"Above us the Waves" is based upon the same formula which had proved so successful with "The Dambusters" a couple of years earlier. A small group of intrepid British servicemen, assisted by some innovative technology, set out to destroy a vital, heavily defended German target. Against the odds they succeed, but not without suffering some tragic losses. And yet "The Dambusters" is today, rightly, regarded as one of Britain's greatest war films, whereas "Above us the Waves" is little remembered.
The film tells the story of "Operation Source", the attack in September 1943 by X-class midget submarines against the German battleship "Tirpitz". By 1943, in fact, the "Tirpitz" was something of a white elephant. Following the sinking of the "Bismarck" by British torpedo bombers in 1941, Hitler was reluctant to risk losing another battleship, and the "Tirpitz" remained anchored in a Norwegian fjord for most of the war, only making three sorties and never firing a shot against an enemy ship. The potential threat she posed to Allied convoys, however, meant that considerable British naval resources had to be diverted from other duties in order to counter that threat, which is why numerous attempts were made to sink her. Contrary to the impression given by this film, the "Tirpitz" was not permanently disabled by the submarine attacks, although the damage they caused took about six months to repair. She was finally sunk by RAF Lancaster bombers in November 1944.
One interesting feature of the film is the way the Germans are portrayed. Many British films made during the war itself simply depicted all Germans as evil thugs; "The Day Will Dawn", also set in occupied Norway, is a good example, and Pressburger and Powell's "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp" an honourable exception. Here some stereotypes remain; the German sailors generally communicate in a series of short, staccato shouts, in line with the common British received idea that the German language is not so much spoken as barked. (The British characters, by contrast, all speak in normal tones, even when giving orders). The Germans, however, do have their decent side; captured British sailors are greeted with mugs of schnapps and the German captain pays tribute to their bravery even after they have damaged his ship. Possibly this change reflects the fact that by 1955 West Germany was a key British ally in the Cold War.
I think that one reason why "Above us the Waves" suffers in comparison with "The Dambusters" (apart from the fact that musically it has nothing to compare with Eric Coates' magnificent march) is that submarine warfare does not translate into exciting action sequences as well as aerial warfare. Or, for that matter, as well as surface naval warfare; I would rank the film behind not only "The Dambusters" but also "Sink the Bismarck!", made five years later about the sinking of "Tirpitz"'s sister ship. Most successful submarine films ("Run Silent, Run Deep", "Das Boot", "Crimson Tide", "K-19 The Widowmaker") are not so much action movies as character-driven psychological dramas. Unfortunately, the makers of "Above us the Waves" did not seem very interested in either character or psychology. There is little attempt at characterisation beyond superficial stereotyping (cheerful Cockney, cheerful Aussie, cheerful Irishman, dour Scot, etc.) and no attempt at psychological depth beyond the sort of stiff-upper-lip stoicism that was often assumed by film-makers of this period to be the habitual demeanour of the British serviceman.
The leader of the raid (here called Commander Fraser) is played by John Mills, an actor who never seemed very military in bearing but spent much of his career playing members of His Majesty's Armed Forces, from the humble private in "Waterloo Road" all the way up to Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig in "Oh! What a Lovely War!" Neither he, however, nor any of the other cast members succeeds in bringing much individuality to their roles. Some post-war British war films (and some American ones too) have become classics, but "Above us the Waves" is simply a routine, and rather dull, flagwaving tale of How We Won the War. 5/10
The film tells the story of "Operation Source", the attack in September 1943 by X-class midget submarines against the German battleship "Tirpitz". By 1943, in fact, the "Tirpitz" was something of a white elephant. Following the sinking of the "Bismarck" by British torpedo bombers in 1941, Hitler was reluctant to risk losing another battleship, and the "Tirpitz" remained anchored in a Norwegian fjord for most of the war, only making three sorties and never firing a shot against an enemy ship. The potential threat she posed to Allied convoys, however, meant that considerable British naval resources had to be diverted from other duties in order to counter that threat, which is why numerous attempts were made to sink her. Contrary to the impression given by this film, the "Tirpitz" was not permanently disabled by the submarine attacks, although the damage they caused took about six months to repair. She was finally sunk by RAF Lancaster bombers in November 1944.
One interesting feature of the film is the way the Germans are portrayed. Many British films made during the war itself simply depicted all Germans as evil thugs; "The Day Will Dawn", also set in occupied Norway, is a good example, and Pressburger and Powell's "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp" an honourable exception. Here some stereotypes remain; the German sailors generally communicate in a series of short, staccato shouts, in line with the common British received idea that the German language is not so much spoken as barked. (The British characters, by contrast, all speak in normal tones, even when giving orders). The Germans, however, do have their decent side; captured British sailors are greeted with mugs of schnapps and the German captain pays tribute to their bravery even after they have damaged his ship. Possibly this change reflects the fact that by 1955 West Germany was a key British ally in the Cold War.
I think that one reason why "Above us the Waves" suffers in comparison with "The Dambusters" (apart from the fact that musically it has nothing to compare with Eric Coates' magnificent march) is that submarine warfare does not translate into exciting action sequences as well as aerial warfare. Or, for that matter, as well as surface naval warfare; I would rank the film behind not only "The Dambusters" but also "Sink the Bismarck!", made five years later about the sinking of "Tirpitz"'s sister ship. Most successful submarine films ("Run Silent, Run Deep", "Das Boot", "Crimson Tide", "K-19 The Widowmaker") are not so much action movies as character-driven psychological dramas. Unfortunately, the makers of "Above us the Waves" did not seem very interested in either character or psychology. There is little attempt at characterisation beyond superficial stereotyping (cheerful Cockney, cheerful Aussie, cheerful Irishman, dour Scot, etc.) and no attempt at psychological depth beyond the sort of stiff-upper-lip stoicism that was often assumed by film-makers of this period to be the habitual demeanour of the British serviceman.
The leader of the raid (here called Commander Fraser) is played by John Mills, an actor who never seemed very military in bearing but spent much of his career playing members of His Majesty's Armed Forces, from the humble private in "Waterloo Road" all the way up to Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig in "Oh! What a Lovely War!" Neither he, however, nor any of the other cast members succeeds in bringing much individuality to their roles. Some post-war British war films (and some American ones too) have become classics, but "Above us the Waves" is simply a routine, and rather dull, flagwaving tale of How We Won the War. 5/10