San Demetrio London (1943)

Director:

Charles Frend

Writers:

Robert Hamer (screenplay) &
Charles Frend (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 February 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

A great adventure story of the sea

Plot:

The San Demetrio of the title is a British merchant ship in an Atlantic convoy in 1940. Disabled and...

Plot Keywords:

Ship | City Name In Title | German Navy | Place Name In Title | Tankship

Cast

Arthur Young	...	Captain George Waite - M.V. San Demetrio
Walter Fitzgerald	...	Chief Engineer Charles Pollard - M.V. San Demetrio
Ralph Michael	...	2nd. Officer Hawkins - M.V. San Demetrio
Neville Mapp	...	3rd. Engineer Willey - M.V. San Demetrio
Barry Letts	...	Apprentice John Jones - M.V. San Demetrio
Michael Allen	...	Cadet Roy Housden - M.V. San Demetrio
Frederick Piper	...	Boatswain W.E. Fletcher - M.V. San Demetrio
Herbert Cameron	...	Pumpman Davies - M.V. San Demetrio
John Owers	...	Steward - M.V. San Demetrio
Gordon Jackson	...	Messboy John Jamieson - M.V. San Demetrio
Robert Beatty	...	'Yank' Preston - M.V. San Demetrio
Charles Victor	...	Deckhand - M.V. San Demetrio
James McKechnie	...	Deckhand - M.V. San Demetrio
John Coyle	...	Deckhand - M.V. San Demetrio
Duncan McIntyre	...	Deckhand - M.V. San Demetrio (as Duncan MacIntyre)

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

UK:PG (tv rating) | UK:U | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Company:

Ealing Studios

Goofs:

Factual errors: The fires on the ship are clearly not burning oil but gas. Otherwise there would be thick black smoke and pouring water on it from buckets would result in an explosive spread (for that same reason one should never try to extinguish burning fat in a frying pan by pouring water on it).

Quotes:

[Looking at deck gun]
Deckhand: A gun is like a woman. You can't tell what it's like until you're in action. Then it's too late.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Forever Ealing (2002) (TV)

Quite a shock

The captain of the Jervis Bay, Captain E. S. F. Fegen Royal Navy, was the escort commander for convoy HX84 traveling between Halifax and Great Britain.

The Jervis Bay was an armed merchant cruiser only equipped with four inch guns but quite adequate to deal with any German U boats which might happen to ' chance their arm. '

It was therefore quite a shock when he encountered the German pocket battleship, Admiral Scheer in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Certainly not where he would have expected a German surface raider to be.

Taking a gamble Captain Fegen engaged the raider, itself equipped with radar controlled eleven inch guns, and thus allowed the convoy a further twenty minutes to escape into the darkness which by that time was beginning to fall.

Several of the merchant ships were still badly damaged subsequently by the Admiral Scheer. San Demetrio was abandoned by her captain and crew, but later rejoined by part of her crew without the captain. This latter point together with the refusal to accept assistance once in home waters allowed the insurers to make salvage payments to all who embarked on the perilous voyage.

A member of the party interviewed after the war said that the men would have made every effort to save the ship and cargo in any event. Great Britain being upon its knees and fighting alone for her very existence against Germany, Italy and Japan with a neutral USSR and USA observing with a casual interest.

The King later awarded Captain Fegen the Victoria Cross in recognition of the courageous sacrifice of himself and his crew.

The film renders an entertaining account of this annal of the sea.