Western Approaches (1944)

Directed by

Pat Jackson

Genre

documentary film

Country

United Kingdom

Runtime

1h 23m

Rating

6.4 of 10 from 5 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A crew of British merchant sailors are stranded in a lifeboat in the North Atlantic during World War II. They signal for help and a nearby German U-boat tries to ambush their rescuers. The sailors must spot the submarine before it attacks.

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What happens

Western Approaches is a 1944 docufiction film directed by Pat Jackson and was Crown Film Unit's first Technicolor production. The music is by Clifton Parker. It is the fictional account of 22 British Merchant Navy sailors adrift in a lifeboat. They are able to signal by Morse code their position. A nearby U-boat receives the signal along with a friendly vessel which changes course to go to their rescue. The captain of the U-boat decides to wait in ambush with its two remaining torpedoes. Before the rescue ship arrives, the U-boat's periscope is spotted by the lifeboat. The U-boat fires its torpedoes just as the rescue vessel is alerted to the U-boat's presence. Although set in the North Atlantic, much of it was shot in the Irish Sea. Sailors rather than professional actors were used. Trade papers reported that the film among those "doing well" at the British box office in 1945. It was called "the outstanding documentary release" of January 1945. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

• Lifeboat (1944)
• Atlantic Trawler (1944)
• The Sea Shall Not Have Them (1954)
• 49th Parallel (1941)
• For Those in Peril (1944)
• Close Quarters (1943)
• Das Boot (1981)
• The Return of the Vikings (1944)