Malta Story (1953)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Brian Desmond Hurst

Writers:

Nigel Balchin (screenplay)
Peter De Sarigny (idea)

Release Date:

5 August 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | War

Plot:

In 1942 Britain was clinging to the island of Malta since it was critical to keeping Allied supply lines open...

Plot Keywords:

Malta | WWII

Cast

Alec Guinness	...	Flight Lt. Peter Ross
Jack Hawkins	...	Air CO Frank
Anthony Steel	...	Wing Cmdr Bartlett
Muriel Pavlow	...	Maria Gonzar
Renée Asherson	...	Joan Rivers (as Renee Asherson)
Hugh Burden	...	Eden, Security
Nigel Stock	...	Giuseppe Gonzar aka Ricardi
Reginald Tate	...	Vice Adm Payne
Ralph Truman	...	Vice Adm Willie Banks
Flora Robson	...	Melita Gonzar, Maria's Mum

Runtime:

UK:103 min | USA:97 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:U | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #17089, General Audience) | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Malta

Company:

British Film-Makers

Trivia:

First feature of Lee Patterson.

Ultra significant war movie

It is a gripping story that is told about the efforts made to make use of that stationary aircraft carrier in the middle of the Atlantic. It is also poignant that Alec Guinness should play the part of a reconnaissance pilot because it is just this ruse that the British used to pretend that they hadn't broken the Italian and German ciphers thus enabling them to sink all the Gerry troop ships and always be just in time everywhere.

A lame performance by the cast is diverted by the backdrop of a desperate situation on a tiny island that has been invaded by every great power since anyone can remember. If Ultra hadn't done it stuff these people would have been run over even though the Axis forces would have lost the war in the long run.