Wonderful widescreen. Complete and uncut.

Ten days before World War II, Germany's crack battleship, Admiral Graf Spee sails with orders to carry out action against Allied merchant shipping in the South Atlantic. Captained by Hans Langsdorff (Peter Finch) Graf Spee with her superior speed, sinks ship after ship.
Meanwhile, the net is tightening round the German Killer. Outwitted by British Intelligence, the Germans are convinced Graf Spee is trapped by a massive naval force. The captain evacuates his men and as a succession of explosions light the night, Graf Spee becomes a burning inferno, Langsdorff has settled the pride of the German fleet, in the belief that he was facing impossible odds. The killer of the Atlantic would strike no more.

a viewer's comments:

- Rousing well made movie, using some of the original ships.
Fine, entertaining movie of the famous sea battle between 3 smaller British warships versus the great German Pocket Battleship "Graf Spee". Tremendous sea scenes , aided by the fact that most of the original ships which fought the actual battle are used in the movie. Well acted all-round with Peter Finch doing a fine job as Captain Langsdorf.



- A change of pace from Powell & Pressburger
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger are probably best known for their mystical, romantic films like: 'A Matter of Life and Death'; 'Black Narcissus', and 'The Red Shoes'.

'Battle of the River Plate' is a decent film, but it does have some awkward lapses. There is some excellent footage shot at sea using veteran Royal Navy ships. Unfortunately this sits uneasily with the studio sets. During the battle scenes I had the uneasy feeling someone out of shot was throwing buckets of water in the air to simulate shell-fire.

Instead of indulging in Technicolor, I feel the producers should have gone for the harsher monochrome which 'The Cruel Sea' and 'Sink the Bismarck!' use so well. Black and white photography also makes the shift between location and studio work much less obvious.

There are some good performances in the film, notably Peter Finch as Langsdorff. I remember seeing newsreel footage of the real Langsdorff attending the funeral of his men in Montevideo, he gave a German Naval salute instead of the Nazi version. His portrayal as a 'decent' German has a basis in fact.

The battle of the River Plate was the last Naval action to take place without the benefit of technical advances such as radar. It was a fine piece of seamanship and the story deserved to be told. At the end of this film, unfortunately, you can't help feeling it could have been told better.



- Rousing well made movie, using some of the original ships.
Fine, entertaining movie of the famous sea battle between 3 smaller British warships versus the great German Pocket Battleship "Graf Spee". Tremendous sea scenes , aided by the fact that most of the original ships which fought the actual battle are used in the movie. Well acted all-round with Peter Finch doing a fine job as Captain Langsdorf.




Cast: John Gregson .... Captain Bell - HMS Exeter
Anthony Quayle .... Commodore Harwood - HMS Ajax
Ian Hunter (I) .... Captain Woodhouse - HMS Ajax
Jack Gwillim .... Captain Parry - HMNZS Achilles
Bernard Lee (I) .... Captain Dove - MS Africa Shell
Lionel Murton .... Mike Fowler.

Also Known As:
Graf Spee, The (1956)
Pursuit of the Graf Spee (1957) (USA)
Runtime: 119 min / USA:106 min (cut version)
Country: UK
Language: English
Color: Color (Technicolor)

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