The Ship That Died of Shame

Last updated

The Ship That Died of Shame
Tstdospos.jpg
Original film poster
Directed by Basil Dearden
Written byBasil Dearden
Nicholas Monsarrat (novel)
Michael Relph
John Whiting
Produced byBasil Dearden
Michael Relph
Starring Richard Attenborough
George Baker
Bill Owen
Virginia McKenna
Cinematography Gordon Dines
Edited by Peter Bezencenet
Music by William Alwyn
Production
company
Release date
  • 19 April 1955 (1955-04-19)(UK)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Ship That Died of Shame, released in the United States as PT Raiders, is a black-and-white 1955 Ealing Studios crime film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Richard Attenborough, George Baker, Bill Owen and Virginia McKenna. [1]

Contents

The film is based on a story written by Nicholas Monsarrat (author of The Cruel Sea ), which originally appeared in Lilliput magazine in 1952. It was later published in a collection of short stories, The Ship That Died of Shame and other stories, in 1959. [2] After the war, the crew of a gun boat turn their hand to black market smuggling, but their previously reliable craft begins to let them down.

Plot

The 1087 is a British Royal Navy motor gun boat that sees its crew through the worst that World War II can throw at them. After the end of the war, first lieutenant George Hoskins convinces former skipper Bill Randall and coxswain Birdie to buy their boat and use it for what he persuades them is some harmless, minor smuggling of items like wine. But they find themselves transporting ever more sinister cargoes, such as counterfeit currency and weapons. Though their craft had been totally reliable and never let them down in wartime, things start to go wrong after the crew start accepting more and more morally-dubious jobs from Major Fordyce, and 1087 breaks down frequently. The crew finally revolt after a passenger is revealed to be child murderer Raines being helped to escape justice - but later he falls (or is pushed) overboard.

When Fordyce is confronted by customs officer Brewster, Brewster is shot and dies, but not before telling Birdie of the culprit. Fordyce forces the crew at gunpoint to take him to safety. Birdie is shot and, in the ensuing scuffle, Randall grabs the gun and kills Fordyce. Randall and Hoskins then fight on the bridge while 1087 runs out of control and onto rocks, sinking after Randall and Birdie scramble to safety.

Cast

Production

Despite being produced by Ealing Studios, the film was shot at the film studios at Wembley Park in north-west London. It was the last feature film to be made there. [3]

Critical reception

The New York Times wrote "the little picture ... has a nice strain of sentiment running through it and becomes mildly exciting here and there". [4]

Time Out called it "A valuable record of bewildered British masculinity in the post-war years," before dismissing it as "a pretty threadbare thriller"; [5] but TV Guide noted that "With a highly original premise...this movie starts in an exciting fashion and seldom slows down to take on more fuel." [6]

Writing in The Spectator , Virginia Graham said: "The Ship that Died of Shame is an Ealing production and is conducted with that efficiency and regard for the realities which are the hallmark of these studios. Its characterisations, Mr. Attenborough's wide-boy in particular, are defined without exaggeration, and its settings are accurate down to the last wave. ... If the direction, by Messrs. Reiph and Dearden, is not exactly inspired, it leads us smoothly from of glory to disgrace, missing the shoals of the supernatural with considerable adroitness." [7]

Leslie Halliwell reviewed the film as: "Thin and rather obvious melodramatic fable." [8]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "This is one of the more peculiar civvy street pictures made in the decade after the war. It lurches uncomfortably between comedy, social drama and thriller as it follows the fortunes of the washed-up crew of a motor torpedo boat, who recondition the old tub and turn to smuggling because Britain no longer has anything to offer its one-time heroes. Richard Attenborough is the star of the show, but the uncertainty of tone finally gets the better of him." [9]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Fable is well-set but hard to swallow." [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas Monsarrat</span> English writer

Lieutenant Commander Nicholas John Turney Monsarrat FRSL RNVR was a British novelist known for his sea stories, particularly The Cruel Sea (1951) and Three Corvettes (1942–45), but perhaps known best internationally for his novels, The Tribe That Lost Its Head and its sequel, Richer Than All His Tribe.

