Your favourite Maritime Movies

I have a couple I haven't seen on this thread yet-"A Night to Remember" from the '50s has always been a favorite of mine, as is the old "Titanic" (black and white). The one I'm really surprised I haven't seen yet is "Stand By For Action", a black and white film from 1942 about flush deck destroyers.  I saw it on TCM last Veteran's Day and it is still very good, although a bit bizarre in spots.  It stars Robert Taylor, Charles Laughton, and, in a truly touching performance, the great Walter Brennan as Chief Yeoman Henry Johnson. It centers around an old mothballed four stacker called into service following Pearl Harbor.  Brennan is an old retired Navy man now living on board her and serving as her caretaker, and his love for his ship (he's a plank owner) is flawlessly delivered. The ship is refurbished and sent to escort convoys in the South Pacific, where they rescue a lifeboat full of babies and two pregnant nurses.  In a bizzare scene the sailors erect a canvas "playpen" on the fantail of the ship (they fear the Admiral (Laughton) will see the babies and be angry).  One of the babies does escape and is spotted by the Admiral, who, for some reason, mistakes it for a pig and becomes furious at the "pig" running around the deck!  Then, of course, a pesky Japanese battleship shows up (alone) and is promptly sent to the bottom by a four stack destroyer...

Lots of great on deck scenes, but very few scenes of a real four stacker at sea from a distance-most are models or matte paintings, for some reason.  Well worth watching if you can find it. Not available on VHS or DVD as far as I know, although I did tape it myself on VHS.  Also, there was a very good TNT movie a few years ago about the Civil War Confederate submarine "Hunley."  "Apocalypse Now" with its PBR scenes is also very good.

U-571 (innacurate as it may be) and Master and Commander.

-Red

jtilley wrote:

Well, I added one to my personal list early this morning:  Tugboat Annie, from 1933.  (TCM aired it from 2:00 to 3:30.)  It's a comedy, based on a series of short stories that ran in The Saturday Evening Post.  The plot is harmless, rather childish silliness (with a really hammy performance by Wallace Beery, and an unbelievably young Robert Young as the romantic lead), but there are some really nice scenes of thirties-vintage tugboats, liners, freighters - and, in the first few minutes, a beautiful three-masted topsail schooner.  Some interesting on-board shots of the tug, too. Another good tugboat movie:  The Key, starring William Holden, Sophia Loren (!) and Trevor Howard.  Directed by the great Carol Reed and based on a novel by the fine Dutch seaman/novelist Jan de Hartog, it's about British salvage tug captains - and their somewhat spooky girlfriend - during WWII.  Pretty terrific scenes of tugs and merchant vessels - and British submarines masquerading (not very effectively) as U-boats.  The DVD & Video Guide 2006 gives it two and a half stars (a little harsh, in my opinion), and describes it as "a strange, moody curio."  It turns up on TCM occasionally.

You might also like to get some of the Para Handy (of 'Vital Spark' fame) films that were done as a series in the UK some time ago, and of course, a close associate of Tugboat Annie is Colin Glencannon of Guy Gilpatrick......

My favorites have to be:

1. The Enemy Below

2. Master & Commander

3. Wake of the Red Witch

4. Bedford Incident

Down Periscope...

"Well, no offense to the U.S.S. RustOleum here, but I'd be better off in the Merrimac!!!

Tora Tora Tora is my favorite even though the good guys get their butts kicked.

Master and Commander was great along with The Bounty. I also kind of dig the galley scenes in Ben-Hur and The Vikings with Kirk Douglas is the best viking ship movie. 

Well, I added one to my personal list early this morning:  Tugboat Annie, from 1933.  (TCM aired it from 2:00 to 3:30.)  It's a comedy, based on a series of short stories that ran in The Saturday Evening Post.  The plot is harmless, rather childish silliness (with a really hammy performance by Wallace Beery, and an unbelievably young Robert Young as the romantic lead), but there are some really nice scenes of thirties-vintage tugboats, liners, freighters - and, in the first few minutes, a beautiful three-masted topsail schooner.  Some interesting on-board shots of the tug, too.

Another good tugboat movie:  The Key, starring William Holden, Sophia Loren (!) and Trevor Howard.  Directed by the great Carol Reed and based on a novel by the fine Dutch seaman/novelist Jan de Hartog, it's about British salvage tug captains - and their somewhat spooky girlfriend - during WWII.  Pretty terrific scenes of tugs and merchant vessels - and British submarines masquerading (not very effectively) as U-boats.  The DVD & Video Guide 2006 gives it two and a half stars (a little harsh, in my opinion), and describes it as "a strange, moody curio."  It turns up on TCM occasionally.

"Left in charge of an unimportant naval base without a commanding officer, junior officer Peter Sellers turns it into a fountain for personal money-making schemes."

Hmmmm...Sounds a lot like the plot of "McHale's Navy" ( TV series ) to me.

I must admit, I'm a little surprised nobody has mentioned Perfect Storm, Jaws or The Poseidon Adventure.

Personally, I'd go with Master and Commander and The Hunt for Red October as my favorites.

Surfaceline - I do believe you got it!  And it is in the book; my middle-aged eyes simply missed it. 

