The Cockleshell Heroes (1955) User Reviews

Cheers For The British Royal Marines

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 22 August 2008]

The Fifties were Jose Ferrer's peak years as an actor and he was getting acclaim for all kinds of roles he was trying out. Ferrer has never been thought of as an action hero, but in a film in which he directed himself The Cockleshell Heroes, Ferrer is outstanding in a part that someone like Clint Eastwood would have been more identified with.

This was one impossible mission given to the Royal Marines. I'm sure rowing crew at Oxford would have gotten one a starring birth on this squad. The idea here is to demolish German ships in the port of Bordeaux and render the harbor useless. The problem is that Bordeaux ain't on the coast, it's up the Gironde River.

In an amphibious operation the idea is for a picked bunch of Royal Marines to row kayak like canoes up the river after having been landed by submarine at the coast under cover of darkness. The canoes are there to insure silence so that no unaccounted for motors are heard on the river. Then the Marines are to attach mines to the various ships and hopefully they will blow up and the Marines would escape inland with the help of the French Resistance.

Sounds absolutely impossible, but it really did happen. The film takes us through the training and the mission and most of the Marines are killed.

This was typical back in the day, get a known American star for a British production to insure international distribution. In Ferrer's case having one of the great speaking voices ever in film, he could be acceptably British for the audience.

Ferrer the director got some great performances out of Ferrer the actor and the rest of his cast, particularly Trevor Howard as his second in command and administrative officer. Howard was the best in the cast, a tough man with a deep secret, he failed under fire just as World War I was ending and has a black mark on him. He gets a second chance 25 years later in another war.

Also to be noted is David Lodge the young Royal Marine who goes AWOL to settle some trouble back home with an unfaithful wife in Beatrice Campbell.

The film bears some resemblance to The Dirty Dozen and The Devil's Brigade, American productions from the next decade. But these Royal Marines weren't misfits made into a fighting force. They were some of the best of that generation who went on a mission impossible knowing that they most likely would not come back.

And it's to them and the rest of the Royal Marines that this American dedicates this review to.

A Fine Film

[kbuc263924 · 8/10 · 3 April 2006]

I was ten-years-old, growing up during the war in England, when this, and other raids were being made against the Nazis.

In 1955, I had completed a three-year enlistment with the U.S. Marines, and therefore extremely interested in commando-style warfare.

"Cockleshell Heroes" was entertaining, even though Columbia Pictures capitalized on a suicide mission and glorified it, thus overlooking the rugged training, and horrible cost in lives.

Nonetheless, glory aside, the film triumphantly displays loyalty, dedication, that is the trademark of the Royal Marines. But after reading the first person account of the raid, you don't really appreciate what these heroic men did until you read the book.

The first misconception given in the film is that this was a commando unit, when in fact, the dozen selected, were regular Marines who volunteered. The hardships endured don't come across as hard in the movie as they do in the book. The loss of food, inability to move for hours at a stretch, not able to relieve themselves, are just a few of the oversights that would have shown the ruggedness of the mission.

However, even with some sour notes, I still like the film for showing the Marines as one of the best fighting forces in the world.

What happened to the survivors of the raid.

[tassies · 8/10 · 10 January 2008]

A romanticized and entertaining account of a very daring raid. These piratical exploits seem to suit something in the British psyche.

Colonel 'Blondie' Haslar, the leader of the raid, became a well-known sailor after WW2. I was told that after discovering he had incurable cancer, he set sail alone for the Antarctic fully intending to die doing what he loved best. He was never seen again. Perhaps a reader could confirm this.

You can read the report online in the Navy News of the December 9, 2002, of the death of Bill Sparks, the last survivor of the raid. There is a walking trail in France named after him, which follows the escape route he took through that country to neutral Spain.