<i>The Smallest Show on Earth</i> 1957 British film by Basil Dearden

The Smallest Show on Earth is a 1957 British comedy film, directed by Basil Dearden, and starring Bill Travers, Virginia McKenna, Peter Sellers and Margaret Rutherford. The screenplay was written by William Rose and John Eldridge from an original story by William Rose.

<i>The Cruel Sea</i> (1953 film) 1953 film by Charles Frend

The Cruel Sea is a 1953 British war film based on the novel of the same title by Nicholas Monsarrat. The film starred Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden, Denholm Elliott, Stanley Baker, Liam Redmond, Virginia McKenna and Moira Lister. The movie was made by Ealing Studios seven years after the end of the Second World War, and was directed by Charles Frend and produced by Leslie Norman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basil Dearden</span> English film director (1911–1971)

Basil Dearden was an English film director.

<i>Back-Room Boy</i> 1942 film

Back-Room Boy is a 1942 British comedy mystery film directed by Herbert Mason, produced by Edward Black for Gainsborough Pictures and distributed by General Film Distributors. The cast includes Arthur Askey, Googie Withers, Graham Moffatt and Moore Marriott. It marked the film debut of Vera Frances. The original story was written by J.O.C. Orton, Marriott Edgar and Val Guest. A man from the Met Office is sent to a lighthouse on a remote Scottish island to monitor the weather, where he hopes to escape from women, but soon finds the island overrun by them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fountain Studios</span> Television studio in London, England 1929–2017

Fountain Studios was an independently owned television studio in Wembley Park, northwest London, England. The company was last part of the Avesco Group plc.

<i>Only Two Can Play</i> 1962 film by Sidney Gilliat

Only Two Can Play is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Sidney Gilliat starring Peter Sellers, Mai Zetterling and Virginia Maskell. The screenplay was by Bryan Forbes, based on the 1955 novel That Uncertain Feeling by Kingsley Amis.

<i>Spare a Copper</i> 1940 film by John Paddy Carstairs

Spare a Copper is a 1940 British black-and-white musical comedy war film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring George Formby, Dorothy Hyson and Bernard Lee. It was produced by Associated Talking Pictures. It is also known as Call a Cop. The film features the songs, "I'm the Ukulele Man", "On the Beat", "I Wish I Was Back on the Farm" and "I'm Shy". Beryl Reid makes her film debut in an uncredited role, while Ronald Shiner appears similarly uncredited, in the role of the Piano Mover and Tuner.

<i>Out of the Clouds</i> 1955 film

Out of the Clouds is a 1955 British drama film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Anthony Steel, Robert Beatty and James Robertson Justice. An Ealing Studios production, the film is composed of small stories dealing with the passengers and crew on a day at London Airport.

<i>Train of Events</i> 1949 British film by Sidney Cole et al

Train of Events is a 1949 British portmanteau film made by Ealing Studios, directed by Sidney Cole, Charles Crichton and Basil Dearden and starring Jack Warner, Peter Finch and Valerie Hobson. The film premiered on 18 August 1949 at the Gaumont Haymarket in London. In the film, as a train is heading for a crash into a stalled petrol tanker at a level crossing, four different stories are told in flashback.

<i>Law and Disorder</i> (1958 film) 1958 British film by Charles Crichton

Law and Disorder is a 1958 British crime comedy film directed by Charles Crichton and starring Michael Redgrave, Robert Morley, Joan Hickson, and Lionel Jeffries. It was based on the 1954 novel Smugglers' Circuit by Denys Roberts. The film was initially directed by Henry Cornelius, who died while making the film. He was replaced by Charles Crichton.

