Leofwine_draca THE BEDFORD INCIDENT is a Cold War thriller like no other. It's set on an American destroyer sailing off the coast of Greenland and looks at the psychology of the dedicated, over-zealous captain leading the mission to hunt a Russian submarine. Richard Widmark has a long career of playing officers in war pictures but this is his most developed part, a study of a man for whom winning means everything.Sidney Poitier plays a writer who acts as the eyes and ears of the audience. What a refreshing change to see no mention made of his race; he's just an ordinary guy and it's a sign of the times that he was accepted as such by the men on the warship. Martin Balsam has a good role too as the ship's doctor with his own cross to bear.For the most part, THE BEDFORD INCIDENT is quite a slow-paced story with plenty of dialogue and just a few suspense sequences to keep the viewer absorbed. However, things begin to gel together more and more as the film goes on, leading to a wildly impressive climax that'll have your jaw dropping. It puts the rest of the movie into a different perspective, that's for sure. Watch out for a youthful Donald Sutherland playing one of the ship's medics.

secondtake The Bedford Incident (1965)A tightly focused moment in an imaginary cold war naval confrontation, the Incident in question is an example a small thing becoming a big one. This was the big fear in the Soviet/American nuclear buildup. Richard Widmark as the ship's captain is in a intense mode without the snarling excesses that made him a film noir staple. Martin Balsam as the newly arrived doctor, and Sydney Poitier as a congenial photographer both fill in roles of reason and normalcy--the you and me of the situation. And then there are the side characters, and the one impulsive moment that changes everything.It's hard to call this a great film. The pace and editing, the photography, and the acting are all first class, certainly. The writing on a broad level is fine, the concept in total. On the immediate level, the dialog is good with a slightly predictable edge to many lines. But it works overall, just not brilliantly. What holds it together for us is a sense of history--the very real fear of atomic annihilation--and it's a history that is thankfully starting to feel a little distant. Not that I think nuclear war is less likely now than then, but that this kind of war, with superpowers toe-to-toe at the brink, is no more. And so something the movie had then, the immediacy of pure terror, the walking out of the theater into the street and looking up with sweat at the sky, it doesn't have now. And it might need that to fully succeed.

screenman Released in 1965 at the height of the cold-war, this movie takes us on that one extra step.Richard Widmark plays the commander of an American surface warship out hunting for commie subs. He's the sort of maniac-in-authority who epitomised the worst nuclear nightmares. He's a hunter with a hunter's instinct. He would love to chalk-up a kill. And he hates the communists. It's a lethal psychology.Sydney Poitier is a visiting journalist. He's sailing with the ship at the navy's discretion, not at the captain's invitation. It's pretty evident that second only to commies, Widmark's character despises pacifist desk-jockeys.Theirs is an intimate and uncomfortable relationship.Eventually, they find a Russian submarine. They're in international waters so technically each is free to go where and as they please. Even if that means inconveniencing the other. A cat and mouse chase ensues. As time passes, the dangerous cocktail of the American commander's psychology tilts towards hunting rather than military discretion. His is the absolute right to command, and he gives the enemy no latitude.In his wildest imagination, the journalist can see where this must lead, but things can surely never arrive at that point - can they? These are war games, and he's bluffing - right? He's the commander, with absolute power, but naval authorities don't give a maniac that much authority - do they? No they don't. But appointments can never ultimately evaluate psychology. People change over time. And they react to the moment.A point is reached when the hunting instinct takes precedence over all else. An emotional switch that was never anticipated or it was always supposed would yield to discretion and responsible command is thrown in the single-minded resolve to beat the enemy.It's a nice tense thriller after the fashion of 'The Enemy Below' but without the Russian perspective. For that, Poitier is obliged to act as devil's advocate, which makes him even less endearing to the commander. Widmark does the 'unhinged' thing so well it is surprising that he didn't feature as a really bad guy more often. Poitier is still at his strongest and makes a very commanding if thoughtful presence. One or two other stalwarts also catch the eye, like Martin Balsam. Some of the location shots are showing their age a bit now, but the drama and antagonism keep the movie running at flank speed.Despite their colossal budgets, special-effects, and greater attention to detail, modern cold-war dramas never seem to capture that essential paranoia of the time. Perhaps economy of scale suits the genre best. I recently watched 'Crimson Tide', and although it contained a number of similarities - not least of which were black and white antagonists in the leading roles, and a do-or-die commander just itching for a scrap - I couldn't help but feel that whereas Widmark and Poitier were starring actors selected to tell a story; Crimson Tide was as much a vehicle to advertise Denzel Washington's and Gene Hackman's stellar status. It's a small shift in emphasis, but that's how it seemed to me.Watch 'The Bedford Incident' if you get the chance. It may not be the best cold-war movie, but it'll hold you attention right readily.

writers_reign This is another take on the cat-and-mouse war games that was kick-started by The Enemy Below. The twist is that this time the U-boat commander is on the bridge of the American destroyer in an advisory capacity at the invitation of skipper Richard Widmark. Widmark just knows there's a Soviet sub down there somewhere and damned if he isn't going to wait it out whatever it takes. Instead of a full-on chase the screenplay carefully filters the action through the eyes of two newcomers who join the ship via helicopter whilst it is in mid voyage; Sydney Poitier is an eminent photo-journalist assigned to do a magazine story on Widmark whilst Martin Balsam is the new ship's doctor. All four are on top of their game and Wally Cox scores in a rare dramatic role although James McArthur is slightly wooden. With no 'action' in the accepted sense until the final reel the film holds the attention by simply racking up the tension. Excellent.