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07/12/1943 Action, Drama, War 1h 37m
72
User score

Overview

Based on the true story of the 1940 rescue of the tanker MV San Demetrio by parts of her own crew after she had been set afire in the middle of the Atlantic by the German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer and then had been abandoned. When one of the lifeboats drifted back to the burning tanker the day after, and found that she still hadn't exploded, they decided to board her and put out the fires. Eventually, they managed to start the engine again and decided to try to reach Britain against all odds.

  1. Charles Frend

    Director, Writer

  2. F. Tennyson Jesse

    Writer

  3. Robert Hamer

    Writer

Top billed cast

  1. Walter Fitzgerald

    Chief Engineer Charles Pollard - M.V. San Demetrio

  2. Ralph Michael

    2nd. Officer Hawkins - M.V. San Demetrio

  3. Neville Mapp

    3rd. Engineer Willey - M.V. San Demetrio

  4. Barry Letts

    Apprentice John Jones - M.V. San Demetrio

  5. Frederick Piper

    Boatswain W.E. Fletcher - M.V. San Demetrio

  6. Gordon Jackson

    Messboy John Jamieson - M.V. San Demetrio

  7. Robert Beatty

    'Yank' Preston - M.V. San Demetrio

  8. Mervyn Johns

    Greaser John Boyle - M.V. San Demetrio

  9. James Donald

    Gunnery Officer - H.M.S. Jervis Bay

  10. View more

Full Cast & Crew

Reviews

A review by CinemaSerf
Written by CinemaSerf on 2025-05-10
Ok, so much of this is clearly filmed in a great big water tank at Ealing studios against a filmed backdrop that all too often gives that game away, but there’s still the essence of a story of tenacity and courage that is well portrayed here as the oil tanker “San Demetrio” finds itself looking the wrong way down the barrel of the 11-inch guns of the Nazi battleship “Scheer”. Badly damaged and left to the elements, the crew are ordered to abandon ship but after roaming around in the violent Atlantic for two days they happen upon their erstwhile home - and it’s still afloat! Lead by...read the rest
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Status
Released

Original Language
English

Budget
$0.00

Revenue
$0.00

Keywords