Think I have seen this film at least five times in 60 years. I love how they tell the story without over complicating it with added drama. A naval battle has plenty of action & just doesn't need that.
Now that’s an interesting tidbit. It’s like Richard Todd playing John Howard in The Longest Day. Todd was a paratrooper on D-Day and actually met up with Howard during the battle. Or Donald Pleasance in The Great Escape. He was a real POW of the krauts in WW2
Whats even better is that many years later, when he played the Captain, Knight had a momentary flashback to the events which you can see when he looks down and rocks slightly During the making of an episode of This Is Your Life he met the men who fired the shot that took his sight
@@kenowens9021 Very interesting! And I thought I knew WW2 movie trivia... 😊 Here's one for you, the First Sea Lord played the shipbuilder of the Argo in Jason & The Argonauts...
One of the first pictures I remember seeing in an actual movie theater. My Dad & Uncle took me & my brother to the "Pickwick Theater," Park Ridge Illinois.
This was a very well made movie 🎥. Since there isn’t much worth watching anymore out of Hollywood I’ve watched it at least 3-4 times over the past 4 years. Great actors and well made without all the ridiculous special effects. It’s a shame it wasn’t made in color but the black and white gives it that historical value.
I actually like the effects. There is some clear work with miniatures which it’s not easy to make look real. But they do a really good job of this. It’s simple and unsophisticated but serves the story and the movie quite well. What I find infinitely more distracting are the events that happen in the movie that are totally ahistorical and unreal. Like this dude Shepard having a son on the Victorious who gets shot down. Like the destroyer firing torpedoes, getting a hit and then being hit and destroyed in one shot just like the Hood. Like the fact that the Luftwaffe air cover doesn’t arrive to help the Bismarck because Hitler lies about sending them, when in reality it was simply that they weren’t close enough for air support. Those things are historically fictitious. And quite unnecessary to the absolutely real high drama of the events as they unfolded.
@@matthewnewton8812 true I’ve been filming in Malta where some old horizon tanks still exist, not in use for effects these days but the odd commercial or underwater sequence gets filmed there…
I dont know, oppenheimer was a masterpiece, and Dune was pretty great. Yes, hollywood has declined significantly. The Marvel movies and all these vullshit sequels are not thr right direction for hollywood, imo.
See her in the 12 O’clock High season 1 episode 28 called ‘the cry of fallen birds’ to see her beauty more clearly. The quality of the series film is much better than in Bismarck. Her acting range is also better. It is on UA-cam.
@@albertperrin694 I've watched the original 1949 movie with Peck, Jagger, and Marlowe a thousand times but never watched the TV series. I'm just old school.
Kenneth Williams performance is so wonderful. His pain on the news that his son is missing and recounting the death of his wife is conveyed just with his eyes and a pause in his speech. A different breed - from a man who lived through the whole damn awfulness.
@alicemiller2380 Thank you Alice, I managed to track down a letter he wrote his Mum from the Hood & the only picture we know of. I'm grateful to The Hood Association website for all their information. I also discovered a cousin of ours that I didn't know of who supplied the letter & picture. My Mum always lamented how she never truly got to know Joseph as she was quite young when he perished. Thank you for the kind sentiment. Kevin
@@kevinough7754 Hi Kevin, I have spent many years researching local histories from WW1, producing displays and a book. Your story of Joseph has focused me on starting to do the same for our local WW2 veterans. I was reluctant to do this as emotional investment is huge. I am honored to know about your mother's cousin Joseph and hope to bring the stories about other WW2 veterans come to light and recognition because you shared his story.
Kenneth More actually served as a lieutenant aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious from which the Swordfish torpedo bombers launched their attack against the Bismarck. I don't know whether he was involved in the Battle of the Denmark Strait.
The movie is dated 1960. The same year Johnny Horton released a Single called " Sink the Bismark" that got to #3 on American Charts and #1 on Canadian.
I was kind of expecting the song in the beginning of the movie. It was his 2nd hit after The Battle Of New Orleans. In 1814 we took a little trip Along with General Jackson down the mighty Mississp
This film has special meaning for me, as my uncle Paul served in the Kriegsmarine who, along with my uncles Jupp (Infantry on eastern front) and Georg (paratrooper 1944 captured in Normany), all survived WWII. Sadly, my grandmother Anna was killed March 30 1945 when an American tank shot a shell thru the schoolhouse where she lived, with my mother and aunt sheltered in the cellar. My grandfather served as infrantry in WWI and temporarily in WWII as training Feldwebel, and he also survived.
Rodney bombarded a German tank column around the Normandy landings. Apparently her fire threw 50 ton tanks around like toys. Strange ship but incredibly effective. Good choice of favourite! Mine is Warspite. The battleship too angry to die.
When my daughter was 10 we watched this as a family while she played in her room. At 1:18:45 she walked in and said “Is that the Bismarck?” The film answered. We are still laughing over it.
One slightly amusing feature of this movie is Dana Wynter's immaculate appearance in every scene. They are all there underground, working around the clock, and she always looks as though fresh from the make up department. Maybe just a bead of sweat now and then?
For those who might not recall: more than two years before America entered WWII, Britain stood alone against the Nazis, who occupied all of northern Europe. Historically, Britain had never built up much of an army - as an island nation her navy had ruled the seas for centuries and given Britain an empire upon which the sun never set. The Great Depression over the 1930s had wiped out most of Britain’s wealth. In 1940, Britain faced a Nazi empire that had accumulated the wealth of its conquered European neighbors to, among other things, build a new class of battleship the likes of which had never been seen outside Japan - where the Yamato was still top secret. At this time, Britain relied on convoys from North America to provide food and fuel that once had freely flowed from its worldwide suppliers,. This movie is set in Britain’s darkest moment, when the Atlantic convoys were being decimated by Nazi U-boats, and Germany’s monster battleship Bismarck had set sail to wipe out whatever merchant marine the U-boats had not sunk. This historically accurate drama takes us through the British navy’s desperate struggle to sink the Bismarck before it was able to cut off that island nation’s source of survival. Here we see how Britain
England VS Germany VS National Socialism. Got news for you, IF the men had known what England would turn into they would NEVER have fought, they would have stayed at home. None of them would have recognized England, anymore the Germans would have recognized Germany (well, what's left of it, all of Eastern Germany is gone, the Russians and the Poles stole that, 2nd biggest land theft in European history) But I'm digressing.