Gay-class patrol boat Class of Royal Navy boats

The Gay class were a class of twelve fast patrol boats that served with the Royal Navy from the early 1950s. All were named after types of soldiers or military or related figures, prefixed with 'Gay'. The class could be fitted as either motor gun boats or motor torpedo boats, depending on the type of armament they carried.

<i>Dancing with Crime</i> 1947 British film

Dancing with Crime is a 1947 British film noir film directed by John Paddy Carstairs, starring Richard Attenborough, Barry K. Barnes and Sheila Sim. A man hunts down the killer of his lifelong friend.

<i>Saloon Bar</i> 1940 British film by Walter Forde

Saloon Bar is a 1940 British comedy thriller film directed by Walter Forde and starring Gordon Harker, Elizabeth Allan and Mervyn Johns. It was made by Ealing Studios and its style has led to comparisons with the later Ealing Comedies, unlike other wartime Ealing films which are different in tone. It is based on the 1939 play of the same name by Frank Harvey in which Harker had also starred. An amateur detective tries to clear an innocent man of a crime before the date of his execution.

<i>Manuela</i> (1957 film) 1957 film

Manuela is a 1957 British drama film directed by Guy Hamilton, starring Trevor Howard and Elsa Martinelli. It was released as Stowaway Girl in the United States.

<i>Convoy</i> (1940 film) 1940 film by Pen Tennyson

Convoy is a 1940 British war film, produced by Ealing Studios, directed by Pen Tennyson and starring Clive Brook, John Clements and Edward Chapman. Convoy was Tennyson's last film before he was killed in an aircraft crash, while serving in the Royal Navy.

<i>For Those in Peril</i> (1944 film) 1944 British film

For Those in Peril is a 1944 British war film produced by Ealing Studios that marked the directorial debut of Charles Crichton. The film was developed from a short story by Richard Hillary, an RAF pilot killed in action in January 1943. The basic and relatively slight storyline of For Those in Peril was an end to produce a film with a documentary feel and an element of wartime propaganda. The film stars Ralph Michael and David Farrar.

<i>Feather Your Nest</i> 1937 British film

Feather Your Nest is a 1937 British musical comedy film directed by William Beaudine and starring George Formby, Polly Ward and Enid Stamp-Taylor. It contains Formby's signature tune, Leaning on a Lamp-post.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Boxer (British actor)</span> British actor

John Boxer was a British film and television actor. His television appearances included Emergency – Ward 10, Dixon of Dock Green, The Saint, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), The Onedin Line and The Life and Times of David Lloyd George.

Peter Bezencenet (1914–2003) was a British film editor and film director. He co-scripted the 1936 film Conquest of the Air. He was employed by the Rank Organisation on a number of films during the 1950s, including several for Ealing Studios. He also acted as location director for the television series Richard the Lionheart in the early 1960s. During the 1960s he directed four films and episodes of the TV series The Pursuers.

References

  1. ↑ ""The Ship That Died of Shame"". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  2. ↑ Monsarrat, Nicholas (1959). The Ship That Died of Shame, and Other Stories. W. Sloane Associates. ISBN   9789050044790.
  3. ↑ "A Guide to Rediffusion Television Studios". Rediffusion Television Ltd. April 1967. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  4. ↑ Crowther, Bosley (21 August 1956). "Screen: Guilty Conscience; 'The Ship That Died of Shame' Opens Here (Published 1956)". The New York Times– via NYTimes.com.
  5. ↑ "The Ship That Died of Shame". Time Out Worldwide.
  6. ↑ "The Ship That Died Of Shame | TV Guide". TVGuide.com.
  7. ↑ Graham, Virginia (22 April 1955). "The Ship that Died of Shame". The Spectator . 194 (6617): 503 – via ProQuest.
  8. ↑ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 912. ISBN   0586088946.
  9. ↑ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 831. ISBN   9780992936440.
  10. ↑ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 374. ISBN   0-7134-1874-5.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.