Rent Cockleshell Heroes (1955)

Marine War. - Cockleshell Heroes review by Steve

World War II action film which approximately recreates an audacious raid by a squad of marines in kayaks on German battleships docked in the French port of Bordeaux. Which was little more than a suicide mission from which only two men returned. Both the survivors advised on the production, though the script strays some way from the facts.

This is an example of the durability of the WWII special operations genre, because there's a lot wrong with the film but it still ultimately delivers. There was a troubled production which is exposed in uneven writing and direction. There were many hands on the tiller. Some of the script is distinctly good, but plenty is pretty poor.

And American José Ferrer is curious casting as the freethinking creator of the project. Trevor Howard gives it his best shot as the long serving officer aghast at the permissive methods of the amateur enthusiast. There is an impression of difficulty getting the slim premise up to feature film length, because there is a lot of filler.

However, as soon as the lightweight canoes are launched into the French estuary with a cargo of limpet mines and the Nazis in pursuit, the adrenaline kicks in. Someone had faith in this film, because as well as Technicolor, there is early use of CinemaScope. The scenes on the river at night are gorgeous. And the film lives as a tribute to the bravery of the marines.