One of the Must See War Movies

[rudge49 · 9 October 2005]

This is one of my all time favorite war movies, first saw it in the 1950s. During what I call the "afterglow" of WWII we kids always played "Army" (any kid who didn't was probably considered a "pinko"), anyone who had served in WWII was 10 feet tall in our eyes. I grew up in an Anglophile family, so I was aware of Britain's war effort, and the fact that for nearly a year they carried the Allied war effort by themselves. Naturally when I reached adulthood and read the actual history I found this "Hollywierd" version hoked things up, unnecessarily in my opinion. The actual unit involved was called the RMBPD-Royal Marine Boom Patrol Detachment, that being a cover name of course. The actual commander was Major H.G. Hasler, nicknamed "Blondie" for his golden tresses (though at age 28, when the action occurs, he was prematurely bald.). Why Hispanic looking ( as he actually was ) Jose Ferrer was cast as Major Hasler-? Though Major Hasler served as a technical adviser to the film and he and Jose Ferrer hit it off, I have seen pictures of them together. The actual raid was called "Operation Frankton", Major Hasler had organized and trained his unit for such deep penetration raids both to inflict material damage on the Germans and to show them there were no safe havens for them. Why the names of the actual men were not used, I don't know, since only Hasler and his canoe mate Marine Sparks made it back to England, the others deserve to be memorialized. The scenes where the prospective members are required to land in German uniforms and then make their way back to the base is pure fiction, as is the Trevor Howard character of the embittered regular officer forced to play second fiddle to what the British call a "Territorial" (Reserve) or HO-Hostilities Only officer. Major Hasler was a career Royal Marine officer, had been on active duty since 1934 or so. I suppose a convention in WWII movies you have the hardened but Wise Old Regular and the Eager But Inexperienced Newcomer. Likewise the scene were one of the officers stand guard while one of the men beats up his cheating wife's paramour-another cliché.

That said, it is a great action movie, see it for that alone, then read the history, the movie will let you visualize the action better and appreciate the bravery of "Our Boys".

True in spirit if not in fact

[neil-476 · 7/10 · 6 March 2019]

This 1955 movie tells a version of the true story wherevy a group of Royal Marines canoed into Bordeaux harbour to sabotage German shipping, a mission from which only 2 mombers of the team returned.

The colourful widescreen image helps, because this story isn't always as exciting as is should be. Perhaps this is due to Jose Ferrer's direction. He also performs, but is miscast as a British marine. Percy Herbert, David Lodge, and Victor Maddern are, of course, present and correct, as one would expect them to be is a British war movie of tye 50s or 60s.

The dockyard explosions at the end are also typical of the era ie. very obvious miniatures.

' Keep the line straight, boys!'

[Nazi_Fighter_David · 7/10 · 29 October 1999]

These were the last words spoken by an officer to his men before their execution by a German firing-squad...

Trevor Howard was a devoted officer and a gentleman, never afraid to give his life for his country... Howard was a great character actor with a big presence on the screen in many good films as "Mutiny On the Bounty," "Ryan's Daughter," "The Sea Wolves," and "Gandhi."

The motion picture deals with the silly mission of ten British Royal Marines, who after embarking a submarine from the English Channel port of Portsmouth traveled by flimsy canoe into Bordeaux harbor, southern France on the Garonne River, blowing enemy ships by attach limpet-mines..

Directed and starred by Jose Ferrer (1909-92) star of "Cyrano De Bergerac" and "Moulin Rouge," and photographed in CinemaScope and Technicolor, the film succeeds in reflecting the brave deed of the English Commando and is somewhat exciting and tense in its depiction of the hazardous journey into enemy territory in World War II...

Yes,do let's be nasty to the Germans..............

[ianlouisiana · 7/10 · 4 October 2008]

