A favourite of mine The Cruel Sea

[cappy]

One of my favourites
The Cruel Sea.

[Doc Vernon]

the Cruel Sea Another of the best of that Era,a classic Film indeed and one I could watch over and over! Jack Hawkins takes a great part !Cheers

[j.sabourn]

Believe Jack Hawkins suffered from throat cancer shortly after or maybe at the time. This I believe was the cause of his demise. JS

[Roger Dyer]

John, the film 'The Cruel Sea' was made in 1953, however there was nothing to suggest that Jack Hawkins had any serious health issues at that time. A heavy smoker (up to three packs a day) it was not until the late 50's that he began experiencing any voice problems and indeed it was not until December, 1965, that he was diagnosed with throat cancer. In July, 1973, at age 62, he died in a London hospital following surgery to insert an artificial voicebox.

Roger

[Roger Dyer]

Born early during the Second World War, I was the solitary offspring of a marriage that foundered before hostilities had ceased. Raised mostly by a single parent and two kindly relatives, I breezed through the years that followed the war. Barely conscious of the 'austerity' that descended upon Britain at that time, I paid little heed to the coal and food shortages which dogged my fellow countrymen. Quite frankly, I didn't seem to notice the difference. Apart from the excessively bitter, cold, winter of 1947, life to me seemed just as it ever was....perfectly normal. Perhaps, what wasn't normal, was the mindset that seemed to afflict most little boys at that time. Unlike most Britons who had endured a long war and now only sought to forget about it all and enjoy the peace, we youngsters were entirely different. We'd not laid our weapons to one side...oh! no.....we still hated the Germans with a passion. Those faceless men with their coal-scuttle helmets whose very name still had the power to fill us with fearful thoughts. We didn't much care for the Japanese either, but the Germans were much closer to home and, besides, some of us still harboured memory of bombs whistling down and the fractured sound of desynchronised aircraft engines as 'Jerry' passed over above us. It was a loathing and distrust created by the fertile imagination of children...yes, but to us it didn't seem unreasonable. When we played our games of war amongst the bombed out buildings and in smelly, long abandoned, air-raid shelters, nobody wanted to be a 'German'. Rightly or wrongly we immortalised the virtue of all things British and nurtured the belief that we were sons of the noblest, greatest race of people in the world.

Then came 1950, the start of a new decade which brought with it a resurgent interest in the exploits of those who had been caught up in WWII. Suddenly there was a proliferation of books dealing with the subject of war. It also heralded the start of the 'Golden' age of British war movies. Some were very good, others hampered by indifferent production values were less so. No longer satisfied with the fanciful exploits of 'Rockfist' Rogan in the 'Champion' comic, I had progressed to the stories of Douglas Bader, Odette Churchill, Guy Gibson, and Colditz Castle, etc.

Later still I began to enjoy the war novels of Nicholas Monserrat based on his own experience as a naval officer during the war. One such book, 'The Cruel Sea', had made a lasting impression upon me. So it was that my joy was boundless when, during the summer of 1953, my mother informed me she had arranged for us to see the 'The Cruel Sea' at the Leicester Square Theatre, in London, where it had premiered a few days earlier. I had read all the publicity guff about the film and on the appointed day with high expectancy and a liberal dose of patriotic fervour my mother and I joined the happy throng that stood waiting in the sunshine outside the theatre.

It seemed like an eternity before we became seated inside, but eventually the lights dimmed and in the hushed darkness the screen before me lit up displaying the usual film certification. With a familiar intake of breath I sat back in my seat and watched as the Title and opening credits for the film flashed on the screen against the backdrop of a moderately 'heaving' sea and the accompaniament of sober music, followed by the opening narration and the unmistakable voice of Jack Hawkins, the quintessential English Officer of British films. For the next two hours I expected to see something special... and was not disappointed.

