Production The Cruel Sea (1953 film)

1 production

1.1 casting
1.2 filming
1.3 editing
1.4 ships

production
casting

although role of cowardly officer bennett australian in book, englishman donald sinden screen-tested part , welshman stanley baker screen-tested part of lockhart. subsequently, @ jack hawkins suggestion , after further screen-tests, roles swapped.

filming

the film shot on location in plymouth naval dockyard , english channel. scenes showing sailors in water shot in open-air water-tank @ denham studios. other work completed @ ealing studios.

donald sinden (playing lockhart) suffered in real life negative buoyancy, meaning unable float or swim in water, discovered while filming sequence when ship compass rose sinking. co-star jack hawkins (playing ericson) saved him drowning in denham s open-air water-tank.

evacuation of ship first scene shot in tank, acre in size, 10 feet deep , contained 2 giant wave-making machines , aeroplane propeller had fire-hose aimed @ create spray. whole crew jump on side – great stuntman frankie howard top of superstructure. first assistant director, norman priggen, came me , asked can swim? no said. ok, jump there , showed me position furthest bank. reasoned possibly shallow end. night cold , cast , crew shivered waited sea become rough enough: , action! ran side, climbed , jumped flexed knees expecting land in 3 feet of water. down went... others arrived safely @ bank , thank god, jack heard ask s donald? dived in again , pulled me out in time. transpired first thought had been joking when said couldn t swim! had 5 times, me in different position now. shot, leading players required swim past camera in close-up. action! jack hawkins swam past – long gap – , denholm elliott... donald didn t see you, lets again said director. jack – gap – denholm... swimming past but, camera operator chic waterson spotted – underwater. answer frankie howard (the stuntman) take enormous breath , swim breaststroke under surface, me lying on simulating crawl. if see – compared others – out of water!

editing

the traumatic scene in film occurs after submarine has caused havoc convoy , asdic (sonar detector) reveals beneath group of british sailors struggling in water, hoping rescued. ericson, faced appalling choice, drops depth charges destroy enemy kill countrymen. yet professionalism human being , later gets paralytically drunk , bares feelings lockhart. jack hawkins, moved situation, delivered fitting emotional performance , @ end of scene tears rolling down face. 2 days later, after seeing cut together, michael balcon asked charles frend re-shoot hawkins keeping grip on himself. played way , balcon pronounced absolutely perfect. 2 days later, after viewing, decided little emotion needed after all; scene re-shot odd tear or 2 , again verdict was dead right. hawkins amused note in final version of film, original first take used.

in second autobiography, donald sinden wrote:

editor, peter tanner, showed me clip of film in compass rose sailing left right across screen. now, shot need show ship returning liverpool – ship going wrong way. asked him meant , said eye of viewer accepts travelling left right going away home, going right left returning home. shall reverse piece of film , ship going in required direction .

ships

compass rose portrayed flower-class corvette hms coreopsis (k32). admiralty had disposed of wartime corvettes, coreopsis located in malta 1 of film s technical advisers, capt. jack broome dsc rn (who had been escort commander of ill-fated convoy pq 17). coreopsis had been loaned hellenic navy , renamed kriezis, , awaiting tow england , breaker s yard. compass rose carries pennant number k49 , in reality number of hms crocus.

saltash castle portrayed castle-class corvette hms portchester castle, pennant f362, in film. although had been paid off in 1947, held in reserve until broken in 1958, , made available use in film.

(in book, new ship replaced compass rose fictional river-class frigate hms saltash. these ships larger castle-class corvettes, had been paid off or sold abroad when film made. however, in 1954 recommissioned royal canadian navy river-class frigate hmcs new glasgow made available play fictional hms rockhampton in john wayne film sea chase.) in film, when boarding new ship, characters of ericson , lockhart remark neither of them have heard of castle in saltash – in reality there no such thing, although there number of fortifications in local area.

both ships based in plymouth, plymouth sound standing in river mersey. scenes of ships @ sea filmed in english channel out of sight of land. these coastal waters , summer shooting schedule meant sea calm portray conditions on atlantic in winter, ships taken portland race. although couple of miles offshore, number of conflicting tidal streams , sandbank provide predictable, albeit dangerous, large waves , disturbed sea. ships deliberately avoid portland race compass rose taken straight through during peak of tide required shots.