Hitler's "Kommando Behfel" was issued in retaliation for some jolly unsporting raids by hand - picked British soldiers into German - occupied Europe.Under its terms any combatants captured away from conflict zones and deemed by their captors to be "gangsters" would be summarily executed. Some of the elite Royal Marine Unit tasked with destroying ships in Bordeaux harbour were to be victims of this Order - a blatant contravention of the Rules of Warfare.By shooting enemy prisoners in uniform the Germans put themselves beyond the pale - not for the first or last time in the second world war. Of the ten who set out on the sixty - odd mile journey up - river,only two of the "Cockleshell Heroes" survived. The raid was aimed to strike a blow at the German supply ships loaded with priceless war materiel like rubber which they had been bringing in from Malaya.It was considered too dangerous to bomb the harbour both for the aircrews and the civilian population,so a plan was conceived involving 18 ft long 2 man canoes which were to attach limpet mines to the hulls of ships in the harbour and then slip away under cover of darkness. By a process of attrition only two crews actually completed the mission. The movie Mr J.Ferrer made of this heroic story is typical of its era. Chirpy working - class O.R.s and iron - jawed officers being forged into efficient fighting units with the odd pause to reflect,patronisingly,on the fighting and fornicating of the former and the philosophising of the latter. Mr T.Howard is fine as the officer who dies with the wry quip on his lips in fine defiance of his Nazi murderers.Chirpy cockney Mr A.Newley irritates as a chirpy cockney.Mr Ferrer himself - often overlooked when fine actors of the 1950s are considered - is excellent as the O.I.C. A lady called Yana who was much - seen on English TV at the time spends a lot of screen time singing a not terribly relevant song. One officer and one Marine actually survived the raid and spent 18 months on the run before finding their way back to Blighty. After the war,a number of German Officers who had executed Hitler's Commando Order were hanged at Nuremberg.Justice or vengeance?By the standards of the day you have to say justice.

Brave men on a pointless mission. Goes to prove: Deplore the wars but respect the warriors

[Terrell-4 · 7/10 · 27 January 2008]

Twelve Royal Marines in December, 1942, were deposited by sub with their six kayaks at the mouth of the Gironde estuary. Their mission was to paddle in the middle of winter for three days, upriver at night and laying low during the day, until they reached the docks of Bordeaux. There, they would attach limpet mines to German shipping, blow up or damage as many ships as possible, then escape overland and eventually return to Britain.

Any volunteers? (And read no further if you don't like conclusions.) Of the six two-man teams, only two Marines made it back. One kayak was damaged getting it in the water and these two men remained on the sub. One kayak capsized and the two men drowned. One kayak became separated and the two men were captured and immediately shot by the Germans. Another kayak became separated and then capsized. The two men were betrayed by the French, captured by the Germans and later shot. Two kayaks made it. The four men attached their mines and damaged several ships. The four men got to shore safely. Later, two were betrayed by the French and later shot by the Germans with their two comrades who had been captured earlier. Two men eventually made it back home.

Did their raid make any difference to WWII? None whatsoever. Cockleshell Heroes is based on this real story. It has its flaws, but, once we get to the ten men leaving the sub it builds excitement and tension. But it also underlines the extent to which brave and resourceful men and women in time of war can be called upon to undertake harebrained risks with little payoff, thought up or approved by enthusiastic senior commanders and their civilian bosses. In this case, we can thank our stars that the military direction of WWII was in the hands of men like Alan Brooke and George Marshall and not Louis Mountbatten, who is supposed to have thought the idea was splendid and gallant.

Jose Ferrer, who also directed, stars as Major Stringer. The raid is his idea. He wants to build his two-man teams from men he can motivate and train unconventionally. He is a believer in trust. His second in command, Captain Thompson, played by Trevor Howard, is old-school. He's just as sure that discipline and pride must come first. Guess who's right. The movie's great flaw is the standard portrayal of the men as tough but rambunctious lower-class lads who need the firm but understanding leadership of their upper-class officers. Ferrer does a fine job as the smart, dedicated officer who gets off on the wrong foot with the men, but who proves himself just as brave and resourceful as they are. Trevor Howard, however, is the key to the movie...a soldier of the old school, a skeptical man and a professional soldier to his fingertips. "Keep the line straight, boys," are his last, laconic words, and they pack an emotional wallop.

Fairly accurate film showing a difficult operation for the RM Commandos in WWII

[NineLivesBurra · 9/10 · 12 March 2007]

I loved this film. My father was a RM Commando and served during WWII. He knew most of the men chosen to carry out this mission. It follows the training and the mission of some volunteers who really didn't know what they were getting themselves into. The resultant camaraderie is poignantly shown.