There is one historical accuracy that I noticed. Admiral Lutjens was NOT the Nazi fanatic he was portrayed as in the film. Lutjens was in fact opposed to Hitler's antisemitism.
I've seen this several times (like many) the boats scenes were great for their day but don't look quite so good today. Great story and I suspect it won't be the last time I watch this great movie.
I have studied the Bismarck Operation (Operation Rhineburg) as closely as I could. Surprisingly, Admiral Gunther Lutjens was not a Nazi Fanatic while Captain Ernst Lindemann was. Admiral Lutjens was supposed to rendezvous with Battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in the middle of the Atlantic and then begin Commerce Raiding. But suicidal courage by RAF Bomber Crews damaged both Battlecruisers and they couldn’t sail. At that point Lutjens tried to call off the operation but Grand Admiral Eric Raeder ordered the operation to continue (Eric Raeder knew Hitler was planning to attack the Soviet Union in June of 1941 and thought that if the German Navy did not win some kind of victory beforehand Hitler would begin diverting resources away from the German Navy to the Army. He was right. Captain Lindemann was fanatically enthusiastic about the operation.) The captain of Bismarck’s Sister Ship - the Tirpitz - begged to be allowed to accompany Bismarck and Heavy Cruiser Prince Eugene but Hitler refused. Thus, even as Bismarck and Prince Eugene began get underway Admiral Lutjens knew the entire operation was doomed.
The flying boat that found the Bismark was a PBY-5 No. AH545. Officially, RAF Pilot Officer Dennis Briggs was the pilot and Smith was the co-pilot. (Smith however was an American, in an American uniform, and was there to train PBY crews). Had Germany known this at the time they could have declared war on the United States or Congress could have impeached Roosevelt. The reason Bismark had problems with the PBY and the Fairey Swordfish is because those planes were slow enough, Bismark's (new) automatic targeting systems couldn't compensate.
If you ever make it, better meet her when she is eating... With the butterfly effect who knows what will happen if you delay her, she may not get to do something and someone may not get born from it LOL....
They bamboozled the Germans. The Bismark had radar controlled anti aircraft guns set up to fire on 300 mph aircraft, but the Swordfish had 70 mph max. A few hits got the biplanes, but they were cannon shells and went straight through the wood and fabric. All Swordfish returned safely.
It's interesting how many units were unsuccessful or "obsolete" in one aspect of the war and then became key contributors in the Battle of the Atlantic.
Another masterpiece in film making. I remember seeing this about a year after it was released when I was 11. For me, one of the best bits was at the end when the Admirals came out of the war room onto the street and Kenneth More asked one of the sentry's, "What time is it?" The sentry replies, "4:15, sir". KM asks, "Is that day or night?" Sentry says, "That's bloody lovely, isn't it. He's got four stripes and he doesn't know if it's day or night!"
@jayskinner4828 0 seconds ago HM Hood was in a position that should never been a frontline battle against the Bismark. Old an not equipped to handle a hit by 18-inch guns.
Highly recommended. I can't believe I'd never seen this movie before. It's terrific, a great naval running battle story in the tradition of CS Forester, who wrote the book on which this was based, and Patrick O'Brian, who wrote the Aubrey-Maturin books. This has pace, excitement, good writing, good acting and human interest. And I love the footage of real actual gunnery & air sorties. The director, Lewis Gilbert, did a superb job with this. He later went on to direct three Bond movies.
Then in a few years the carrier Victorious I think it was, was sent to join up with the American Navy to fight the IJN with the radio call sign USS Robin along side Saratoga (I think was the last US Carrier from the start of the war).... Till the US could get there new carriers to replace the sunk/highly damaged one...
The movie, the book and the Revell model ship were huge hits when first released. The Horton song was a ridiculous "novelty" song. Thank goodness it was never used in the film.
I served for 3 years on the battleship USS New Jersey (BB-62) from 1984 through 1987. I was an Operations Specialist (Radar Man). Our 9 sixteen inch main battery guns were capable of firing a nine-gun broadside of 1900 or 2100 pound projectiles at targets over 30 miles away.
Interesting the way these older movies often play like stage theatre: lots of dialogue between actors, not so much "action", even with a high action topic like this one. Well, at the end of the day, it all starts with the stage, doesn't it?
Small side note, while most of the cast is sadly no longer with us, Seaman Brown (the one that collapses from exhaustion just before the big event) is. If you either watched 90's anime, or play Total War Warhammer (any of the three) his voice might even sound familiar, it's none other than Sean Barret, in one of his earliest roles.
When I was a little kid I remember singing a song about sinking the Bismarck To The Bottom of The Sea. My Father was in WW2 in the Army Air Corp My Uncle who lived right behind us with my cousins was in the Navy. I think it was my cousin Gary who taught us the song. 🎶
For any old movie buffs ... the exiting D.O.D. played Mr. Andrews, Titanic builder in "A Night to Remember" (1958) and he played a British attache in "Battle of the River Plate" with Peter Finch and Anthony Quayle.
In “Something of Value” (1957), Dana Wynters, a German-English actress, was 31 years old and starred alongside Rock Hudson. She looked so hot throughout the picture, as she always did in all of her movies. Gorgeous woman.
Actually, the only reason that she was born in Germany was because her father was a British citizen (salesman) who happened to be living in Germany at the time.
