San Demetrio London (1943)

I rather warmed to this movie at its very opening. The San Demetrio, a good-sized tanker, being in port, is a bit loosely run. Two officers sit at a table and crack open a bottle. A third junior officer enters the compartment and the others invite him to join them. "What? At this time of day? Thanks." Alas, today no more booze on British ships.It's 1940 and the San Demetrio loads up on oil at Galveston, Texas. Two new hands are hired, one a stereotypical bragging Texan. "I eat boatswains raw!" He shows up at the gangway drunk and is splashed with a bucket of water. He's a terrible actor but there are some familiar and reliable people in the cast: Mervyn Johns (aka Bob Cratchett in Alistair Sims' "Christmas Carol"), James Donald, Ralph Michael, and a youthful Gordon Jackson. Always nice to see old friends.On the return trip the San Demetrio runs into a German raider, is hit twice, set afire, and abandoned. You don't want to be aboard an oil tanker on fire. The lifeboat carrying the officers is picked up by another ship in the convoy but the enlisted men's boat is alone on the icy sea. They row until they're battered about, sick, and exhausted, and the next day find the San Demetrio, burning but still afloat. They board her and set about making the scorched and broken vessel seaworthy again.Admirable attention is paid to the details of the work. (How do you steer a ship towards home without a compass?) The snipes get their due. In its depiction of minor circumstantial demands, often dangerous, it reminds me a little of "The Wreck of the Mary Deare." The screenplay is original, not from a novel, and the writers knew the lingo. The San Demetrio is low in the water and a large wave sweeps over her stern. "That's what I call pooping," the chief yells out. He's right. The stern was, and sometimes still is, called the poop deck.The special effects are of the period. There is little drama -- a man dies and is buried at sea -- and what there is, is all the more effective. It's a modest tale of the gallantry in hard and skillful work and it's pretty good.

Just for the record, "San Demetrio London" is not a religious movie, and it has nothing whatever to do with any sort of sacred personages. In fact the characters depicted in this movie are quite the antithesis. "San Demetrio" was the name of a ship, a British commercial tanker operated by the Eagle Tanker Company, that was sailing during World War II. The incredible story recounted in the film is true, and the jaw-dropping ordeal endured by the members of the crew took place exactly as depicted. Without giving the story away, suffice it to say that, had these men been members of the military rather than mere civilian merchant seaman, it is very likely that every one of them would have been awarded the Victoria Cross. I had heard of this movie for many years but only recently finally got the opportunity to actually view it. It is an extremely dramatic story told in a very simple and straightforward manner. That is as it should be, because the story itself is so dramatic that no embellishment is necessary, and would probably only diminish the impact of the story.It is acknowledge that some of the special effects are less than first-quality by today's standards. However, allowances must be made for the fact that this film was produced in Britain in 1943, and there was a war on. That being said, the depiction of the tanker itself, and the details of the manner in which it was operated, are extremely accurate. I've sailed on several elderly merchant ships that had been built during WW-II, including an old T2 tanker, and I can vouch for the movie's authenticity. This is not altogether surprising when one considers that "San Demetrio London" was directed by the same man who later made "The Cruel Sea". Highly recommended as a depiction of WW- II at sea.

As I write only 90 people have rated this film which suggests very few have seen it. That is a shame. It is however a difficult film to "sell" to a modern audience so used to fast-paced action, fireballs, gore and the odd bit of gratuitous nudity. This is understated in almost every way with true heroism treated as "just get on with it chaps." Made in 1943 it clearly has a 'propaganda' element to it, ordinary British (plus one American) merchant seamen facing terrible adversity and just getting on with the job. Not a hint of melodrama in sight. In one scene having re-boarded their crippled ship, the men have to decide whether to return to N. America (safer but against prevailing winds) or try to make it home but face further possible German attacks. They take a vote! A cool, calm measured vote at that. Having laid out the possible flaws in this film I would still urge anyone to watch it. It is not a wartime epic, it is a very good film.

The San Demetrio is a tanker that is apart of an trans-Atlantic convoy travelling to England from the States. When the convoy is attacked by an U-boat their destroyer is sunk and the San Demetrio is damaged very badly and the crew abandon ship. All the life boats are picked up but one boat drifts and is lost. Weeks later the crew in the lifeboat come across a ship, only to find that the San Demetrio has survived despite burning badly. The crew re-board the ship but find that getting the fire out is only the first of the dangers they must overcome.I must have read the wrong synopsis when I thought of watching this film – I thought it was a standard action packed film where the crew of a tanker battle against the u-boat. Regardless of this, I was glad I watched it as it was different from the usual wartime propaganda in some ways and was quite enjoyable, if not thrilling. The plot shows the men battle through difficult conditions and being heroes without realy thinking of it – they were just doing their duty and being themselves. This message is still important today and is told in a low-key way with the need for action etc.However, being low-key means that not all the tension of them being on a burning ship (that could explode) comes through. Likewise the majority of the danger they face remains with them and I never felt gripped or on the edge of my seat – the most I could say is that it was interesting rather than involving. The cast do well despite the irritating addition of an American to the cast (yes, the studios have been doing it that long!), but this is a minor annoyance. The rest are all good British stiff upper lips regardless of class or rank.Overall this is an enjoyable little film but I wanted it to be as exciting on the screen as it could have been. Sadly the low-key nature of the film makes the tension turn into more interest than edge-of-seat tension.