The Silver Fleet (1943)

Directors:

Vernon Sewell
Gordon Wellesley

Writers:

Vernon Sewell (written by)
Gordon Wellesley (written by)

Release Date:

1 July 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

Jaap van Leyden is in charge of a shipyard in newly occupied Holland. At first he collaberates with...

Plot Keywords:

Patriotism

Cast

Ralph Richardson	...	Jaap van Leyden
Googie Withers	...	Helène van Leyden
Esmond Knight	...	Von Schiffer
Beresford Egan	...	Krampf
Frederick Burtwell	...	Captain Müller
Kathleen Byron	...	Schoolmistress
Willem Akkerman	...	Willem van Leyden
Dorothy Gordon	...	Janni Peters
Charles Victor	...	Bastiaan Peters
John Longden	...	Jost Meertens
Joss Ambler	...	Cornelis Smit
Margaret Emden	...	Bertha
George Schelderup	...	Dirk
Neville Mapp	...	Joop
Ivor Barnard	...	Admiral

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S | UK:U | Australia:G

Company:

Archers, The

Trivia:

This film's opening prologue is a quotation from writer John Webster (1580?-1634) from his play The Duchess of Malfi, Act IV, Scene 2 [See: The Duchess of Malfi (1938) (TV) ; The Duchess of Malfi (1972) (TV); Rehearsal: The Killings of Cariola (1992) & Hotel (2001)]. It states: "I know death hath ten thousand several doors. For men to take their exits."

Wartime propaganda at its finest

The Silver Fleet tends to get dismissed as a trivia question these days – what Archers film did Emeric Pressburger so dislike that he had his writing credit removed? – but it turns out to be a really superb WW2 propaganda picture that deserves to be much better known. A wonderfully charismatic Ralph Richardson stars as a Dutch shipyard owner who, inspired by historical hero Piet Hein, apparently collaborates with the Nazis, all the better to thwart their plans for the two submarines he's building there. The results are definitely a cut above the usual morale boosting efforts of the day. True, the Nazis are overstated caricatures, but Esmond Knight is fun as the lead foil and it's all directed with a tremendous visual sense by Vernon Sewell and Gordon Wellesley. There's ingenuity too, especially in the way 'Piet Hein' reveals a Quisling's identity without breaking his own cover, and the ending is genuinely quite moving. Highly recommended.