The Ship That Died of Shame (1955)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Basil Dearden

Writers:

Basil Dearden (writer)
Nicholas Monsarrat (novel)
(more)

Release Date:

30 January 1956 (Sweden)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Adventure on the high seas!

Plot:

A trio of ex-servicemen begin smuggling innocuous black market items into post-war Britain but through greed they graduate to more sinister cargo.

Plot Keywords:

Smuggling | Black Market | Mechanic | Pedophile | Veteran

Cast

Richard Attenborough	...	George Hoskins
George Baker	...	Bill Randall (skipper of 1087 / narrator
Bill Owen	...	Birdie (coxswain of 1087)
Virginia McKenna	...	Helen Randall
Roland Culver	...	Maj. Fordyce
Bernard Lee	...	Customs Officer Brewster
Ralph Truman	...	Sir Richard
John Chandos	...	Raines (fugitive killer)
Harold Goodwin	...	Customs officer #2
John Longden	...	Detective
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alfie Bass	...	Sailor on 1087 (uncredited)
John Boxer	...	Customs man (uncredited)
Stratford Johns	...	Garage worker (uncredited)
David Langton	...	Man in Coastal Forces Club bar (uncredited)

Directed by
Basil Dearden

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Basil Dearden		writer
Nicholas Monsarrat		novel
Michael Relph		writer
John Whiting		writer

Produced by
Basil Dearden	....	co-producer
Michael Relph	....	producer

Original Music by
William Alwyn

Cinematography by
Gordon Dines

Film Editing by
Peter Bezencenet

Art Direction by
Bernard Robinson

Costume Design by
Anthony Mendleson		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Harry Frampton	....	makeup artist

Production Management
David Peers	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Julian Mackintosh	....	third assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
David Butcher	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
Bert Davey	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Tony Rimmington	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
Jack Shampan	....	chief draughtsman (uncredited)

Sound Department
Arthur Bradburn	....	sound recordist
Stephen Dalby	....	sound supervisor (uncredited)
Alastair McIntyre	....	assistant sound editor (uncredited)
Lionel Selwyn	....	assistant sound editor (uncredited)
Gordon Stone	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Don Wortham	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Geoffrey Dickinson	....	special processes

Camera and Electrical Department
Chic Waterson	....	camera operator
Brian Elvin	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Eddie Orton	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Herbert Smith	....	focus puller (uncredited)

Music Department
Jack Fishman	....	composer: source music (uncredited)
Dock Mathieson	....	conductor (uncredited)

Other crew
Jean Graham	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Ealing Studios

Distributors

• General Film Distributors (GFD) (1955) (UK) (theatrical)
• Continental Distributing (1956) (USA) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

PT Raiders (USA)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Company:

Ealing Studios

Trivia:

First film of David Langton.

Quotes:

Bill Randall (skipper of 1087: [referring to a suspicious-looking passenger] I wonder who the devil he is!
George Hoskins: Let's just say 500 quid and leave it at that!

Straightforward tale of moral decline

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Spoilers. The title pretty much says it all. Ship 1087 is the British equivalent of an American MTB, operating in the English channel as a patrol boat, rescue vessel, escort, and what have you. While similar craft occasionally break down or are hard on the wheel, old 1087 is fast and reliable and gets its crew out of bad scrapes, as if it were a sentient and benificent force. The end of the war sees its crew dispersed and a bit disgruntled, and the boat itself winds up in a graveyard. One of the hands, Attenborough, runs into two of the former crew in a pub and persuades them to buy the old 1087, spruce her up, and use her to engage in a bit of minor smuggling, a few crates of choice wine now and then, just to keep the old boat going and its peacetime crew in cash. No harm to anybody, don't you know. But Sir Dickie, now more or less skipper of the boat, is sucked into running stuff rather murkier than Chateau neuf du Pape. He begins working in cahoots with a more dangerous ex-army man, and finds himself now transporting guns and then fugitive child murderers. Challenged by the two other hands, he replies, "I'll take care of business. You take care of the boat." Well, things just go rotten after that. Hunted down by the authorities, the Major plugs the coastguard officer. When the third hand, Raines, who maintains the engines, tries to leave, the Major plugs him as well. The protagonist, Randall, a basically good guy, plugs the Major. Sir Dickie and Randall have it out on the deck of old 1087, now heaving up and down in a heavy sea. Dickie tumbles overboard but manages to catch hold of a stanchion. Randall reaches down to pull him back aboard but old 1087 gives a sudden lurch and yanks Dickie into the sea before apparently dropping its still spinning screws on him. The boat then dies of shame. The boat of course is a symbol of the moral status of its crew. During the war it looks spiffy and performs superbly. Engaged in smuggling, its engines begin to fail more and more often, and it developes other quirks. It's all a bit on the heavy handed side, but it's not an uninteresting movie. Some nice shots of the boat, long and sleek, at sea, and some engaging scenes of combat near the beginning. Overall, this sort of story isn't surprising coming from Nicholas Monseratt, but it isn't the kind of movie we usually associate with Ealing Studios. It's worth catching if it's on, and it's not on TV very often.