On both Arethusa, which is mentioned as being on patrol in Faroes Passage, and later on Victorious, which not only delivered the first carrier strike (her green pilots actually damaging Bismarck and exacerbating damage from Prince of Wales' shell hits) but is featured in the Gibraltar scene
I had a great uncle who served in the Royal Navy on a British destroyer in the Battle of Jutland during the First World War. I served in the United States Navy for 25 years on six different warships. I was born in Warrington, in Lancashire in England. My father was a U.S. citizen and my mother a British citizen. My mother was born in northern India.
The actor playing the Captain of the Prince of Wales was one of the few survivors on the Bridge of the POW when the bridge was hit in the battle with the Bismarck. He was blinded at the time. His profession before wartime service was an actor and he played in one film after the battle a fully sighted German officer, you can actually see another actor to his side guiding him in front of the camera. Fortunately he received surgery soon after that restored sight in one eye and he continued his acting career. Look at his eyes at 34:48.
And Johnny Horton had a hit song. " Sink the Bismarck ". " In May of 1941 , the war had just begun. The Germans had the biggest ship that had the biggest guns" ...
During the Second World War, Jon Pertwee (3rd Doctor Who) spent six years in the Royal Navy.He was a crew member of HMS Hood and was transferred off the ship for officer training shortly before she was sunk by the German battleship Bismarck, losing all but three men in May 1941.
It was good enough for its time a long time ago and certainly superlative for a boy of about 10 years when I first saw it. But don't watch it as a grown man in this millennium. It will show its age. Or yours. Or both. Still, a thumbs up for nostalgia.
In the final battle the sea was very rough. Due to the steering damage, the Bismark was unable to control the motion of the ship in the waves. The waves affected the aiming of the Bismark's guns and it failed to hit anything. The Bismark was armored against 15 inch shells. The King George V was armed with 14 inch guns. The Rodney was armed with 16 inch guns. Both ships hit the Bismark but the majority of the serious damage to the Bismark was done by the Rodney which also hit the Bismark with a torpedo.
The KGV 14" shell had nearly the same armor piercing ability of the Rodney's fairly lightweight 16" shells (compared to U.S. 16" naval guns). Battleship armor was much less effective at stopping battleship gun AP shells at close range. At close range the KGV's 14" shells could pass right through the Bismarck's armor belt. Duke of York's 14" repeatedly penetrated Scharnhorst's belt, which was even thicker than Bismarck's. Even Yamato's 20+ inches of turret face armor could be penetrated by U.S. 16" guns at close range.
@@scottb8175 Bismarck and Scharnhorst both had a 320mm main belt, Bismarck had a stronger upper belt and internal armor scheme, she was the better protected of the two overall.
Apparently German capital ships' armouredd decks were quite thick. Sadly, for some reason or other, some vital services (electrical mains and signalling circuits) ran above this deck and were vulnerable to damage from shells even if they didn't penetrate the ship's vitals. Similarly on all capital ships other vital equipment has to be above the armoured deck and for stability reasons cannot be heavily armoured. Range finders and other gun aiming equipment being a classic example, Graf See was also well armoured but her fuel processing plant was outside the armoured citadel. When this was damaged by a relatively light shell her captain ws forced to run for Uruguayan waters or run out of fuel in mid-ocean.
It amazes me that most warships still had an open bridge at that time. You can imagine the kind of weather that would lash across the bridge on a winter’s night in the North Atlantic. The Captain and other officers would just have to shrug it off and get on with their jobs.
צפיתי לראשונה בסרט זה ב 1961 בהיותי בן 14 ומאז צפיתי בו לפחות 10 פעמים. שווה לדעתי להסריט שוב את הסיפור ובטכניקת מחשבים למרות שבשחור לבן יש לזה אפקט אמיתי.
The Bismark only sunk 1 ship in her life, that being the battlecruiser HMS Hood, she never sank a destroyer as is depicted and none of the bi-plans were never shot down.
IRL:The Director Of Operations, knowing the Squadron Commander of the Destroyers didn't order an attack. He simply had the KMS Bismark's position and Speed & Course sent to the Destroyers!
This was a hard watch knowing the fate of Hood, the beauty of Dana Wynters helped somewhat!. ( the crew address on the Bismarck, you can see from the turrets in the background it was filmed on HMS Vanguard)
One minor mistake. The Bismarck was not armed with twin mount 40mm Bofors AA guns as shown at 24:19. He was armed with 10.5 CM , 3.7 CM and 2CM secondary guns. Main armament consisted of 8 38 CM (15") guns.
Not many German capital ships available as movie sets in 1960. Not may available in 1945 for that matter. Directors had to make do with British or even American stand ins. It was a US Navy cruiser that stood in for Graf Spee in the Battle of The River Plate after all.
The producers had to make do with whatever stock footage that they could get ahold of. Apparently there wasn't any footage of German AA fire available at the time. 🤷♂️
They used HMS Vanguard as a stand in for all Battleship scenes. If you look, the sign in English to the right of and behind the gun breeches is visible when depicting British ships, and kept out of view when depicting Bismark, but you can see that they are the same guns.
It takes a special mind to send a couple of thousand sailors into hell, and remain normal. The weight of responsibility. It's well played in this movie.
