The Sea Shall Not Have Them (1954)

During autumn of 1944, an RAF Hudson carrying a VIP passenger in possession of highly secret information is shot down and ditches in the North Sea. Fighting the elements and trying to keep ... See full summary »

Director:

Lewis Gilbert

Writers:

Lewis Gilbert, John Harris (novel),

Stars:

Michael Redgrave, Dirk Bogarde, Anthony Steel

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Redgrave	...	Air Commodore Waltby
Dirk Bogarde	...	Flight Sgt. MacKay
Anthony Steel	...	Flying Officer Treherne
Nigel Patrick	...	Flight Sgt. Singsby
Bonar Colleano	...	Sgt. Kirby
James Kenney	...	Cpl. Skinner
Sydney Tafler	...	Cpl. Robb
Griffith Jones	...	Group Capt. Todd
Jack Watling	...	Flying Officer Harding
Guy Middleton	...	Squadron Leader Scott
Ian Whittaker	...	A.C.2 Milliken
Paul Carpenter	...	Lt Patrick Boyle, Sea Otter Pilot
George Rose	...	Tebbitt
Victor Maddern	...	Gus Westover
Eddie Byrne	...	Petty Officer Porter

Storyline

During autumn of 1944, an RAF Hudson carrying a VIP passenger in possession of highly secret information is shot down and ditches in the North Sea. Fighting the elements and trying to keep up morale, the occupants of the aircraft's dinghy talk about their lives awaiting the rescue they hope will come. The film's title reflects the motto of the RAF's Air Sea Rescue Service, one of whose high speed launches battles against its own mechanical problems, enemy action, time and the weather to locate and rescue the downed crew and the vital secret papers they carry.

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Plot Keywords:

rescue | sea | world war two | based on novel

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Taglines:

SURGING DRAMA! Excitement that leaps from the screen!

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

Aporritos fakellos B-2

Filming Locations:

Alliance Film Studios, St Margarets, Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Angel Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The NFT in London planned to show this movie in the 1990s as part of a Lewis Gilbert season but had to cancel the screening when they found out no cinema prints existed.

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Goofs

During the firefight the boat has all of its masts shot away, but when they arrive back in port they have reappeared on the boat.

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Soundtracks

"The Man on the Flying Trapeze"
(uncredited)
Music by Gaston Lyle
Lyrics by George Leybourne

User Reviews

Plucked From The Briny Deep

The Sea Shall Not Have Them is a gritty realistic war film from the United Kingdom about the men who serve on air sea rescue duty. No glamor here, just professional men doing a job, rescuing air crews down in the North Sea and English Channel. Good location photography on an old Royal Air Force rescue station give a ring of authenticity.

Four men are on a rubber dinghy in the North Sea after being shot down by a German fighter. Two of those men are Michael Redgrave and Dirk Bogarde. Redgrave is in fact got a briefcase with him containing plans for the V-2 rockets with which the British public shortly became acquainted with.

A rescue sea craft commanded by Anthony Steel is sent to find them and pick them up. Not so easy with a prevailing mist over the North Sea. The dinghy is also in fact drifting east towards the occupied Netherlands.

The best scenes in the film are on the dinghy. I'm reminded a bit of Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat which was an ocean liner compared to what our RAF airmen are occupying. Best acting honors go to Dirk Bogarde as the Flight Sergeant who is trying to keep the famous British stiff upper lip, but is losing out fast to the numbness and cold. It's bad for all of them in the ocean, check the scene in which Bogarde's fingers are so numb, he can't even light a rescue flare.

The Sea Shall Not Have Them is one superb piece of film making and even those who don't like war pictures will like this one very much.