PodBill Just what I expected

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Leofwine_draca MORNING DEPARTURE is another exemplary seafaring thriller from British director Roy Ward Baker, who was definitely one of our most interesting talents during the 1950s and 1960s. Baker directs the tale with a steely eye for realism, refusing to fall for overt sentimentality and creating a rough, tough tale that is all the better for it. It's almost as good as Baker's Titanic classic A NIGHT TO REMEMBER (still the definitive re-telling of the disaster).The story is simple enough, about a submarine which is accidentally damaged and grounded on the sea bed. While rescue vessels are sent to help out, the men on board the sub begin to work out their own predicament and come up with ways that they can help themselves. To say more of the plot would be to spoil the experience, and this is definitely one film you don't want to get spoiled before watching.The cast is one of those fantastic all-star ensembles, headed by the reliable John Mills and Nigel Patrick as his second in command. Richard Attenborough cements his reputation for creating a lot out of a little, while the scene-stealer of the piece is the delightful James Hayter playing the cook. Others like George Cole, Bernard Lee, Kenneth More, and Victor Maddern do their bit with aplomb. MORNING DEPARTURE is a tense, gripping, character-focused piece of drama that proves to be another highlight of British film-making in the 1950s.

Robert J. Maxwell A British submarine, Trojan, accidentally runs into a drifting mine that blows off her bow and floods her stern. The central section sinks to the bottom with twelve men left alive. Submarine rescue ships come to her aid but it's a long hard slog, introducing air into the hull and trying to lift the wreck with wires. There is a means of escape from the submarine but it will accommodate only eight of the survivors, leaving four men (chosen by lot) to a problematic future.Frightened men trapped aboard a disabled submarine at the bottom of the ocean. You'd expect a lot of drama, speech making, and philosophizing on what it's all about. Well -- there is a little of that, but not too much.The drama centers around the stoker, one of the four losers, played by a baby-faced Richard Attenborough. When the boat is disabled, he reveals himself as a sniveling coward. (Note: No cowardice is complete without its "sniveling" qualifier.) But in the course of their isolation, the four remaining men are drawn together and Attenborough learns to overcome his fear and to care for a shipmate who is sick.John Mills is the captain who remains behind. And aside from Attenborough, there are also Wylie Watson as the comical but sensitive cook who doesn't know how to pronounce the word "Pisces" in the Astrology column, and Nigel Patrick as Number One.Happily, although these four are stuck in a disabled undersea wreck, the film makers are not. Scenes in the submarine alternate with the efforts of those ashore and those in the rescue craft to haul the mauled hull to the surface. These men are led by the reassuring Bernard Lee. Lee is a fine actor but, as it turns out, can't solve every problem that comes along.Because we are able to keep abreast of the rescue efforts and the difficulties involved, we're spared the isolation and claustrophobia of that sunken wardroom. This turns what could have been an ordinary, stiff-upper-lip talkfest into a rather dramatic and well-done story of men facing death while others try to help them.It's based on a play. I can't imagine a play about a situation like this being anything but deadly, but it's a nicely executed film. Good and craftsmanlike.

Irving Warner A Rank production, with passable production quality and excellent acting. Much stock footage and a healthy amt. of rear projection, par for keeping costs down on Rank dramatic quickies. Since the screenplay was adapted from a play, its stage origins are still somewhat apparent. The performances of Mills, and a very young Attenborough, plus seemingly one-half the J.R. Rank stable of regulars are very good. The sets and costumes were surprisingly ratty--long in the tooth! Still, this is only a few years after the war, and things were still very hard-up in England. Ultimately, this is a "talker" and not an "actioner", and it does fairly well for all that, though not spectacularly so. The ending, to me, disappointed. I do recommend this for classic movie fans.

shell-26 John Mills is superb as the indomitable submarine captain who leaves his wife and baby for a routine patrol. Richard Attenborough excels as the young sailor who cracks under pressure.A wonderful film which may have started as a play. Well formed with portrayals which are both intimate and skilful. The "character" actors are enjoyable and colourful as the submarine sets sail, all leading to heightened drama when tragedy strikes.If you like British black and white films about stiff upper lips and devotion to duty, you cannot do better.God save the King.