25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exceptional Royal Navy film with excellent cast., January 30, 2003
We Dive At Dawn is a standard issue, exceptionally well acted British war film about a submarine of the Royal Navy. It is a visual masterpiece of Navy detail. Sir John Mills et al, are well cast and extremely believable in their roles.
The filming was done on an actual submarine and depot ship. I know a sailor who was in the depot ship, HMS Maidstone in Holy Loch Scotland, at the time the movie was made. He advised me of a small detail that make the film much more interesting to watch. If you look closely in the control room scenes, there is a sailor in a white turtleneck sweater close to Mills. That sailor is the actual submarine CO keeping a close eye on things to make sure nothing awkward happens.
This film is a tale of submarine warfare in the Baltic Sea. It was not an easy area for submarines to operate in because it is relatively shallow and a submarine likes to have a lot of water between it and the enemy on the surface. This is not the case in the Baltic. There were heavy casualties amongst British submarines sent to this area.
I had an opportunity to live in the Holy Loch area in the mid-60s when HMS Maidstone was replaced by USS Hunley. As I look at the film, I see some of the same landmarks that were there in 1941-42 as in 1964 - absolutely unchanged.
What is a little bit different for this film is that we see a great deal of the life of the sailors of the Royal Navy. It readily shows the team concept that is life in submarines. Remember, there may only be 5-6 officers in addition to the captain. The crew was essentially masters of their own destiny in a very real sense since even junior sailors had tremendous responibility placed on them. And they excelled, uniformly. The ending is typically understated British and yet highly effective. As the submarine of the story returns, another departs on patrol, "like a ruddy train line" as the flag officer watching the boat leave comments to Mills as the latter stands by to give his report.
This is an exceptional movie and belongs in any navy history enthusiasts library.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
British WW2 submarine adventure, November 13, 2000
A British submarine in WW2 is sent on an impossible mission to sink the German warship "Brandenburg". To destroy their target, they must find their target - somewhere deep in enemy-controlled waters. The captain navigates his submarine past nets, mines, and enemy destroyers, and then must clandestinely obtain fuel and oil from an enemy-held port for the return voyage.
This tale of submarine adventure was made with the support of the British military in the darkest days of WW2, so the boats you see really are warships and not Hollywood mock-ups. The plot is fairly predictable and the overall production is hindered by thick British accents at times, but its still a good late-night war movie. "The Enemy Below" and "Torpedo Run" are better, but this film is British and made under war-time conditions, so that counts for something in the "Authenticity" department.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent old unknown brittish sub movie! No known stars., December 19, 2001
This B&W movie is a classic. You are given insight to the crew's personal lives and interactions. There is enough action (after the first 25 minutes) to keep you interested constantly. Very interesting, a few very exciting action sequences. Not all action takes place on/in the water!
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