It was not an easy mission and every one of the men knew there was little chance of them returning. Their job was to plant mines onto the hulls of German warships in France. They were, if successful to be picked up by the French resistance and secreted safely home. Only one of the original two-man crews survived. The rest were all captured and shot by the Germans.

My father always had a tear in his eye at the end of the movie as all the men were reunited, if only on screen.

Interesting war movie accurately based on actual deeds about the blowing up of German battleships in Bordeaux

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 6 April 2011]

¨The Marines were formed 28 October 1664. On 29th April 1802 His Majesty King George III directed that they should ¨The Royal Marines ¨. At a critical stage of the war just Merchant ships operating from Bordeaux were seriously endangering the British Blockade . For political reasons saturation bombing was rejected . The Navy was unable to penetrate the defenses without air cover . The Royal Marines were given the job. Postmouth , England-March-1942¨.

Based on historical events with screenplay by Bryan Forbes and Richard Maibaum from the story by George Kent , including technical advisers as Colonel Hasler and ex-Marine W.E. Sparks . The film starts when a Major of Marines is arrested by the patrol boat for canoeing in a restricted area . He is Major Stringer (Jose Ferrer) under orders to execute a dangerous mission. The captain Thompson (Trevor Howard) has been appointed as the administrative officer . The Major joined in a fit of boyish enthusiasm and the High Command put him in in charge of the unit , while the captain is a WWI veteran ; going to be awfully difficult to get used to taking orders from a young officer. The mission results to be the following : It seems German ships are running in and out of Bordeaux , getting past out blockade and bringing vital raw materials to the German war machine . The job is to get all the way up there , try to blow up those enemy ships in the docks , by means of cockleshell canoes , they'll be traveling at night and hiding in the day . The'll be dropped out somewhere outside the minefield , 75 miles to the target , should be able to make it in three or four nights of paddling . The team , a group of highly-trained volunteers (Peter Arne , Anthony Newley, Percy Herbert , Victor Madden , David Lodge , among others ) for hazardous service .

This is an exciting movie about warlike fits dealing with the blowing up of German warships by an expert squadron of soldiers in cockleshell canoes . The picture contains thrills , action , suspense , and amusement when the training of the soldiers take place . First-class performances from Jose Ferrer as obstinate Major and Trevor Howard as second-in-command captain . Large plethora of secondary cast and new-comers actors as Percy Herbert, Anthony Newley , Peter Arne and Victor Maddern as stiff Sergeant Craig . Furthermore brief appearance of Christopher Lee as submarine commandant. Evocative cinematography in glimmer Colour by John Wilcox and Ted Moore , produced at Shepperton Studios , England , being one of the first English movies to be realized in Technicolor . Good musical score including patriotic tunes by John Addison and conducted by the usual Muir Mathieson with the London Symphony Orchestra. The producers -Irwing Allen and Albert R. Broccoli who subsequently would produce James Bond series- acknowledge the assistance given to them in the making of this film by ¨The Royal Marines¨ and other branches of the ¨Royal Navy¨. The motion picture is well played and directed by Jose Ferrer . Rating . Better than average, worthwhile watching .

waste of time -- plus annoying, abysmal use of music

[deschreiber · 3/10 · 11 October 2016]

The reviewers here so far like this film very much but seem to have various kinds of sentimental attachments to it. I don't have any--no memories of seeing it when I was young, no family, friends or acquaintances involved in the mission, no external notions from reading about it. I just watched it as a general moviegoer from the early 21st century. In my opinion The Cockleshell heroes has worn badly over the years.

The first part, covering the selection of the participants and their training, has very little information in it--a tiny bit about limpet mines, a scene of soldiers climbing rock cliffs (no such landscape shows up later in the mission), perhaps one potentially interesting challenge forcing the men to use their wits to move around the countryside, but more close-order drilling than anything.

Apart from the two officers and one soldier who goes AWOL to beat up a man who's been having an affair with his wife while he's away, there is almost nothing to distinguish one character from another. And there is no acting. The little tension between two officers leads only to a few moments of the two exchanging their points of view. Jose Ferrer delivers pretty much all his lines in the same tone of voice: it's a nice voice, it would be great narrating a documentary on some serious subject, but it has no emotional inflection in this movie.