In May of nineteen forty-one the war had just begun The Germans had the biggest ship, they had the biggest guns The Bismarck was the fastest ship that ever sailed the sea On her deck were guns as big as steers and shells as big as trees Out of the cold and foggy night came the British ship, the Hood And every British seaman, he knew and understood They had to sink the Bismarck, the terror of the sea Stop those guns as big as steers and those shells as big as trees We'll find the German battleship that's makin' such a fuss We gotta sink the Bismarck cause the world depends on us Hit the decks a-runnin' boys and spin those guns around When we find the Bismarck we gotta cut her down The Hood found the Bismarck on that fatal day The Bismarck started firin' fifteen miles away "We gotta sink the Bismarck" was the battle sound But when the smoke had cleared away, the mighty Hood went down For six long days and weary nights they tried to find her trail Churchill told the people "put every ship a-sail 'Cause somewhere on that ocean I know she's gotta be We gotta sink the Bismarck to the bottom of the sea" We'll find that German battleship that's makin' such a fuss We gotta sink the Bismarck 'cause the world depends on us Hit the decks a-runnin' boys and spin those guns around When we find the Bismarck we gotta cut her down The fog was gone the seventh day and they saw the mornin' sun Ten hours away from homeland the Bismarck made its run The admiral of the British fleet said "turn those bows around We found that German battleship and we're gonna cut her down" The British guns were aimed and the shells were comin' fast The first shell hit the Bismarck, they knew she couldn't last That mighty German battleship is just a memory "Sink the Bismarck" was the battle cry that shook the seven seas We found that German battleship been makin' such a fuss We had to sink the Bismarck 'cause the world depends on us We hit the deck a-runnin' and we spun those guns around Yeah, we found the mighty Bismarck and prepared to cut her down We found that German battleship been makin' such a fuss We had to sink the Bismarck 'cause the world depends on us We hit the deck a-runnin' and we spun those guns around We found the mighty Bismarck and then we cut her down
Think I have seen this film at least five times in 60 years. I love how they tell the story without over complicating it with added drama. A naval battle has plenty of action & just doesn't need that.
Umm, half of the movie is added drama lol
Did the officer in command have a son on the Ark Royal ? This is a staple of war films - see US Pacific - and is rarely true. Mind you, Dönitz’s son …
Admiral Lutjens was definitely not the diehard Nazi fanatic he was portrayed as in the film.
Esmond Knight, who played the captain of the Prince of Wales, was actually on the ship during the battle. He was severely wounded, losing an eye.
Now that’s an interesting tidbit. It’s like Richard Todd playing John Howard in The Longest Day. Todd was a paratrooper on D-Day and actually met up with
Howard during the battle. Or Donald Pleasance in The Great Escape. He was a real POW of the krauts in WW2
Whats even better is that many years later, when he played the Captain, Knight had a momentary flashback to the events which you can see when he looks down and rocks slightly
During the making of an episode of This Is Your Life he met the men who fired the shot that took his sight
@@kenowens9021 Very interesting! And I thought I knew WW2 movie trivia... 😊 Here's one for you, the First Sea Lord played the shipbuilder of the Argo in Jason & The Argonauts...
I guess he missed the encounter with the Japanese then.
@@JB-yb4wn He didn't exactly dodge a bullet, but he did.
What a great actress Dana was. Haven't seen all her movies, but, she is always in character.
A great film, I first saw it as a boy in the 1960's. It will always hold a special place for me.
August 1960. The last movie I saw with my Dad, I was eight.
Was on NBC's "Saturday Night At The Movies" c. 1960😊
Quite a good flick, actually ;)
@@garyeastman598 you have the memory 👍
One of the first pictures I remember seeing in an actual movie theater. My Dad & Uncle took me & my brother to the "Pickwick Theater," Park Ridge Illinois.
They don't make 'em like they used to. Haven't seen that movie in decades, still as good as I remember it.
Oh, they still pump out propaganda like crazy, but propaganda changes with the times.
Too much computer simulation - it all looks now like cartoons.
A British Film 🎥 Excellent TOO THE VERY END !!!!!!!!!!!
GOD
This was a very well made movie 🎥. Since there isn’t much worth watching anymore out of Hollywood I’ve watched it at least 3-4 times over the past 4 years. Great actors and well made without all the ridiculous special effects. It’s a shame it wasn’t made in color but the black and white gives it that historical value.
I actually like the effects. There is some clear work with miniatures which it’s not easy to make look real. But they do a really good job of this. It’s simple and unsophisticated but serves the story and the movie quite well.
What I find infinitely more distracting are the events that happen in the movie that are totally ahistorical and unreal. Like this dude Shepard having a son on the Victorious who gets shot down. Like the destroyer firing torpedoes, getting a hit and then being hit and destroyed in one shot just like the Hood. Like the fact that the Luftwaffe air cover doesn’t arrive to help the Bismarck because Hitler lies about sending them, when in reality it was simply that they weren’t close enough for air support.
Those things are historically fictitious. And quite unnecessary to the absolutely real high drama of the events as they unfolded.
@@matthewnewton8812 true I’ve been filming in Malta where some old horizon tanks still exist, not in use for effects these days but the odd commercial or underwater sequence gets filmed there…
Try Tunes of Glory with Alec Guiness and John Mills among other great stars- Amazing film.
I dont know, oppenheimer was a masterpiece, and Dune was pretty great. Yes, hollywood has declined significantly. The Marvel movies and all these vullshit sequels are not thr right direction for hollywood, imo.
🤣🤣🤣 yes, start with stock footage, then a long expository sequence by Edward R Murrow.
That is not a filmmaking win.
Had a crush on Dana Wynter when I saw this movie for the first time.
Dana Wynter was beautiful!
With a modicum of feminine sensitivity and intelligence.
Yes indeed
See her in the 12 O’clock High season 1 episode 28 called ‘the cry of fallen birds’ to see her beauty more clearly. The quality of the series film is much better than in Bismarck. Her acting range is also better. It is on UA-cam.
@@albertperrin694 I've watched the original 1949 movie with Peck, Jagger, and Marlowe a thousand times but never watched the TV series. I'm just old school.
She caught my eye even I was a little boy back then 😍
Kenneth Williams performance is so wonderful. His pain on the news that his son is missing and recounting the death of his wife is conveyed just with his eyes and a pause in his speech.
A different breed - from a man who lived through the whole damn awfulness.
Kennet MOORE! Jesus!
