Best Movies by Farr
In the Navy pt. 2
Now comes my final installment of Navy films which float my boat, with all titles readily available on DVD.
In Which We Serve (1942): With Britain in the pit of the Second War, playwright Noel Coward was desperate to develop a morale-boosting film, and this was the result. Based on the wartime exploits of his friend Lord Mountbatten, co-director/writer Coward plays Captain Edward Kinross, commander of the destroyer HMS Torrin, sunk by the Nazis. As Kinross and his small crew cling to a raft in hope of rescue, we experience the lives of each survivor via flashback; notably, Kinross himself and one Seaman Shorty Blake (Mills). With Coward at the helm as writer, star and score composer, David Lean handling most of the direction and future director Ronald Neame the cinematography, the result is one of Britain’s very finest war films.
Destination Tokyo (1943): Still smarting from the Pearl Harbor attack and subsequent Japanese victories, seasoned submarine captain Cassidy (Cary Grant) helps the allies go on the offensive in the Pacific in the thick of the Second World War. His daring mission: to plant his sub right smack in Tokyo Bay, get a landing party ashore, and bring back intelligence vital to the success of a major upcoming air engagement. Notwithstanding some explicit anti-Japanese sentiment, crew rough-housing and sappy longings for home, “Destination” stands as a first rate propaganda picture. Cassidy’s tender thoughts of his wife and son served then as a potent reminder of what we were fighting for. And the movie only improves the closer we get to Japan, and the outcome of the sub’s perilous assignment.
The Cruel Sea (1953): In the Royal Navy’s merchant fleet during World War II’s crucial Battle of the North Atlantic, the seasoned Captain Ericson (Hawkins) takes command of a convoy escort vessel dubbed “Compass Rose.” His crew is less than ideal, with a largely incompetent first lieutenant (Stanley Baker) holding a large chip on his shoulder, bullying green cadets Lockhart and Ferraby (Donald Sinden and John Stratton). Ericson’s charge is challenging and thankless: to transform his men into a solid fighting team, while avoiding the German U-Boats on the look-out for their ship. With a literate, nuanced script by Eric Ambler, this war film is distinguished by the stunning work of Hawkins as Ericson, patiently but firmly coalescing an inexperienced, fractionated group of young men into a proficient crew.
Run Silent, Run Deep (1958): In veteran director Robert Wise’s tense, trim “Run,” an aging but vigorous Clark Gable plays Commander Richardson, a career Navy officer who wrangles one last submarine command a year after his last sub was torpedoed in Japan’s perilous Bungo Straits. His second in command is Lt. Jim Bledsoe (Burt Lancaster) who’d been in line to helm the sub. Crew unrest grows as Richardson drills the crew mercilessly on maneuvers (“Dive! Dive!”), and it dawns on Bledsoe that Richardson intends to bend his orders to pursue the infamous Japanese destroyer that slammed him before. “Run” remains not only a riveting war film, but one of mega-star Gable’s last shining moments.
Damn The Defiant (1962): Lewis Gilbert’s overlooked British entry fires on all cylinders. Set during the Napoleonic Wars at the end of the 18th century, Captain Crawford (Alec Guinness) runs a tight ship, the H.M.S Defiant. What the fair-minded Crawford doesn’t count on is his new second-in-command, First Lieutenant Scott-Padget (Dirk Bogarde) a young martinet-in-the-making with friends in high places. The cruel Padget undermines Crawford’s more humane instincts, turning the crew into a mutinous horde. Meanwhile, there’s a war on, and French ships to sink. Director Gilbert shows a sure hand here and the denouement is worth waiting for, with stunning color footage recreating these beautiful ships in full battle mode.
The Hunt For Red October (1990): When a Russian nuclear sub goes off its intended course and heads for the United States, CIA analyst Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) must decipher whether the crew’s intention is to attack America or stage a mass defection. With only Soviet captain Marko Ramius (Sean Connery) knowing the answer, tension mounts on both sides until the nail-biting finish. The first and best of the Tom Clancy film adaptations, “Hunt” is a sharp, nerve-jangling doomsday thriller. With the peerless Connery joined by Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, James Earl Jones, and Sam Neill (particularly good here as Ramius’s loyal second-in-command), and directed by John McTiernan, “Red October” delivers high-octane, high testosterone adventure, packed with stars we know and love.
