An American commander, serving under the British Royal Navy in 1942, is assigned to blockade the island of Malta and told to formulate a plan to destroy the Nazi arsenal in Sicily.
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Title: Hell Boats (1970)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| James Franciscus | ... | Lt. Comdr. Jeffords, R.N.V.R. | |
| Elizabeth Shepherd | ... | Alison | |
| Ronald Allen | ... | Comdr. Ashurst, R.N. | |
| Reuven Bar-Yotam | ... | C.P.O. Yacov (as Reuven Bar Yotam) | |
 |
Mark Hawkins | ... | Lieut. Barlow, R.N. |
| Magda Konopka | ... | Luciana | |
| Drewe Henley | ... | Sub. Lt. Johnson, R.N. | |
|
|
Inigo Jackson | ... | C.P.O. Stanhope |
| Takis Emmanuel | ... | Salvatore | |
| Philip Madoc | ... | 'E' Boat Captain | |
| John G. Heller | ... | Rheinhardt | |
|
|
David Savile | ... | Lieut. Wallace, R.N. |
|
|
Sean Barrett | ... | Sub. Lt. Hendrickson, R.N.V.R. |
|
|
Bernard Davies | ... | Cramer |
| Moultrie Kelsall | ... | Vice Admiral Ashurst | |
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
An American commander, serving under the British Royal Navy in 1942, is assigned to blockade the island of Malta and told to formulate a plan to destroy the Nazi arsenal in Sicily.
Plot Keywords:
brief female nudity | brief topless female nudity | malta | patrol boat | suicide mission |Taglines:
Their job: HIT IT HEAD-ON! Their target: HELL-ON-EARTH!Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated PG-13 for war violence and brief nudity | See all certifications »Parents Guide:
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
20 March 1970 (Denmark) See more »Also Known As:
Barcos del infierno See more »Company Credits
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IMDbPro »
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Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Color (Technicolor)
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Did You Know?
Trivia
American director (Paul Wendkos) was imported from Hollywood to helm this British World War II movie. See more »Goofs
When Jeffords inspects the crew for the first time, the shadows change direction between shots. See more »Frequently Asked Questions
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Malta is its usual stunning self in this cinematically beautiful film. Why was it not filmed wide? What irritates me is the overly strong U.S. asserter officer shouting at the Brits to do something.
James Franciscus and Elizabeth Shepherd's relationship is ludicrously overblown and misconstructed. Sorry, filmmakers but the silly introduction where she is "starkers" and swimming and flaunts herself at him is priceless. She is so forward and up for IT, it's not true yet her acts all gallant and appears only mildly stirred... It's so awkward - it's clear she is says "Come on bog boy!" with everything she has but he is only modestly aroused. Oh you have to see it to understand it.
I find this film is embarrassing. It's full of bristly macho-ness and "U.S. attitudes will shake up the Brits and sort 'em out" and the Brits deference is bordering on obsequious.
A good story with weak characters. Elizabeth Shepherd is gorgeous and acts strongly but a poor story and and weak direction diminish what could have been a great part.
I hate giving bad reviews but this film seems to come from a time when studios squashed good film-making in the process of simply creating star vehicles and it makes it very difficult for me to watch it happily.
The real star of the film though is Malta.