I am ashamed…
@@martindice5424Edit!
It's Kenneth More, with just one o..
Kenneth Williams ? .........What!......''Carry On Up The Bismark'' or such?
@@davidparris7167 great humour!
My Mom's 1st cousin was on the Hood that day. 18 years old & his life was over. Joseph Milligan Anderson rip...❤
❤
I don't know why you have had no reactions to this post. Joseph must have been so precious to you all and what a terrible loss. 😢
@alicemiller2380 Thank you Alice, I managed to track down a letter he wrote his Mum from the Hood & the only picture we know of. I'm grateful to The Hood Association website for all their information. I also discovered a cousin of ours that I didn't know of who supplied the letter & picture. My Mum always lamented how she never truly got to know Joseph as she was quite young when he perished. Thank you for the kind sentiment. Kevin
@@kevinough7754 Hi Kevin, I have spent many years researching local histories from WW1, producing displays and a book. Your story of Joseph has focused me on starting to do the same for our local WW2 veterans. I was reluctant to do this as emotional investment is huge. I am honored to know about your mother's cousin Joseph and hope to bring the stories about other WW2 veterans come to light and recognition because you shared his story.
🙏
As a normal lad with normal desires I couldn't take my eyes off Dana Wynter (sigh)
Had a major crush on her when I was a kid in the sixties.
Some of us girls couldn't either lol
Another superb performance from Kenneth More who so brilliantly projects the very stuff of bold decisive leadership which the UK has so sadly lost.
Kenneth More actually served as a lieutenant aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious from which the Swordfish torpedo bombers launched their attack against the Bismarck. I don't know whether he was involved in the Battle of the Denmark Strait.
The movie is dated 1960. The same year Johnny Horton released a Single called " Sink the Bismark" that got to #3 on American Charts and #1 on Canadian.
I was kind of expecting the song in the beginning of the movie. It was his 2nd hit after The Battle Of New Orleans.
In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with General Jackson down the mighty Mississp
@@gerryconstant4914 They powdered the gators bottom and the gators lost there mind...
Not a coincidence. The song was inspired by the film, and they used it in the theater trailers for the film's U.S. release.
Even as kids we thought that song was a ridiculous, cheesy American "novelty' tune.
This film has special meaning for me, as my uncle Paul served in the Kriegsmarine who, along with my uncles Jupp (Infantry on eastern front) and Georg (paratrooper 1944 captured in Normany), all survived WWII. Sadly, my grandmother Anna was killed March 30 1945 when an American tank shot a shell thru the schoolhouse where she lived, with my mother and aunt sheltered in the cellar. My grandfather served as infrantry in WWI and temporarily in WWII as training Feldwebel, and he also survived.
Heavy losses by all.
I wouldn’t mind being comforted by Dana Wynter that’s for sure
Gorgeous woman
That meal sure is going to be good knowing his son is alive and a lovely lady to share it with...
Very will made and acted film-have been loving it for the past 60 years.
Everyone drooling over Dana Wynter, clearly HMS Vanguard was the best actress in this. She was a beautiful vessel.
Well, it looks like it's confirmed: Dana Wynter is a beautiful actress.
I guess that's the only good thing about this movie.
@@antasosam8486Wrong
I was only a little girl back oin the 1960's, but I was always interested in things that happened even BEFORE i was born.
I wish they'd mentioned HMS Rodney more. She did most of the dirty work when they caught up and is my favorite British warship ever.
The Nelson/Rodney class were strange looking but cool. Helluva main battery too.
Rodney bombarded a German tank column around the Normandy landings. Apparently her fire threw 50 ton tanks around like toys. Strange ship but incredibly effective. Good choice of favourite! Mine is Warspite. The battleship too angry to die.
@@dorn0531 Yep: 16-inch main battery.
USS Texas gangster leaned to fire further in shore.
When my daughter was 10 we watched this as a family while she played in her room. At 1:18:45 she walked in and said “Is that the Bismarck?”
The film answered. We are still laughing over it.
One slightly amusing feature of this movie is Dana Wynter's immaculate appearance in every scene. They are all there underground, working around the clock, and she always looks as though fresh from the make up department. Maybe just a bead of sweat now and then?
No way does that beautiful woman sweat..
@@GrenvilleP710You sir are a gentleman! The other bloke is a crass pig. Must be a Yank.
@@GrenvilleP710 Of course not. What was I thinking?
More people knew a movie, was a just a movie, back then. Now people think movies are reality, so they expect things like that now.
@@l337pwnage Heck they would use so much CGI.. It would take away from the story...
For those who might not recall: more than two years before America entered WWII, Britain stood alone against the Nazis, who occupied all of northern Europe. Historically, Britain had never built up much of an army - as an island nation her navy had ruled the seas for centuries and given Britain an empire upon which the sun never set.
The Great Depression over the 1930s had wiped out most of Britain’s wealth. In 1940, Britain faced a Nazi empire that had accumulated the wealth of its conquered European neighbors to, among other things, build a new class of battleship the likes of which had never been seen outside Japan - where the Yamato was still top secret.
At this time, Britain relied on convoys from North America to provide food and fuel that once had freely flowed from its worldwide suppliers,. This movie is set in Britain’s darkest moment, when the Atlantic convoys were being decimated by Nazi U-boats, and Germany’s monster battleship Bismarck had set sail to wipe out whatever merchant marine the U-boats had not sunk.
This historically accurate drama takes us through the British navy’s desperate struggle to sink the Bismarck before it was able to cut off that island nation’s source of survival.
Here we see how Britain
My father in law was a captain of merchant ships that often crawled across the Atlantic unescorted. Just waiting to be blown up. Scary..
England VS Germany VS National Socialism. Got news for you, IF the men had known what England would turn into they would NEVER have fought, they would have stayed at home. None of them would have recognized England, anymore the Germans would have recognized Germany (well, what's left of it, all of Eastern Germany is gone, the Russians and the Poles stole that, 2nd biggest land theft in European history)
But I'm digressing.
