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voor de liefhebbers van U-Boote :)

Action in the North Atlantic (1943)
 starring Humphrey Bogart, Raymond Massey & Alan Hale 

Directors: Lloyd Bacon 
Format: Black & White, Original recording reissued, NTSC 
Language: English, German 
Number of discs: 1 
Studio: Warner Brothers 
Run Time: 127 minutes 

Plot:
Humphrey Bogart and Raymond Massey star in a unique film that shows what convoy duty was like for the Merchant Marine in World War II. When their tanker is torpedoed by a German U-boat, Bogart and Massey take command of a Liberty Ship, and their convoy must play cat and mouse with a German wolf pack. While clearly shown in a bad light, the Germans are not heavily demonized, which was unusual for a patriotic war film of the time (1943). Another unusual choice was having the Germans speaking only in their native language, with no subtitles. This realism helps carry any dated elements, especially when combined with the accurate depiction of convoy techniques and battle tactics (the footage was later used for actual training purposes). Even jaded viewers will be on pins and needles when the convoy is attacked, and they hear the repeated German command of "Torpedo... LOS!" 

Review:
They didn't sail powerful destroyers or fill the skies with waves of carrier-borne fighters, but the men of the US Merchant Marine nevertheless fought and won the second world war's most crucial and consistently bloody battles - the Battle of the Atlantic. This excellent film follows the travails of a merchantman bound for Russia's arctic port of Murmansk with a cargo of materials the Russians need to keep the Germans pegged on the eastern front. Through the war, American convoys sailed mass-built "Liberty Ships" through waters teeming with German planes, cruisers and U-Boats to keep both England and Russia properly equipped. While tides of war may have shifted thruought the war, allied convoys faced constant attacks by axis units until the end, relying mainly on their ability to absorb severe casualties. 

This film is fiction and, produced during the war (1943) has the hallmarks of a propaganda film. But "Action" is so much more - with winning performances by Humphrey Bogart and Ray Massey, and a fine supporting crew that sounds like they may have actually sailed the dreaded "Murmansk Run". The special effects are astoundingly good for 1943 and hold up pretty well today. The Germans are perfect as skilled hunters - I still get a chill during the battle scenes when whole crews utter "torpedo - los!" - not quite dehumanized, but still fearsome. Crisp direction makes their untranslated lines the best case against sub-titles. This flick easily surpasses similar movies like "Air Force" in capturing the warime fervor while serving up a great story. In short, a great film. 

Thanks to bugzzy :) 

in alt.binaries.dvd.classic.movies