The Battle of the River Plate (film)

The Battle of the River Plate (1956) is a film by the British-based director-writer team of Powell & Pressburger. Its US title was Pursuit of the Graf Spee.

Related Topics:
1956 - British - Powell & Pressburger

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The film portrays the Battle of the River Plate, a naval battle of 1939, between a Royal Navy force of three cruisers (HMS Exeter, Ajax and Achilles) and the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee. It was to be the last film Powell and Pressburger made together through their Archers production company.

Related Topics:
Battle of the River Plate - 1939 - Royal Navy - Cruiser - HMS ''Exeter'' - ''Ajax'' - ''Achilles'' - Pocket battleship - ''Admiral Graf Spee''

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Unlike many British war movies of its time, The Battle of the River Plate treats the Germans as honourable opponents rather than as cardboard cut-out "Huns". This was a recurrent theme in Powell and Pressburger's films, including The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The attention to detail is impressive, including the bells ringing before each salvo, the scorching on the gun barrels after the battle, and the accurate use of naval procedures. The scene where Harwood meets with the captains on Ajax is pure fiction, created for the movie, to explain the situation to the audience. Quayle's performance as Harwood is wonderful. The only omission is that the battle is seen entirely from the perspective of the British ships, plus the prisoners on Graf Spee.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~