@chrismorfas7515 not true, this is spring 1941, Germany attacked USSR in the summer
There is one historical accuracy that I noticed. Admiral Lutjens was NOT the Nazi fanatic he was portrayed as in the film. Lutjens was in fact opposed to Hitler's antisemitism.
@@AllenJones-w3p Gotta have a villainous Nazi!! His skeptical sidekick was the Good German.
I've seen this several times (like many) the boats scenes were great for their day but don't look quite so good today. Great story and I suspect it won't be the last time I watch this great movie.
Just love that old wary & what an amazing cast, I fell madly in love with Dana Wynter she was stunningly beautifull.🙏💙💙
I have studied the Bismarck Operation (Operation Rhineburg) as closely as I could. Surprisingly, Admiral Gunther Lutjens was not a Nazi Fanatic while Captain Ernst Lindemann was. Admiral Lutjens was supposed to rendezvous with Battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in the middle of the Atlantic and then begin Commerce Raiding. But suicidal courage by RAF Bomber Crews damaged both Battlecruisers and they couldn’t sail. At that point Lutjens tried to call off the operation but Grand Admiral Eric Raeder ordered the operation to continue (Eric Raeder knew Hitler was planning to attack the Soviet Union in June of 1941 and thought that if the German Navy did not win some kind of victory beforehand Hitler would begin diverting resources away from the German Navy to the Army. He was right. Captain Lindemann was fanatically enthusiastic about the operation.) The captain of Bismarck’s Sister Ship - the Tirpitz - begged to be allowed to accompany Bismarck and Heavy Cruiser Prince Eugene but Hitler refused. Thus, even as Bismarck and Prince Eugene began get underway Admiral Lutjens knew the entire operation was doomed.
Tirpitz was not ready for action at that time. She had only been commissioned in late February. Her crew still needed training.
@@johnhallett5846 Yes. That is the truth….
"Lutjens was not a nazi", He bloody swore an oath of allegiance to that murdering bastard hitler though didn't he.
The flying boat that found the Bismark was a PBY-5 No. AH545. Officially, RAF Pilot Officer Dennis Briggs was the pilot and Smith was the co-pilot. (Smith however was an American, in an American uniform, and was there to train PBY crews). Had Germany known this at the time they could have declared war on the United States or Congress could have impeached Roosevelt. The reason Bismark had problems with the PBY and the Fairey Swordfish is because those planes were slow enough, Bismark's (new) automatic targeting systems couldn't compensate.
The only American was from the Country The United States,not the whole Continent.
Always got to take the limelight: Mind you the US had a nasty habit of only doing the right thing when it has no other option, thank god for the Japs.
@@glensweet3924 PBY ? PATROL BOAT YANK? MUSAGA?
Danya Wynter gorgeous with a beautiful voice.This is huge comfort movie for me - I watch it about 10 times/year for last 7 years.
I watch it about the same number of times, and for the same reasons!!!.....keep enjoying!
The use of models were superb as well as historically accurate battle scenes.
Still working on a Time Travel Devise to meet Dana Wynter.
If you ever make it, better meet her when she is eating... With the butterfly effect who knows what will happen if you delay her, she may not get to do something and someone may not get born from it LOL....
Special mention to the Fairey Swordfish, a much unheralded part of the hunt for the Bismarck. and which performed a critical role in her sinking.
They bamboozled the Germans. The Bismark had radar controlled anti aircraft guns set
up to fire on 300 mph aircraft, but the Swordfish had 70 mph max.
A few hits got the biplanes, but they were cannon shells and went straight through the
wood and fabric. All Swordfish returned safely.
@@kevinmoor6408 Yes, and the German anti-aircraft guns couldn't depress far enough, and the Swordfish flew in under them to deliver the final blow.
It's interesting how many units were unsuccessful or "obsolete" in one aspect of the war and then became key contributors in the Battle of the Atlantic.
@@Jonahch2v9 Hah, true. Horses for courses.
I love this film. It's one I watch about once a year.
Another masterpiece in film making. I remember seeing this about a year after it was released when I was 11.
For me, one of the best bits was at the end when the Admirals came out of the war room onto the street and Kenneth More asked one of the sentry's, "What time is it?" The sentry replies, "4:15, sir". KM asks, "Is that day or night?"
Sentry says, "That's bloody lovely, isn't it. He's got four stripes and he doesn't know if it's day or night!"
Dana Wynter was gorgeous.
Good voice too.
The British makes such wonderful movies
Fantastic movie. Highly recommended. 👍👍
The Bismarck and the Hood were beautiful too. 😊
@jayskinner4828
0 seconds ago
HM Hood was in a position that should never been a frontline battle against the Bismark. Old an not equipped to handle a hit by 18-inch guns.
Dana Wynter was smoking hot. I first saw her here but The Invasion of the Body Snatchers showcased her. Lovely.
I take it you wanted to snatch her?
@@Clydesirota Name a straight guy taking one look at her who would not want to 'snatch' her
Highly recommended. I can't believe I'd never seen this movie before. It's terrific, a great naval running battle story in the tradition of CS Forester, who wrote the book on which this was based, and Patrick O'Brian, who wrote the Aubrey-Maturin books. This has pace, excitement, good writing, good acting and human interest. And I love the footage of real actual gunnery & air sorties. The director, Lewis Gilbert, did a superb job with this. He later went on to direct three Bond movies.
Then in a few years the carrier Victorious I think it was, was sent to join up with the American Navy to fight the IJN with the radio call sign USS Robin along side Saratoga (I think was the last US Carrier from the start of the war).... Till the US could get there new carriers to replace the sunk/highly damaged one...
Dana looked so smart and beautiful and her military uniform! Big attraction there!!
