Robert J. Maxwell I rather warmed to this movie at its very opening. The San Demetrio, a good-sized tanker, being in port, is a bit loosely run. Two officers sit at a table and crack open a bottle. A third junior officer enters the compartment and the others invite him to join them. "What? At this time of day? Thanks." Alas, today no more booze on British ships.It's 1940 and the San Demetrio loads up on oil at Galveston, Texas. Two new hands are hired, one a stereotypical bragging Texan. "I eat boatswains raw!" He shows up at the gangway drunk and is splashed with a bucket of water. He's a terrible actor but there are some familiar and reliable people in the cast: Mervyn Johns (aka Bob Cratchett in Alistair Sims' "Christmas Carol"), James Donald, Ralph Michael, and a youthful Gordon Jackson. Always nice to see old friends.On the return trip the San Demetrio runs into a German raider, is hit twice, set afire, and abandoned. You don't want to be aboard an oil tanker on fire. The lifeboat carrying the officers is picked up by another ship in the convoy but the enlisted men's boat is alone on the icy sea. They row until they're battered about, sick, and exhausted, and the next day find the San Demetrio, burning but still afloat. They board her and set about making the scorched and broken vessel seaworthy again.Admirable attention is paid to the details of the work. (How do you steer a ship towards home without a compass?) The snipes get their due. In its depiction of minor circumstantial demands, often dangerous, it reminds me a little of "The Wreck of the Mary Deare." The screenplay is original, not from a novel, and the writers knew the lingo. The San Demetrio is low in the water and a large wave sweeps over her stern. "That's what I call pooping," the chief yells out. He's right. The stern was, and sometimes still is, called the poop deck.The special effects are of the period. There is little drama -- a man dies and is buried at sea -- and what there is, is all the more effective. It's a modest tale of the gallantry in hard and skillful work and it's pretty good.

paulmeffin A very well made (especially for the period) war film. Though i'm not really gonna talk about how the film was made, other than it isn't flashy or fancy, just does a good job of telling a wonderful story. Based on the true story of how a Merchant Navy petrol tanker was abandoned and then re-boarded by some of her own crew.Also this is one of very few war films about the Merchant Navy (which suffered higher casualty and fatality rates than all the armed services), but it equally could be in peace time as only at the very start do you see Germans. Maybe thats why so few films were made about the Merchant Navy, whats a war film without some nasty Nazis in armbands with submachine guns running about and a few achtung minen signposts?Quite possibly the best thing I can say about this film is that after seeing this as a kid I wanted to join the Merchant Navy, and I did, and I'm training to be an Engineer Officer, as these film clearly shows engineers are brilliant and deckies useless.Engineers - 1, Deckies - 0.Paul.

bob the moo The San Demetrio is a tanker that is apart of an trans-Atlantic convoy travelling to England from the States. When the convoy is attacked by an U-boat their destroyer is sunk and the San Demetrio is damaged very badly and the crew abandon ship. All the life boats are picked up but one boat drifts and is lost. Weeks later the crew in the lifeboat come across a ship, only to find that the San Demetrio has survived despite burning badly. The crew re-board the ship but find that getting the fire out is only the first of the dangers they must overcome.I must have read the wrong synopsis when I thought of watching this film – I thought it was a standard action packed film where the crew of a tanker battle against the u-boat. Regardless of this, I was glad I watched it as it was different from the usual wartime propaganda in some ways and was quite enjoyable, if not thrilling. The plot shows the men battle through difficult conditions and being heroes without realy thinking of it – they were just doing their duty and being themselves. This message is still important today and is told in a low-key way with the need for action etc.However, being low-key means that not all the tension of them being on a burning ship (that could explode) comes through. Likewise the majority of the danger they face remains with them and I never felt gripped or on the edge of my seat – the most I could say is that it was interesting rather than involving. The cast do well despite the irritating addition of an American to the cast (yes, the studios have been doing it that long!), but this is a minor annoyance. The rest are all good British stiff upper lips regardless of class or rank.Overall this is an enjoyable little film but I wanted it to be as exciting on the screen as it could have been. Sadly the low-key nature of the film makes the tension turn into more interest than edge-of-seat tension.

derekparry The tale of tanker on a return trip to Galviston, Texas. It has a bit of a run in with a "Jerry" boat and the remainder of the film depicts the courage of the crew trying to keep things afloat. As the film was made during World War II the sentiments are entirely predictable/understandable.Gordon Jackson looks worryingly young and the Britishness of the movie is summed up when the Captain risks blowing up the boat for the sake of giving the crew a hot cup of tea.Don't expect anything too spectacular but enjoy a feelgood movie 1943 style.