Bob-45 THIS gets a 6.4 rating? A potentially taught true story with "A" list leads, bad "B" movie production values and turgid direction? Van Heflin and Charles Laughton were "A" list stars in 1960. Both put in fine performances, though Heflin should have at least made a go at a German accent. In fact, none of the Germans speak German or with an accent, all of the signs in German headquarters are in English, there is not even a shaky camera to suggest ship movement, virtually all of the action footage is stock. Even the editing is so indifferent a key subplot appears to be part of another movie. Want to see a good "cat and mouse" Naval war picture? Watch "The Enemy Below". Need an insomnia cure? Watch "Under 10 Flags".I give "Under 10 Flags" a "4".

triumph-tsx Rarely seen like it's subject matter, a film whose story is well told and a world away from the child-like American war epics released later in that decade. The surface raider Atlantis was perhaps the most successful of it's type preying upon merchant shipping destined for Great Britain and her allies. The performances top-to-bottom are splendid although the silent scenes at the German Atlantic Naval Headquarters in Paris ratchet up the tension like little else on celluloid-more so because of it's being based on truth. Superior to naval films both those that came before and after it because it's story is so compelling, true and hardly known. There are no sides to be taken and yet one wishes both sides well in this game of naval chess. Indeed, the captain of the merchant ship Abdullah who -in war circumstances would be considered a hero- comes out as the only villain of the piece. That the Germans mostly all speak with American accents is forgotten easily in the action and minor characters are well-sketched by their players. There is none of the John Wayne -machismo and black and white simplicity that makes most war films loud but laughable but rather admiring the quiet professionalism of sailors at war- highly recommended, indeed !

opet Sadly, this movie has not been commercially available for many years. It is story about a rarely mentioned weapon of WWII, the German Surface Raider. They were ordinary merchant ships lined with amour plating and medium-sized navel guns. Unlike the famous U-boats which could hide beneath the sea, Surface Raiders relied on disguise to blend in with normal shipping traffic until they could find a lone ship they could surprise and sink.This is the story of the hunt to find and destroy the best of them, the ship Atlantis. It is a story of bravery and ingenuity on both sides as the British Admiralty is caught up in a vast game of hide-n-seek with a clever adversary.I choose to write this review largely because I have, over the years read a few rather poor opinions expressed about it. I can't wait for it to reappear somewhere, someday. My only explanation as to why someone who is a fan of naval war films would not thoroughly enjoy this one is the fact that the last three times I saw it over fifteen years ago the reels of the movie were in the wrong order! (I swear). That dampens the suspense considerably and gives it a very muddled, confused look. But even mixed up it beats a lot of movies I've seen.

bikerbob75 Under Ten Flags..Is in my opinion one of the best acted and directed movies dealing with world war II. It depicts a man's duty to country.. his personal honor to himself in up-holding honest and humanitarian beliefs even when required to do his duty and kill the enemy. The lead is by veteran actor Van Heflin.,who plays the captain of the German Raider "Atlantis".,this is based on a true story and facts of the german surface raider "Pacas" during world war two. This type of war movie needs to be returned to the screen to show our younger generation that although war is brutal and even unavoidable man can still win or lose with dignity and honour. I would like to see this movie made available on Video and returned to TV.