Customer Reviews

Silent Enemy [VHS]

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This is the only film I have seen which features oxygen closed circuit rebreathers, similar to those actually used in WWII. The story is about the Italian 10th Light Flotilla and their attacks on British warships in Gibraltar's harbor and the British counter attacks. It tells the first part of the military history of Cdr. 'Buster' Crabb, GM, and his efforts to fight the then unique underwater operations. It deviates from the book of the same period (Commander Crabb), but it is a must see for sport and military divers interested in the history of diving.
(The Tenth Light Flotilla, with only 6 frogmen, sank two British battleships in Alexandria Harbor. The British attacked and sank the German battleship Tirpitz in a somewhat similar fashion, but that is a different story.)

THE SILENT ENEMY (1958) Directed by William Fairchild. Based on the
book COMMANDER CRABB by Marshall Pugh.

Starring Lawrence Harvey (as Lionel Crabb) and Dawn Adams.

On Dec 19, 1941, Italian frogmen, using underwater mines, destroyed
two British
warships at Alexandria, Egypt. When it is learned that they are now
operating along the Spanish coast across from the British base at
Gibraltar thus putting British and later American shipping at risk,
naval explosive and bomb expert Lionel Crabb is brought in to create a
team of divers to strive against the might and power of Fascist Italy.

Made a year after Crabb was murdered by the Communists, this is a
remarkable and unigue film about the Second Wold War. While one would
never know it from the film itself, it is a film that also speaks to
the Cold War. Besides featuring someone who would later be a victim of
the Reds, Crabb, in the film, also investigates the 1943 plane crash
that killed Wladyslaw Sikorski--the Prime Minister of the Polish Govt
in Exile--which was another assassination perpetrated by the
Communists. While again the film explains none of this but
presumably this would have been very much in the mind's of 1958
audiences.

The film itself fictionalizes much of the material setting the story
from Dec, 1941 to Nov, 1942 when actually several events shown took
place in 1943 and the final sequence---which ends the story on a bang
actually did not happen.

Still the film effectively dramatizes a fascinating and obscure
battlefield of the War. One literally had no idea that Allied shipping
was being hit as bad as is shown here. Which brings us to the film's
main triumph.........

Within the World War Two genre, Fascist Italy is usually presented in
three ways. A) Comic singing relief to the Germans. B)) Unhappy peace
loving singing victims of the Germans dragged into the War against
their will. C) Very rarely but sometimes as a "warm up" early in the
film for the heroes with the Germans up next as the main event.

But not here. In this viewer's extensive movie experience, this is the
only film encountered that portrays the forces of Fascist Italy as
being a genuine and competent threat. The Italians here----while still
tending to sing and romance the ladies---are portrayed as being serious
adversaries who give as good as they get and come very very close to
stopping Operation Torch---the American Invasion of North Africa. As
this did not happen exactly as shown here, this must be considered yet
another example of the British tendency to portray themselves as
winning the war singlehandedly and saving those hapless Yanks. Even so
it makes for an exciting section of the film, illuminates the
importance of Torch nicely and is all the more orginal since those
threatening Torch are the Forces of Fascist Italy!!

THE ITALIANS???

The rule for ANY historical film and especially World War Two films is
quite simple. Has it been done before? Is it original? Or just a
retread of something that has been beaten to death? Does the film have
a reason to exist?

Not only is THE SILENT ENEMY a well made, well acted and directed film
with the typical excellent black and white photography of the period
but it is and remains one of the most original and unigue films made
about the War. It is essential viewing.

THE ITALIANS???

Incidentally it is almost a certainty that Ian Fleming was aware of
either this film or, more likely the actual events, and used it as the
inspiration for THUNDERBALL. Certain plot points were obviously lifted
and the final section of the film is almost a shot for shot preview of
the final section of both the novel and the film.

Still.

THE ITALIANS????

This movie is very accurate technicaly. It was made not toolong after the war. The diving equipment is acuratley displayed, and including the Italian Chariots.
Also the little songs that people used to sing in days gone by, to help them remember how to do their jobs.