San Demetrio London | |
---|---|
Directed by | Charles Frend Robert Hamer (uncredited) |
Screenplay by | Charles Frend Robert Hamer F. Tennyson Jesse |
Produced by | Michael Balcon |
Starring | Arthur Young Walter Fitzgerald Ralph Michael |
Cinematography | Ernest Palmer |
Edited by | Eily Boland |
Music by | John D. H. Greenwood |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Associated British Film Distributors |
Release date |
|
Running time | 97 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
San Demetrio London is a 1943 British World War II docudrama based on the true story of the 1940 salvage of the tanker MV San Demetrio by some of her own crew, who reboarded her after she had been set on fire by the German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer and then abandoned, during the Battle of the Atlantic. The film was produced by Michael Balcon for Ealing Studios and directed by Charles Frend.
The film is a reconstruction of the story of the salvage of the British tanker, MV San Demetrio. Carrying a cargo of oil home from Galveston, Texas, she was abandoned by her crew having been set on fire by shells from the German cruiser Admiral Scheer. Of the three lifeboats which escaped the damaged tanker, two were picked up by other ships. After drifting for three days, the occupants of the third, who included the chief engineer and the second officer, reboarded the burning San Demetrio, extinguished the fires, and, having managed to restart the engines, returned to Britain, sailing into the Clyde ten days later. [1]
Although Charles Frend is given sole credit as director, the film was completed by Robert Hamer after Frend became ill. [2] The San Demetrio's chief engineer, Charles Pollard, was employed as a special adviser. [3] Early film star Bessie Love, her acting prospects having declined, worked on this movie doing continuity, first as an assistant and towards the end of production taking over when the original "continuity girl" left to deliver a baby. [4]
According to trade papers, the film was a success at the British box office in 1944. [5] The Monthly Film Bulletin said that "In places the music is a trifle too strident; some of the model shots are less successful than others, but on the whole justice has been done to a great theme. [1]
The model used in the film is on display at the Imperial War Museum in London.
This is a list of the naval forces from the United Kingdom that took part in the Falklands War, often referred to as "the Task Force" in the context of the war. For a list of naval forces from Argentina, see Argentine naval forces in the Falklands War.
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MV San Demetrio was a British motor tanker, notable for her service during the Second World War. She was built in 1938 for the Eagle Oil and Shipping Company. In 1940 she was damaged by enemy action in mid-Atlantic, abandoned by her crew but later re-boarded and successfully brought into harbour. She was the subject of a 1943 feature film, San Demetrio London, one of the few films that recognised the heroism of the UK Merchant Navy crews during the War.
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Charles Herbert Frend was an English film director and editor, best known for his films produced at Ealing Studios. He began directing in the early 1940s and is known for such films as Scott of the Antarctic (1948) and The Cruel Sea (1953).
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