Here's the plot summary:  "Left in charge of an unimportant naval base without a commanding officer, junior officer Peter Sellers turns it into a fountain for personal money-making schemes.  Dryly funny British farce with a plethora of amusing supporting players.  DIR: Val Guest.  CAST:  Peter Sellers, David Tomlinson, Wilfrid Hyde-White [aka Colonel Pickering in My Fair Lady], Vera Day, Lionel Jeffries,  1958."  The book gives it four stars out of a possible five.

Looks as if that would be "Up the Creek" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052343/plotsummary)

 With IMDB, having  the actor's name is just about all you need.  :-)

thunder 1 - Your description of that British movie rings a faint bell.  I think I saw it on TV once, a very long time ago.  I don't remember the title, but I believe Peter Sellers was in it.  I just looked him up in the "Cast List" section of a big, fat "DVD and Video Guide," but didn't see any titles under his name that matched the description.  But I think that book only covers movies that are available on DVD in the U.S. 

I may have missed it on this thread but PT-109 is a favorite of mine, I remember my Dad taking me to a late showing one summer's night in 1963, I felt all grown up going to a 9 pm movie. The acting was pretty good and I'm guessing the story line was pretty close to what really happened to Kennedy and his crew. Seeing the sitting President(with a child's view of the world) as a war hero in a movie was a big deal to me back in the day. Of couse today the same movie would probably dig up all the "dirt" and shortcomings on the President and turn the epic into some dark moody piece...

Hey all you British cousins out there....I recall a movie comedy involving an old British destroyer stuck in some backwater port that had been forgotten by the Admiralty. The crew sold off the engines, used the radar to pipe in cable TV to town, used the galley as the town bakery and the ships laundry as the town landrimat. Plus all the crewmen had taken jobs in town. Then a new CO arrives and the ranking Chief's rating keeps the CO at bay, sort of like our Sgt. Bilko. I may be a little fuzzy on the particulars, I saw the movie about 30+ years. Oh yeah, the new CO was big into rockets or something.  I thought it was a funny movie(yes I love English humor) can anyone recall the title. Cheerio!  

Das Boot!

Tachikawa

Thanks George - One learns something new everyday!

A quick "www.Dogpile.com" search revealed:

http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/108683/Sailor-of-the-King/overview

Jeffrey Hunter plays a young British sailor, the out-of-wedlock son of a high-ranking naval officer (Michael Rennie). Hunter's ship is torpedoed, leaving him stranded on a German-occupied island. Armed with only a rifle, Hunter is able to shoot at a German cruiser docked for repairs, and to slow down its departure. The British Navy then moves in and sinks the ship. Hunter is decorated for valor by the squadron commander--his own father. Though set during World War II, Sailor of the King was adapted from C. S. Forester's World War I novel Brown on Resolution (previously filmed in 1935, with John Mills in the lead). This 1953 20th Century-Fox production was released in Britain as Single Handed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Now I have to order a copy!

Your last reference to 'Brown on Resolution' has been touched on earlier in this thread.

'Sailor of the King' was based on the Forester book, but as with many film versions of books changes were made - time updated to Second world war (from first) and the viewer is given the choice of an alternative (happier) ending.

A largely  British cast but with Jeffrey Hunter as the main character (Albert Brown) - presumably to increase the international appeal of the film.

I like the film, and re-watched it on TV quite recently.

All Good Stuff:

My favourites:

Operation Pacific - John Wayne  WW11 pacific Subs

Caine Mutiny

The Cruel Sea

The Long Ships - Vikings at their best with Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier

Away All Boats

Das Boat

The Sea Chase - John Wayne again

They were Expendable

Operation Petticoat - funny

The series - Victory at Sea

Have to include Errol Flynn as the penultimate swashbuckler:

Captain Blood

The Seahawk

And Why has no one ever done a movie of "Brown on Resolution"?

ps1scw,

  Let me add my congratulations also.

Pete Juengst

ETC USN (RET)
 

ps1scw,

Congratulations on making Chief!

Bill Morrison

HMCS(SS) USN (Ret)

jtilley wrote:

I'm also a huge fan of The Sand Pebbles.  Quite apart from the wonderful shots of the reconstructed 1920s gunboat, I think it established Steve McQueen as a genuine great actor.  When people ask me to recommend movies about the American military in general, the first two I mention are Twelve O'Clock High for the officer experience and The Sand Pebbles as a study of what it means to be an enlisted man.  Unfortunately The Sand Pebbles seems to be largely forgotten these days.  I occasionally have groups of students over to the house to watch history-related movies; I've suggested this one several times and none of the students has ever heard of it.

Funny you mention those movies for Military Leadership.  We viewed clips of both of those movies during our First Class Petty Officer Leadership Classes in preparation for making Chief.

Master & Commander

&

The Bounty

As a submariner, I thought Crimson Tide was even more unrealistic than Midway.  The setting was supposed to be onboard an OHIO class Triident submarine; I served on two of that class; the movie setting bore no resemblance to any submarine I have ever seen. And, the very notion that any commanding officer can order those missiles fired is preposterous.  At least the story line in Midway was basically authentic, even if most of the scenes involving ships weren't.

Bill Morrison