of Mills and the rest of the cast. No John Wayne heroics here, these are just ordinary people doing their jobs under extraordinary circumstances. Even Mills has some trouble keeping it together, but he does.

The ending is at once harrowing, intense, and sublime. It caps off a fine bit of motion picture film making that everyone associated with this film can be proud.

The technical aspect

[dukeb0y · 9/10 · 3 April 2017]

I am watching this movie with a 96 year old Royal Navy veteran.

Now, when the sub clears the bridge, ready to dive, the officer puts his foot on a lever. The lever closed the voice tubes. Now, in every American movie, we never see this. I wonder if our subs USED voice tubes or microphones. Or we just never showed it.

The sub was a T type.

Also, the chlorine gas was from sea water getting into the batteries.

Now, the movie was quite realistic, with a few quirks. The sub is reported overdue..... and then we cut to the guys on the sub waking up. I don't think they were knocked out for two hours.

Acting is excellent, and the sets are good for the budget. A nice realistic touch is when the men got into the 'gun hatch'. Clearly showed how cramped it was, and opening the valves. Nicely done.

Nine stars!

PS, the RN man was on the Trenchant, a British sub in WWII. He had quite an adventure.

A film very close to Home

[dlg0179 · 10/10 · 7 July 2020]

I managed to track the film down on DVD a few years ago. Never tire of it. Although loosely based on the HMS Truculent sinking, it is VERY close to the HMS Thetis disaster of June 1939 which occurred in Liverpool bay. Due to the a tiny blockage in the test tube which tells if a tube is full of water or dry, the number 5 tube door was actually open to the sea and the forward torpedo room was flooded. Only 4 men managed to escape from a compliment of 104 and 99 perished. The sub was salvaged and beached nearby where many bodies were removed, she was then refloated and dry docked in our home town of Holyhead, where the rest of the men were recovered, having been on board for some five months. My father recalls the funerals of many as he lived opposite the cemetery where many lie today. I often think of the final scene of the film being so very like what it would have been like on board, with hope fading as quickly as the air supply. The failure to raise the sub is accurately portrayed and has often led to speculation that in order to help the crew escape would have meant cutting into the hull and with war declared, the crew were less valuable than the submarine.

"How men should behave "

[tomsview · 8/10 · 12 February 2017]

I always found this well-made film quite depressing. There is much to admire, but I think you have to be in the mood for it.

Although it is set after WW2, I always think of it as part of that group of British war films made during the 1950s: 'Reach for the Sky", "The Cruel Sea", "The Dam Busters" etc.

Growing up in the 50's, I remember them well. They had a different vibe to the typical Hollywood war films; a sense of discipline and sacrifice always came through. The music alone was distinctive with scores by the best British composers – nearly always conducted by Muir Mathieson. You could tell from the opening bars that it was a British film.

They featured familiar actors who appeared in film after film. "Morning Departure" would be hard to beat for familiar faces: John Mills, Nigel Patrick, Kenneth More, Richard Attenborough, Bernard Lee, George Cole, Victor Maddern, even Michael Caine in an uncredited role as Teaboy.

"Morning Departure" is the fictional story of the sinking of HMS Trojan, a submarine on a routine patrol. We get a little background on the Captain, Lt. Commander Peter Armstrong (John Mills) and a few of the crew.

When the sub meets with an accident, the story concentrates on 12 survivors who are trapped in a small section of the sub. The feeling of claustrophobia is palpable. They expect a rescue mission to be launched, but they only have a limited number of escape vests – the crux of the story is how these men from various levels of British society behave under great stress.

The famous British stiff upper lip was in evidence in just about all those films of the 1950's, but especially so in "Morning Departure".

The interesting thing was that the audience readily accepted the calm stoicism shown by the fictional Commander Armstrong and the crew. That's because the Royal Navy had built up so much equity in the tradition of grace under pressure.

There were plenty of examples in the war just fought, but one only needs to look to the wreck of HMS Birkenhead in 1852 to see the full flower of a tradition that probably even predates that episode.

"Morning Departure" is a sad story ultimately made bearable by the uplifting spirit of the doomed men.

James A Michener once wrote (of those British soldiers and sailors on the Birkenhead), "This, after all, is the way men should behave in time of peril at sea".

I'm keeping my head above water.

[mark.waltz · 9/10 · 2 August 2022]

For those who suffer from claustrophobia, this could easily be considered a horror film. Imagining being trapped at the bottom of the sea in a submarine is a nightmare for even non-claustrophobes, and the rescue mission is fraught with major tension while below in the sub, tensions arise as a frantic situation turns even the strongest men into weepy, desperate quivering children. Captain John Mills and his assistant, Nigel Patrick, have their hands full, and they have to keep control, admonishing panicking sailors at one point then switching to kindness and understanding as they too feel the tensions.