The movie, the book and the Revell model ship were huge hits when first released. The Horton song was a ridiculous "novelty" song. Thank goodness it was never used in the film.
I served for 3 years on the battleship USS New Jersey (BB-62) from 1984 through 1987. I was an Operations Specialist (Radar Man). Our 9 sixteen inch main battery guns were capable of firing a nine-gun broadside of 1900 or 2100 pound projectiles at targets over 30 miles away.
Interesting the way these older movies often play like stage theatre: lots of dialogue between actors, not so much "action", even with a high action topic like this one. Well, at the end of the day, it all starts with the stage, doesn't it?
The Battle of the Atlantic worried Churchill more than anything else at this time of WW2.
Small side note, while most of the cast is sadly no longer with us, Seaman Brown (the one that collapses from exhaustion just before the big event) is.
If you either watched 90's anime, or play Total War Warhammer (any of the three) his voice might even sound familiar, it's none other than Sean Barret, in one of his earliest roles.
Time gets away from us.
When I was a little kid I remember singing a song about sinking the Bismarck To The Bottom of The Sea. My Father was in WW2 in the Army Air Corp My Uncle who lived right behind us with my cousins was in the Navy. I think it was my cousin Gary who taught us the song. 🎶
Dana Wynter....Be still my heart
The movie is really moving. Just people involved on both sides. A tragedy.
For any old movie buffs ... the exiting D.O.D. played Mr. Andrews, Titanic builder in "A Night to Remember" (1958) and he played a British attache in "Battle of the River Plate" with Peter Finch and Anthony Quayle.
In “Something of Value” (1957), Dana Wynters, a German-English actress, was 31 years old and starred alongside Rock Hudson. She looked so hot throughout the picture, as she always did in all of her movies. Gorgeous woman.
Actually, the only reason that she was born in Germany was because her father was a British citizen (salesman) who happened to be living in Germany at the time.
Kenneth More must have loved playing a sailor in film
He was an officer in the Royal Navy during WW2
On both Arethusa, which is mentioned as being on patrol in Faroes Passage, and later on Victorious, which not only delivered the first carrier strike (her green pilots actually damaging Bismarck and exacerbating damage from Prince of Wales' shell hits) but is featured in the Gibraltar scene
Marvellous film. Appallingly bad placement of ads.
Who's up for "The Enemy Below" after this one!?
I had a great uncle who served in the Royal Navy on a British destroyer in the Battle of Jutland during the First World War. I served in the United States Navy for 25 years on six different warships. I was born in Warrington, in Lancashire in England. My father was a U.S. citizen and my mother a British citizen. My mother was born in northern India.
The actor playing the Captain of the Prince of Wales was one of the few survivors on the Bridge of the POW when the bridge was hit in the battle with the Bismarck. He was blinded at the time. His profession before wartime service was an actor and he played in one film after the battle a fully sighted German officer, you can actually see another actor to his side guiding him in front of the camera. Fortunately he received surgery soon after that restored sight in one eye and he continued his acting career. Look at his eyes at 34:48.
Really enjoyed watching this one. Gotta get it on dvd/blu-ray now.
A great film and actors
Great movie and great acting too!
And Johnny Horton had a hit song. " Sink the Bismarck ".
" In May of 1941 , the war had just begun. The Germans had the biggest ship that had the biggest guns" ...
Well made movie … great acting.
what cavalcade of top actors of the time ! i now understand the inspiration for Battle Of Britain movie
During the Second World War, Jon Pertwee (3rd Doctor Who) spent six years in the Royal Navy.He was a crew member of HMS Hood and was transferred off the ship for officer training shortly before she was sunk by the German battleship Bismarck, losing all but three men in May 1941.
A truly classic WW2 film.
To bad Torpedo Run isn't on here. (Glenn Ford).
The best for all seasons
It was good enough for its time a long time ago and certainly superlative for a boy of about 10 years when I first saw it. But don't watch it as a grown man in this millennium. It will show its age. Or yours. Or both. Still, a thumbs up for nostalgia.
Dana Wynter was so beautiful!
I was 11 years old with my dad who was in the Canadian Navy during WW2.-
That they worked so hard and made sacrifices comes out in this film!
A great war movie, A great cast and a history lesson.👍
In the final battle the sea was very rough. Due to the steering damage, the Bismark was unable to control the motion of the ship in the waves. The waves affected the aiming of the Bismark's guns and it failed to hit anything. The Bismark was armored against 15 inch shells. The King George V was armed with 14 inch guns. The Rodney was armed with 16 inch guns. Both ships hit the Bismark but the majority of the serious damage to the Bismark was done by the Rodney which also hit the Bismark with a torpedo.
a canadian flyer disabled her rudder with a torpedo miss
The KGV 14" shell had nearly the same armor piercing ability of the Rodney's fairly lightweight 16" shells (compared to U.S. 16" naval guns). Battleship armor was much less effective at stopping battleship gun AP shells at close range. At close range the KGV's 14" shells could pass right through the Bismarck's armor belt. Duke of York's 14" repeatedly penetrated Scharnhorst's belt, which was even thicker than Bismarck's. Even Yamato's 20+ inches of turret face armor could be penetrated by U.S. 16" guns at close range.
@@scottb8175 Bismarck and Scharnhorst both had a 320mm main belt, Bismarck had a stronger upper belt and internal armor scheme, she was the better protected of the two overall.
The only case in history of one battleship torpedoing another
Apparently German capital ships' armouredd decks were quite thick. Sadly, for some reason or other, some vital services (electrical mains and signalling circuits) ran above this deck and were vulnerable to damage from shells even if they didn't penetrate the ship's vitals. Similarly on all capital ships other vital equipment has to be above the armoured deck and for stability reasons cannot be heavily armoured. Range finders and other gun aiming equipment being a classic example, Graf See was also well armoured but her fuel processing plant was outside the armoured citadel. When this was damaged by a relatively light shell her captain ws forced to run for Uruguayan waters or run out of fuel in mid-ocean.