But what really spoils this long first section of the movie is the abundance of "cute" vignettes. A parachutist lands in cow manure, a hitchhiker gets a ride with a ridiculous fast-talking matron, the near-naked men run past a group of nuns. Tired, old tropes even for 1955, and far, far too many of them.

Once the mission begins there is almost no dialogue, mostly scenes of men padding in their kayaks (called "canoes" in the movie). It's pretty dull stuff, and the director obviously thought music would be needed to keep audiences interested. But what awful music! On and on it goes, a symphony orchestra playing meaningless, vaguely military-sounding riffs non-stop, not in the least adapted to what's happening at the moment on the screen, just mindless orchestral noise that never stops. After a while I actually turned off the sound on my television to escape from the never-ending assault on my ears. And-- this is incredible-- during one supposed scene of deep thoughtfulness, when after a night of drinking an older officer is alone in a board room telling the sad story of his life to another officer, the same nonsensical orchestral tooting and shrilling continues ridiculously from beginning to end. It really should go down as one of the worst uses of music ever in the history of film making.

As for action scenes, there's not much and not presented with any suspense. The climax, with explosions, is depicted with a few models in a studio.

It's really terrible writing, terrible directing and an absence of acting.

A Vastly-Entertaining "Mission", With Delightful Characters--and Ideas...

[silverscreen888 · 8/10 · 24 June 2005]

This has been a favorite movie of mine for many years. Its narrative relates the story of a group of eccentrics--the British Army leaders were looking for imaginative minds--to undertake a hazardous mission is small rowing boats--cockleshells--against the Nazis' ships berthed up a river. The body of this very-entertaining film comprises four parts: 1. recruiting the volunteers. 2. early training of the successful applicants. 3. later training under better discipline and 4. the raid itself and its aftermath. The underlying theme here is that even minds free of dictatorial-system thinking require self-discipline, and regulation by authorities. The films is B/W and very ruggedly filmed. The director was Jose Ferrer also, with major contributions by writers Bryan Forbes, Richard Maibaum and George Kent. Music by John Addison adds greatly to the proceedings. The serviceable cast includes Jose Ferrer as the group's enigmatic and unorthodox leader, Trevor Howard as the man who wants more discipline and is proved correct, Anthony Newley, Victor Madden, Dora Bryan, David Lodge, Peter Arne, Percy Herbert and many others. The highlight of the early part of the film is an illegal challenge exercise--the volunteers hare told to try to get back to camp from a long way off with no resources whatever. Training at managing the kayak-like craft to be used on the raid also provides some early laughs. This is an honest, well-mounted and vastly- entertaining film whose subject is really human nature and the demands made on imagination and on self-discipline in times of war. The great raid itself is staged mostly at night and is extremely well-presented visually and in its blocking. The escape following the success of the raiders' efforts against German ships that are their targets is the final achievement in this taut and very-well-made film. But the individuals, their relationships, characters and actions are what one remembers. A very-well remembered film, and one admired by many, including myself.

Inspired by a true story.

[hitchcockthelegend · 6/10 · 17 September 2008]

World War II and German battleships are safely docked upriver in Bordeaux, Royal Marine Major Stringer and Captain Thompson select volunteers for a highly secretive mission. The mission is to canoe thru enemy waters and blow up the battleships, will they achieve their goal?, will any of them survive?, these are the questions asked about the men who became known as The Cockleshell Heroes.

Directed and starring José Ferrer {Stringer}, The Cockleshell Heroes is an above average war picture telling a gutsy tale that almost beggars belief. The volunteers plucked for this mission come from a rag-tag band of men, it's almost like the Dirty 10 {as opposed to the Dozen}, but under intense training and controlled discipline courtesy of Trevor Howard's Captain Thompson, these men shape up just fine, and we believe that this mission, as hazardous as it is, may just succeed. The first half of the picture {during the training and selection process} is guilty of being a tad over jovial, but it doesn't harm the film per se, in fact it kind of lulls you into a false sense of expectation for the mission. The mission itself is capably handled and Ferrer manages to ring out the tension to close the film out successfully, perhaps a war film to not linger long in the memory, but none the less an entertaining piece about actual events. 6/10

The rather unkempt dozen.

