The Cruel Sea
The Cruel Sea, WWII Movie starring Jack Hawkins
(1953) At the beginning of World War II a Royal Navy Commander takes charge of a ship of inexperienced cremen. This British film is based on the 1951 novel The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat, a writer who actually did serve as a naval officer during the war.
The ship tangles with U-boats, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. I have read that the book more brutally details what the seamen went through and is considered to be a classic of that genre. There is even a book called The Cruel Sea Retold: The Truth Behind Monsarrat’s Epic Convoy Drama that tells about the history which inspired the book.
I enjoyed getting to know the characters although I must admit I sometimes wasn’t sure who was whom. Thank goodness the Commander (Jack Hawkins) calls his first Lieutenant “Number One.” About two thirds of the way I was tempted to fast forward. I did not.