It is unnecessary for me to speak of the films plot for I'm sure that it is something familiar to most of us, but I hope members wont mind if I share aspects of the film that so profoundly affected this 'knowing' 13 year old that day. Firstly, the scenes in which, Lt. Bennett (so ably portrayed by Stanley Baker) sought to undermine the confidence of young Sub.Lt's Lockhart (Donald Sinden) and Ferraby(John Stratton) soon had me sharing their growing dislike of this odious, sneering, bully. When, later, Bennett complains of acute stomach pain and the forthright Sub.Lt Morell (Denholm Elliott) wittily suggested he may have 'a bun in the oven' I delighted in the suppressed glee of the other ward-room occupants and, finally, I shared their relief when Bennett was forced to leave the ship with a duodenal ulcer and Lockhart was made No.1 in his stead. Aside from the main thread of the story, there were several interesting sub-plots that enabled me to empathise with other crew-members of the 'Compass Rose', namely the cuckold Morell, token husband of a show-biz wife (Moira Shearer) whose shallow mind is absorbed with the attention of other men. There is the developing love of Lockhart and Wren Officer, Julie Hallam (Virginia McKenna) and the ill-fated relationship surrounding Coxswain Tallow (Bruce Seton) who seeks to encourage the burgeoning affection between his sister (Megs Jenkins) and shipmate, Chief E.R.Watts, all of which ends in tragedy. Some of the scenes, such as the sinking of the 'Compass Rose' and it's aftermath remain clear in my memory. Perhaps, the most convincing scene of all was that in which Lt.Com.Ericson (Jack Hawkins)is aware of several merchant seamen (survivors of a recent sinking) struggling in the water awaiting rescue, but on the advice of Lockhart who is controlling the asdic, he believes there is a U-Boat lurking directly beneath them. In order to save his ship he feels compelled to act and so drops several depth charges resulting in the death of those in the water. Tragically, they learn there was no U-Boat after all. Shattered by what has happened, Ericson later gets drunk. In a highly emotional scene in which Lockhart seeks to take the blame for what has happened, Ericson is inconsolable, and with tears falling on his cheeks he says to Lockhart, " It's nobody's fault, it's just this damned war".

In my opinion this was Jack Hawkins finest moment on screen. Unkindly perhaps, there are those who believe that had the film been made in the U.S., Hawkins would have got an Oscar..who can really say? Beautifully crafted with typical British understatement, the film has none of the brash, 'gung ho' treatment we associate with American movies of that vintage. It was a great story, well acted and presented. It's depiction of life on board an escort vessel during the Battle of the Atlantic and convoys elsewhere seemed so very 'real', and in my opinion it remains the very best film of it's kind. It is much-loved by admirers of British film and seamen alike. Hopefully, it will also remain a fitting tribute to the memory of Jack Hawkins.

Roger

[Keith Tindell]

Also one of my favourite films, nicholas Monserrat was born in 1910 and died in 1979, quite young really, i have read all his stories and much enjoyed them. He was buried at sea here off of the Isle of Wight, but came back ashore in Compton bay here on the Island , due to lack of weights, he was retaken out a few days later, and was buried again. I believe we still have an area off of the Island that is licensed for ceromonies at sea, KT

[j.sabourn]

#4... That sounds about right then Roger. As was made in 1953 I was at sea then so the earliest I would have seen was 1957 or even later. Know at that time I saw, was talk in the public domain about his throat problems. Later also heard on the scuttlebutt ashore that he was having trouble with his voice box, and even then some of the general public thought he had had a voice box fitted , obviously not true by your account. Cheers JS

[Captain Kong]

From his BIO................
.
He died three months after an operation to insert an artificial voice box in April 1973.


Underwent cobalt treatment for a secondary condition of the larynx in 1959 after making The League of Gentlemen (1960). Afterwards he took voice coaching and reduced the number of cigarettes he smoked each day from about sixty to five. However, while filming Guns at Batasi (1964) five years later his voice began to fail. It was not until Christmas 1965 that he was diagnosed with throat cancer, by which time the only possible treatment was a total laryngectomy in January of the following year. Ever since, with his approval, his performances were dubbed, often by Robert Rietty or Charles Gray. Hawkins continued to smoke after losing his voice. In the completely restored edition of Lawrence of Arabia (1962) in 1989, Gray also dubbed Hawkins's voice for the sound restoration in scenes which had been deleted from previous editions of the film. In the same film, Rietty had also dubbed Gamil Ratib's voice at first place.

[gray_marian]

#8, He used a mechanical larynx to aid his speech from 1959-66. Think that's were the confusion emerged with the public.