[rmax304823 · 5/10 · 1 September 2009]

Jose Ferrer directed this story of a dozen or so Royal Marines who volunteer to paddle some kayaks up the river to Bordeaux during World War II and blow up some ships with limpet mines.

There isn't much here that you haven't seen in war movies elsewhere. The first half is essentially a training camp comedy with the misfits violating military rules and playing grab ass in the barracks. In the second part, the good-natured playfulness is replaced by a serious and determined effort to get the job done, even though it leads to the death of most of the members of the unit.

The story serves up one cliché after another. There is, for instance, an abrasive relationship between the newly appointed commanding officer, Ferrer, and his next in command, the by-the-book Trevor Howard. Ferrer is too good to his men and they treat him like a marshmallow. He has to learn from Howard that the men must be licked into shape. (Usually, this formulaic relationship is the other way round, with the new CO having to impose harsh discipline on all his subordinates to snap them out of their lax ways.) Then there is the uniformed blond in the pub, the one who comes out of nowhere, accompanied by a fulsome orchestra, singing "The London I Love." Then there is the interservice rivalry brawl in the pub in which every glass object is shattered and all the furniture destroyed but nobody gets a bloody nose.

Two men are captured and not only won't tell the Nazi officer what their mission is. They don't speak at all. The officer thinks himself clever when he has the men separated and given "questionnaires" to fill out, figuring one of them will rat on the mission to save his own skin. It's a version of a game called "the prisoner's dilemma." Does either man fill out the questionnaire? You don't even need to ask.

Before the end credits roll, there is the ghostly parade of those who have died on the mission, not as well done as it was some quarter of a century earlier in "All Quiet on the Western Front." The direction is not bad, just pedestrian. The acting is done mostly by seasoned professionals and is agreeable enough. Trevor Howard does the best job. The dialog can't be said to scintillate exactly. The humor, like just about everything else, is broad and spelled out. Example: One of the heroes in his canoe is hiding from a German patrol boat by snuggling up against the hull of a ship. A cook dumps a bucket of waste overboard and it lands on the guy in the canoe, who looks upward in disgust and mutters a curse we can't hear. Anyone could write and film that scene. It leaps into the mind whenever the brain lapses into theta waves. But compare the similar scene in David Lean's "The Bridge on the River Kwai." William Holden is in the water at the base of the bridge when a Japanese soldier spits. The gob of saliva plops just in front of Holden's half-submerged face. Without lifting his head, Holden rolls his eyes upward, glowers, and slowly submerges. Some creative effort shows in the scene, whereas none is evident in "Cockleshell Heroes." The editing is off too. I was never sure by the end exactly how many canoes were involved. The most we see on the screen at one time are five (I think). Yet three seem to be lost during the mission and there are still three others (at least) who plant their bombs according to plan.

I've been pretty negative about the film so far, but it's not all that bad. It's not insulting. It's not an animated cartoon. It just lacks originality in many of its features. But clichés exist for a reason, namely that they work. (Otherwise they wouldn't become clichés.) Some of the ludic episodes are pretty funny. And the notion of paddling canoes up a French river to blow up some ships is novel.

I kind of enjoyed it, but so much more could have been done with it.

British commandoes sink German supply ships

[yongsudad · 1 June 2006]

I saw the cockleshell heroes many years ago and greatly enjoyed it.I was impressed enough to read the factual account of the unit and mission depicted in the film.The film was good but did not begin to show the reality of the training and the hardships these men went through.The actual mission was pretty much as depicted in the film.The Royal Commandoes that made up the real unit went on to form the nucleus of what is now known as the SBS or special boat section.This is the British version of the Navy Seals,but formed many years earlier.I highly recommend reading the book.You will appreciate the film even more.

