The Cruel Sea (1953 film)

The Cruel Sea
Original British film poster
Directed byCharles Frend
Written byEric Ambler
Based onThe Cruel Sea
by Nicholas Monsarrat
Produced byLeslie Norman, Norman Priggen & Michael Balcon (executive producer)
Starring
CinematographyGordon Dines
Edited byPeter Tanner
Music byAlan Rawsthorne
Production
company
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 24 March 1953 (1953-03-24) (UK)
  • 19 August 1953 (1953-08-19) (US)
Running time
126 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office$840,000 (UK)
$600,000 (US)[1]

The Cruel Sea is a 1953 British war film based on the best-selling 1951 novel of the same name by former naval officer Nicholas Monsarrat, though the screenplay by Eric Ambler omits some of the novel's grimmest moments. The film stars 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 World War II, and was directed by Charles Frend and produced by Leslie Norman.

The film portrays the conditions in which the Battle of the Atlantic was fought between the Royal Navy and Germany's U-boats, seen from the viewpoint of the British naval officers and seamen who served in convoy escorts.

  1. ^ "John Davis Cites Cases". Variety. 17 November 1954. p. 8.