It amazes me that most warships still had an open bridge at that time. You can imagine the kind of weather that would lash across the bridge on a winter’s night in the North Atlantic. The Captain and other officers would just have to shrug it off and get on with their jobs.
צפיתי לראשונה בסרט זה ב 1961 בהיותי בן 14 ומאז צפיתי בו לפחות 10 פעמים. שווה לדעתי להסריט שוב את הסיפור ובטכניקת מחשבים למרות שבשחור לבן יש לזה אפקט אמיתי.
Here because of Esmond Knight ❤
What guts it took for him to take part in this, of all films.
@@roconnor01talent and very strong character.
One of the best.
love the movie i love how the captain says hard to port make smoke the ship turns to starboard
Lot of James Bond movie crews, and a few from A Christmas Carol.
I watched this movie four times ...
Dana Wynter was a BABE ! 😍
She was a mega-babe. She was the queen of babe-alonia!
"Four stripes on his arm and he doesn't even know what time of day it is!" Epic
The Bismark only sunk 1 ship in her life, that being the battlecruiser HMS Hood, she never sank a destroyer as is depicted and none of the bi-plans were never shot down.
This should be in the Criterion collection.
Like the way the guy just turns head and the German Sheppard is tricked
IRL:The Director Of Operations, knowing the Squadron Commander of the Destroyers didn't order an attack. He simply had the KMS Bismark's position and Speed & Course sent to the Destroyers!
Special effects were ahead of it's time.
The Royal Navy started using "military time" or a 24-hour clock during WWI. Just saying.
This was a hard watch knowing the fate of Hood, the beauty of Dana Wynters helped somewhat!. ( the crew address on the Bismarck, you can see from the turrets in the background it was filmed on HMS Vanguard)
Great movie
First time I've seen it
One minor mistake. The Bismarck was not armed with twin mount 40mm Bofors AA guns as shown at 24:19. He was armed with 10.5 CM , 3.7 CM and 2CM secondary guns. Main armament consisted of 8 38 CM (15") guns.
Not many German capital ships available as movie sets in 1960. Not may available in 1945 for that matter. Directors had to make do with British or even American stand ins. It was a US Navy cruiser that stood in for Graf Spee in the Battle of The River Plate after all.
The producers had to make do with whatever stock footage that they could get ahold of. Apparently there wasn't any footage of German AA fire available at the time. 🤷♂️
Otto von Bismarck died just 40 years before the ship bearing his name was launched, and 42 before it sank.
One of the great films of all times
Who fitted 2pdr Pom Pom mounts on Bismarck for the air attacks?
@@simonrook5743 Excellent question!
They used HMS Vanguard as a stand in for all Battleship scenes. If you look, the sign in English to the right of and behind the gun breeches is visible when depicting British ships, and kept out of view when depicting Bismark, but you can see that they are the same guns.
It takes a special mind to send a couple of thousand sailors into hell, and remain normal. The weight of responsibility. It's well played in this movie.
Love this film ❤
Edward R. Murrow is still the Standard in America Journalism.
Thats journalism to urinalism.
@@phillipholmes4466 Congratiulations, Philip Holmes. Besides being a Troll. You're a Moron. "Ya Mama's Proud" ! Now Go Chance Your Diaper.
Edward R. Morrow was a liar.
@@RBAILEY57 Thank You Roy Cohn.
Walter Cronkite modeled himself on Murrow. sadly no one did after him
Dagmar was a very knock-me-out type of "Oh Yes..Please..Again and again until xou drop!"
In May of nineteen forty-one the war had just begun
The Germans had the biggest ship, they had the biggest guns
The Bismarck was the fastest ship that ever sailed the sea
On her deck were guns as big as steers and shells as big as trees
Out of the cold and foggy night came the British ship, the Hood
And every British seaman, he knew and understood
They had to sink the Bismarck, the terror of the sea
Stop those guns as big as steers and those shells as big as trees
We'll find the German battleship that's makin' such a fuss
We gotta sink the Bismarck cause the world depends on us
Hit the decks a-runnin' boys and spin those guns around
When we find the Bismarck we gotta cut her down
The Hood found the Bismarck on that fatal day
The Bismarck started firin' fifteen miles away
"We gotta sink the Bismarck" was the battle sound
But when the smoke had cleared away, the mighty Hood went down
For six long days and weary nights they tried to find her trail
Churchill told the people "put every ship a-sail
'Cause somewhere on that ocean I know she's gotta be
We gotta sink the Bismarck to the bottom of the sea"
We'll find that German battleship that's makin' such a fuss
We gotta sink the Bismarck 'cause the world depends on us
Hit the decks a-runnin' boys and spin those guns around
When we find the Bismarck we gotta cut her down
The fog was gone the seventh day and they saw the mornin' sun
Ten hours away from homeland the Bismarck made its run
The admiral of the British fleet said "turn those bows around
We found that German battleship and we're gonna cut her down"
The British guns were aimed and the shells were comin' fast
The first shell hit the Bismarck, they knew she couldn't last
That mighty German battleship is just a memory
"Sink the Bismarck" was the battle cry that shook the seven seas
We found that German battleship been makin' such a fuss
We had to sink the Bismarck 'cause the world depends on us
We hit the deck a-runnin' and we spun those guns around
Yeah, we found the mighty Bismarck and prepared to cut her down
We found that German battleship been makin' such a fuss
We had to sink the Bismarck 'cause the world depends on us
We hit the deck a-runnin' and we spun those guns around
We found the mighty Bismarck and then we cut her down
Full HD is 1080p not 720p!
Victor Maddern makes an appearance in the last 10 seconds.
Were aircrew from carriers trained to recognise different vessels they would be attacking?