Mission Improbable

[atlasmb · 6/10 · 31 May 2013]

The Cockleshell Heroes is a wartime story that is primarily true, but it carries some story embellishments that might be viewed as baggage or entertainment. Like The Dirty Dozen, a ragtag group of "volunteers" is assembled to attempt a daring, death-be-damned mission. The lead up to the mission is filled with some conventions of the genre: an untested younger officer who is put in command of a seasoned officer of lesser rank; He uses unconventional methods; obedience is a problem; the odds against success are nearly impossible.

The actual mission is rather linear. As the group encounters German forces along the way, their ranks are reduced until only one pair completes the mission without capture.

The value of the mission is not clearly established. The viewer is left to assume that blowing up boats must be important. But if the mission's objective had been better explained as integral to larger military objectives, the viewer might buy into the drama with more emotion. An alternative would have been to give the enemy a face, perhaps by creating a German officer given the task of protecting the vital German ships. (See The Bridge on the River Kwai for an example of this approach).

A young Anthony Newley is the surprise of this film. Who knew his talents would later be shown to be so multifaceted?

This movie is a rather uncomplicated story that entertains, but is not inspiring. Competent but not a tour de force.

Water Babies

[richardchatten · 7/10 · 30 May 2023]

Twenty years later this film achieved posthumous fame when David Lodge swelled up with pride and declared he was in 'Cockleshell Heroes' on Spike Milligan's TV show.

Jose Ferrer is perfectly cast as an aloof, cold-blood martinet who drives his men mad, while several of the talent involved from cameraman Ted Moore to Christopher Lee later came up in the world and took part in the James Bond franchise.

Like all Warwick productions it inevitably features Anthony Newley, while it provides the not considerable pleasure of seeing Percy Herbert in a Nazi helmet, and John Fabian hitching a lift from Sam Kydd and in a broad Irish brogue while claiming that the uniform he's wearing is actually that of the Irish Salvation Army.

The Cockleshell Heroes

[CinemaSerf · 6/10 · 14 November 2022]

HM Royal Marines don't tend to be centre-stage in many films depicting their wartime escapades. This one recounts their exploits trying to canoe up the Garonne and attack some vital Nazi shipping. The plot is quite interesting but both José Ferrer and Trevor Howard miss their targets - both performances are as strained as their on-screen relationship purports to be. It does celebrate the valiant efforts, however, of this daring raid with great looking photography and Ferrer directs this with a true sense of the jeopardy of the whole enterprise with a denouement that shows just how perilous the expedition was.

Boy's own adventure

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 4 June 2016]

THE COCKLESHELL HEROES is a decent example of a men-on-a-mission war movie, presided over by an interesting cast of famous faces and with a true story hook for added intrigue. This WW2-set tale is about some important German ships moored on the river in Bordeaux and the British plan to send ten men up the river in canoes to attach limpet mines to the ships to sink them. Anyone who's a fan of suspenseful modern war films like MAX MANUS: MAN OF WAR will enjoy this one too. The emphasis is on sneakiness here as the marines must go in quietly to avoid getting captured; I won't spoil what happens, only to say it treads the fine line between documentary-style realism and excitement.

Although I normally don't like films that take a long time to get to the 'meat' of the story, I didn't mind it with THE COCKLESHELL HEROES because the training sequences are fun to watch. I particularly loved the 'test' undergone by the heroes in which they must make their way across England undercover; plenty of laughs ensue. Plus, the constant battle of wills between Jose Ferrer (who also directed) and the reliable Trevor Howard is never less than watchable.

Cast-wise, the likes of Anthony Newley and Victor Maddern stand out, and there are plenty more familiar faces around including David Lodge, Peter Arne, John Van Eyssen (of Hammer's Dracula), Percy Herbert and even Christopher Lee in a small role. This isn't really a guns-blazing type movie but the high humour quotient more than makes up for the lack of action; my favourite scene is the one where David Lodge goes A.W.O.L. to take care of family business.

