I Watch Films: The Silent Enemy (1958)

 

The Silent Enemy

Gibraltar 1941, and two British warships are damaged by Italian frogmen. The British call in Lionel Crabb (Lawrence Harvey) to lead the underwater demolition party, tasked with stopping mines and torpedoes. Failing to see the Admiral he immediately gets in the water, leading to him meeting the Admiral soaking wet. (In an amusing scene when he gets out the water the Admiral orders Third Officer Jill Masters, WRNS, to turn her back; the seaman assures them it’s okay as he’s got his underwear on.) They’re soon joined by Chief Petty Officer Thorpe (Sid James), a diving expert but more importantly a seaman with long experience of the Navy, who finds ways around various problems.

A captured Italian diver claims he came from a submarine, but everyone knows that they are operating out of Algericas in Spain, where a famous Italian underwater expert has taken up residence. After they thwart an attack, Crabb captures one of the manned torpedoes and repairs it. Using Thrope’s cunning they sneak into Algericas without giving the Admiral time to order them to stop, and find the Italians are using an interned Italian ship in a covered dock as their base of operations and also where they launch from.

A big convoy is forming up in Gibraltar and Crabb knows the Italians will attempt to make an attack. He prepares his team to defend against it, but he has one desperate plan of his own – to use the repaired manned torpedo against the Italians themselves.

Very loosely based on real events*, the underwater photography was good for the time and occasionally has it’s moments. Light-hearted at times, Thorpe cheekily delaying orders or reports in various ways, Crabb by turns insulting and flirting with Masters, there’s also scenes of sailors blaming the team at their lowest point, having failed to prevent attacks.

Watch This: War diving film with some points of interest
Don’t Watch This: Men moving slowly underwater intercut with fun gags and grim plotting

* Crabb and his sidekick Seaman Knowles were really part of the guard divers at Gibraltar, the film produced in the wake of Crabb’s death**

** Or disappearance; Knowles refused to identify the body as Crabb, as it was missing two prominent scars