One of the best British films I'd never heard of, this has an ensemble of some of the greatest British stars of the time, including one (Michael Caine) who would go onto superstardom after more than a decade in minor roles. Another featured player (Richard Attenborough) rose to legendary status as an Oscar winning director and beloved character actor, and within a few years of this, was a popular leading man as well, at least in England.

This film will grip the viewer almost immediately as it jumps right into the desperate situation, yet allows the script to develop some very interesting characters, from the leads down to those who barely have any lines. The people below and above might not always get along, especially in the most tense moments, but their mission is clear. Not only their survival, but the survival of everyone who can be saved. This certainly deserves honors for its ensemble, script, set direction and photography, and for modern audiences, it's as exciting as "The Hunt for the Red October", even without all the special effects.

Waiting to live, waiting to die

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 4 June 2023]

Without having already seen the movie or having read what it's about, an astute viewer can easily guess which characters will remain trapped in the submarine when this British naval flick ends. Mostly because the storytellers focus on only a few of the men at the beginning, showing them interact with their wives and other assorted loved ones.

The early domestic scenes depict how relatively happy they are, balancing home life with a career at sea. They will "survive" longest on screen, because when the bulk of the story takes place on the sub, they are the characters who get most of the dialogue and screen time.

I think it would have been better if one of the top name stars left the story halfway through the picture, as one of the men who escaped death. To ensure adequate screen time, he could have gone up during the initial rescue efforts, then remained on board the other ship when efforts had to be abandoned later due to the weather. Then, we would have seen what it was like for one man to face grave danger, escape, but then deal with losing his coworkers at the end.

The way it is told, we only get reaction shots from the rescue crew. They are such negligible characters with no real emotional connection to the ones who'll die, that the film loses some of its power in the last part.

We do get a sense of who the men are that remain inside the sub; we get an overall idea of who they are as men; and we come to know their limitations as well as their bravery. But the storyline is a bit too predictable, despite the stellar acting; and the grimness of the closing shot is almost heavy-handed. To balance out the morbid ending, there should have been one whose story we followed all the way through, that made it to the other side as a survivor.

The actor who steers the drama is John Mills, who turns in one of his best performances. He is cast as the lieutenant commander who must make difficult decisions, and nobody envies what he has to do. After their sub is damaged by an exploding magnetic mine they've run across, Mills must take decisive action to protect the crew who weren't immediately killed and are now hunkered down in airtight quarters.

While waiting for help, one important decision is which men should leave the sub first. Mills doesn't give orders or take any volunteers. Instead he asks the men to draw cards, aces high, to determine who goes and who stays. During these scenes, there is fine acting by Mr. Mills' costar Richard Attenborough who portrays a stoker with mental issues. Attenborough draws a low card and is not allowed to leave, which triggers an outburst from him. He is quickly subdued, though he is now considered a threat to everyone.

As the story continues, Attenborough redeems himself by helping a first lieutenant (Nigel Patrick) who is suffering from recurring malaria and has trouble breathing in the confined quarters. Patrick's illness brings out the nurse maid in Attenborough which gives Attenborough a renewed sense of purpose. The writing doesn't exactly head into homoerotic territory, but Attenborough spends a lot of time touching and tending Patrick, revealing a strong bond between the two men.

During the scenes that follow, they all demonstrate patience while the rescue crew works to save them. Attenborough and Patrick bond not only with each other, but also with Mills, as well as the other man still down there-- a low-class seaman (James Hayter) who provides some needed comic relief. During moments when they eat, drink and deal cards, the four men learn more about each others' respective backgrounds. When Patrick dies, they try to put what's happened into perspective.

The film's screenplay is based on a hit play that was filmed by the BBC for television in the late 1940s, when television was still a new entertainment medium. MORNING DEPARTURE was a hit on stage, a hit on TV, and an even bigger hit in movie theaters. Director Roy Ward Baker had previously collaborated with John Mills on the classic noir THE OCTOBER MAN in 1947; Baker would direct Mills a few more times in the 1960s, as well as for a TV movie in the 1980s. But despite this being for all intents and purposes a John Mills film, a lot of the best bits belong to Richard Attenborough who is allowed to develop his character more than Mills and the others.

The final scene is a somber one. The three "survivors" realize it is Sunday morning. Mills reads aloud from a prayer book. Sitting together in the confined, claustrophobic space they inhabit together, they realize that rescue efforts have completely stopped due to bad weather. They are now living the last moments of their lives. There is nothing really hopeful as the camera pulls back and the image blurs into a memory. But we are expected to admire their courage and stoic attitude.