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      The Cruel Sea

      1953, War, 2h 6m

      5 Reviews 250+ Ratings

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      The Cruel Sea  Photos

      "The Cruel Sea photo 1" "The Cruel Sea photo 2" "The Cruel Sea photo 3" "The Cruel Sea photo 4" "The Cruel Sea photo 5" "The Cruel Sea photo 6" "The Cruel Sea photo 7" "The Cruel Sea photo 8" The Cruel Sea (1953) The Cruel Sea (1953) The Cruel Sea (1953) The Cruel Sea (1953) The Cruel Sea (1953) The Cruel Sea (1953) The Cruel Sea (1953) The Cruel Sea (1953) The Cruel Sea (1953) The Cruel Sea (1953)

      Movie Info

      Despite his guilt over a recent harrowing sea battle in which many of his men were lost, Lt. Cmdr. George Ericson (Jack Hawkins) is assigned to helm the new H.M.S. Compass Rose with the help of steadfast seaman Lt. Lockhart (Donald Sinden). When the small vessel is sent to escort convoys of ships fighting German U-boats in the North Atlantic, the mettle of the novice crew is tested by the weather, the turbulent sea and enemy attacks -- one of which nearly destroys the Compass Rose.

      • Genre: War

      • Original Language: English

      • Director: Charles Frend

      • Producer: Leslie Norman

      • Writer: Eric Ambler, Nicholas Monsarrat

      • Release Date (Theaters):  original

      • Runtime:

      • Distributor: Universal Pictures

      • Production Co: Ealing Studios, Michael Balcon Productions

      Cast & Crew

      Critic Reviews for The Cruel Sea

      Audience Reviews for The Cruel Sea

      • Aug 26, 2011
        British war film, which at times comes off good when its focusing on the sea battles at hand, but the film is cut between shore leave or events based on land, which really split the film up, and i can certainly see a epic film with long big battle here somewhere
        Super Reviewer
      • Feb 03, 2009
        The Cruel Sea is a seafaring drama set during WWII, following an escort ship and its crew battling German U-boats. It's very much a film of its time; the propaganda element is heavy, the enemy unseen for the vast majority of the time, and it's full of stiff upper lipped officers throwing in with the working classes. For this reason, it seems very dated, and the scenes on shore consist of the usual kitchen sink soap opera melodrama. British stalwarts Jack Hawkins and Donald Sinden put in decent performances but it's lacking any real star presence and some ham fisted direction (particularly the voice over flashbacks) damages the film's authenticity. It is interesting to see the nuts and bolts of how such a ship was operated and the battle scenes are believably realistic, but I can't see this being of much interest to any but military historians and the nostalgic.
        Super Reviewer

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