Set in Holland during the German occupation and produced by Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, who had already shown the bravery of the Dutch resistance, ably led by Googie Withers, in "One of Our Aircraft is Missing". This time Ralph Richardson is shipbuilder Jaap van Leyden, Googie Withers is his loyal wife and Esmond Knight is von Schiffer, the Gestapo officer in charge of security at the shipyard.
Two submarines under construction are to be finished for the Germans who first, by one means or another, need to obtain the co-operation of the workforce. Van Leyden agrees to stay at the helm, earning the hatred of the town as a Quisling, but with the aim of secretly organising resistance. The first submarine is hijacked by the Dutch workers, who sail it to England. With the second, the Germans will allow no Dutchman on its first sea trial except their trusted van Leyden, who has invited various German VIPs. With a hidden bomb, he sends the submarine, himself and all the Germans to the bottom. So secret was his plan that only after his death does his wife discover his heroic role.
Technically, the film is well shot, giving you the feel of a little town on the North Sea and of the shipyard which is its main business. Its message is very simple: that if you love your country, you must be ready to die for it. The telling of the story is more complex, as the many German characters are shown as humans, not caricatures, who bear no particular ill will to their Dutch neighbours but exhibit just enough insensitivity and arrogance to make you eventually loathe them.
Recommended for the atmosphere of the community under repressive occupation, for the deadly cat and mouse game played by van Leyden and for the huge dignity and courage imparted to the role by the masterful Ralph Richardson.
Two submarines under construction are to be finished for the Germans who first, by one means or another, need to obtain the co-operation of the workforce. Van Leyden agrees to stay at the helm, earning the hatred of the town as a Quisling, but with the aim of secretly organising resistance. The first submarine is hijacked by the Dutch workers, who sail it to England. With the second, the Germans will allow no Dutchman on its first sea trial except their trusted van Leyden, who has invited various German VIPs. With a hidden bomb, he sends the submarine, himself and all the Germans to the bottom. So secret was his plan that only after his death does his wife discover his heroic role.
Technically, the film is well shot, giving you the feel of a little town on the North Sea and of the shipyard which is its main business. Its message is very simple: that if you love your country, you must be ready to die for it. The telling of the story is more complex, as the many German characters are shown as humans, not caricatures, who bear no particular ill will to their Dutch neighbours but exhibit just enough insensitivity and arrogance to make you eventually loathe them.
Recommended for the atmosphere of the community under repressive occupation, for the deadly cat and mouse game played by van Leyden and for the huge dignity and courage imparted to the role by the masterful Ralph Richardson.