We Dive at Dawn (1943)

Director:

Anthony Asquith

Writers:

J.B. Williams (story) and
Val Valentine (story)

Release Date:

20 May 1943 (UK)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War

Plot:

All leave is canceled so that a British submarine can be sent after a new German warship. They chase it so far that they have no fuel to get home.

Plot Keywords:

Submarine | Machine Gun | Tommy Gun | WWII

Cast

John Mills	...	Captain - Lt. Taylor, R.N.
Louis Bradfield	...	First Officer - Lt. Brace, R.N.R.
Ronald Millar	...	Third Officer - Lt. Johnson, RNVR
Jack Watling	...	Navigating Officer - Lt. Gordon, R.N.
Reginald Purdell	...	Coxwain - C / P.O. Dabbs
Caven Watson	...	Chief Engine Room Artificer - C / P.O. Duncan
Niall MacGinnis	...	Torpedo Gunner's Mate - C / P.O. Mike Corrigan
Eric Portman	...	On Hydrophones - L / S. Hobson
Leslie Weston	...	Leading Torpedo Operator - L / S Tug Wilson
Norman Williams	...	Periscope Operator - 'Canada'
Lionel Grose	...	Torpedo Operator - 'Spud'
David Peel	...	Helmsman - 'Oxford'
Philip Godfrey	...	Steward - 'Flunkey'
Robb Wilton	...	Cook - 'Pincher' (as Robert Wilton)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono (British Acoustic)

Certification:

Finland:S | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Gaumont-British Studios, Lime Grove, Shepherd's Bush, London, England, UK

Company:

Gainsborough Pictures

Trivia:

Germany built 4 "Brandenburg"-class battleships, but *none* of them ever saw service during WWII.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The sub is submerged, the Captain is using the periscope to view a target. He then orders a 15 degree turn, but the Captain continues to view the target without moving the periscope to adjust for the turn.

Quotes:

[LS Hobson volunteers to go ashore on a dangerous mission]
Lt. Freddie Taylor: [worried] You realize, Hobson, that if you're caught in a German uniform, then it *won't* just be a question being *taken prisoner*-!
On Hydrophones - L: There's nobody to cry for *me*, sir.

Movie Connections:

Featured in A Personal History of British Cinema by Stephen Frears (1997) (TV)

Patrolling The Baltic

Some inferior production values hamper the enjoyment of We Dive At Dawn. As Americans we can get a big jaded in terms of the better facilities we had. On the other hand our's in Hollywood weren't under attack and the story is a competent one.

We Dive At Dawn plays like a B picture version of In Which We Serve, set in a British submarine instead of surface vessel. The first part of the film shows the lives of the various crew members from Captain John Mills on down, some funny, some sad vignettes. The one with Eric Portman is especially touching and gives you some idea why he volunteers for the almost suicidal mission later on.

When HMS Tiger Fish is at sea, she gets into action and barely escapes, but with fuel lines damaged and not enough to go home. Mills and Portman conceive of a plan to raid a small Danish harbor that Portman was familiar with from before the war.

One thing though I absolutely could not believe that the producers had the chutzpah to put in the film. When Portman takes a landing party to the harbor, when he explains his mission to the civilians one of them replies that "the British Navy is always welcome in Denmark".

Although the Danes had some really unwelcome guests that the British were trying to help them oust, to this day there are still bitter memories of their Navy sinking the Danish fleet in Copenhagen during the Napoleonic Wars. It was a preemptive strike that was made to prevent the fleet from falling into Bonaparte's hands. It left a bad taste in Danish mouths that lingers to this day.

As Winston Churchill was very personally interested in the propaganda value of the British cinema, I can't believe he let that one stand for posterity. Than knowing something of Churchill's ego, it's not hard to believe.

Despite a line that had me reaching, We Dive At Dawn is a competently done wartime war film, with Mills, Portman, and the rest of the cast shown to best advantage.