Though few in number, the films in this category are so
distinct thematically as to deserve their separate category.
Although the leading characters tend to be non-naval, the
predicament being explored seems absolutely germane.
Based on an actual incident in 1960,
when four Russian sailors were adrift off the Siberian
coast for 49 days before being picked up. With Vitaly
Pionenko. Dir Gennady Gabay
H-R
Lifeboat (US, 1944, 96 mins)
The lifeboat holds survivors from
a torpedoed freighter plus a Nazi from the sub which sank
them. With Walter Slezak, Tallulah Bankhead, John Hodiak.
Dir Alfred Hitchcock
Navy (aka Kaigun) (Japan, 1943, 90 mins)
Lavish production, conceived as a
tribute to Japan's navy flyers. Dir Tomotaka Tasaka
S-T
The Sea Shall Not Have Them (GB, 1954,
91 mins)
Shot-down flyers in a dinghy are sought
by friend and foe alike. With Dirk Bogarde, Michael Redgrave,
Nigel Patrick. Dir Lewis Gilbert
Sea Wife (GB, 1957, 82 mins)
A very mixed bunch adrift on a liferaft
after the fall of Singapore. With Richard Burton, Joan
Collins, Cy Grant. Dir Bob McNaught
Survivors of a shipwreck cluster round
a lifeboat which can only accomodate a fraction of them.
With Tyrone Power, Mai Zetterling, Stephen Boyd. Dir Richard
Sale
U-Z
Western Approaches (aka The Raider)
(GB, 1944, 83 mins)
Torpedoed merchantmen realise they
are being shadowed by a U-boat hoping to pick off their
rescuers. With non-professional cast. Dir Pat Jackson