A brilliant tribute and a great watch

[muzzle_effect · 9/10 · 12 February 2005]

The movie was based on a real mission, called Operation Frankton. It was a successful Commando raid, despite the loss of life. The number of casualties in the film is accurate to those in real life. The training regime is somewhat questionable, and some elements would of only been added to make the movie more fun. However, a lot of training has been cut from the movie, as it simply would not be enjoyable to watch at all. All in all the film is fun to watch, you'll learn something about WW2 and although no film cannot capture just exactly what those men went through, it's a brilliant tribute to those who did not make it back.

Good

[dusan-22 · 6/10 · 19 August 2009]

Nice and entertaining war movie made or influenced by the Hollywood war film school of the 50s. Soft made army life and war fighting and dying adapted to the eye of the watcher of that time. Beautiful and everlasting colors of the Technicolor war film typical for war epic movie which this film definitely isn't. Good and saturated film composition, typical gags for the time of filming are pretty much watchable today. Imaginative dose of sarcasm that tends to launch Hollywood humor of that era in this UK film suits the whole idea pretty nice. Very realistic depiction of the action itself without exaggeration which is almost impossible to see in the US movies on the same topic even today. All in all, cute WWII film, especially recommended to the WWII buffs. 6 out of 10.

Pretty Inferior

[screenman · 5/10 · 26 January 2008]

The 1950's were a surprisingly good decade for the British war movie. During those years of victorious rationing and austerity, one has the impression that the queue-stricken public needed to be reminded as to who actually won the war. Before the universal availability of television, cinema offered the only easy escapism that was available to and cheap enough for the masses. It was the national panacea.

In those days money was scarce and movies cheaply made. But even so, there were lots of truly excellent examples, notably 'Ice Cold In Alex', 'The Dam Busters' and 'The Cruel Sea' - one of the most authentic and gripping war movies of all time.

But this item simply doesn't compare.

Jose Ferrer, the director, seems to have had at least enough funding. Unusually for its genre, it was shot in colour. There was plenty of location-work too - even access to a submarine. Yet the cast was hardly expensive A-list material. Apart from Trevor Howard, there were just a couple of British character stalwarts. And I have never been a fan of Anthony Newley. His 'cheeky-chappie' persona has invariably been a thumbs-down for any movie. I am apt to wonder if Mr Ferrer as the director/star was afraid of being outshone by an excess of talent in the ranks.

Preparations for the mission went on just far too long. As a result, the story began to get lost in trivial minutiae. We saw a tedious, embittered confessional from Trevor Howard's character, which cut to an amateurish female singer; we were obliged to endure her whole routine as she wandered around a bar, flirting amicably with its clientèle like 'Nancy' from Lionel Bart's 'Oliver'. What - was this a musical then? Her song was punctuated with a fight, and finally a childish monologue from Anthony Newley, in testament to his lack of comic skill. The combined takes lasted for almost 9 utterly pointless, meandering and wasted minutes.

I have seen Jose Ferrer do excellent work as an actor, notably in 'The Caine Mutiny'; he's not too bad in this either. But as a director he evidently had no sense of economy. The scenes above and many others would have carried more drama with half as much celluloid. This was a case of cut and cut again. The mission was the big issue here, and should have occupied at least half the movie. If the preparations must be emphasised then details should have been relevant. For example; we see the team ascending and abseiling up and down cliffs, yet none were to be encountered on the mission. They were canoing not climbing. Compare this with 'The Dam Busters' where there is equally lengthy preamble in creating the bomb - from marbles in the garden, to convincing sceptical authorities. Yet all of it is pertinent to the outcome. The pacing is near perfect. Barnes Wallis's chafing impatience replicates the mission's urgency in the movie's early stages.

As the culmination of their work, the destruction of the ships should have been much more dynamic in its presentation, and surely deserved more detail and therefore time. The sequence lasted just 20 seconds, and this in a total running-time of 94 minutes. For comparison; Howard's griping lasted 120 seconds and Newley's prattle 55 seconds. Confused priorities or what?

The destruction itself was pitiful. A few models and firecrackers? Hardly a tribute to those who's courage the movie presumes to extol. Most of the men died for that magnificent anti-climax. Ships are being scrapped all the time. Couldn't they have found a few hulks and really gone to town on some convincing big bangs?

There were also gaping holes in the plot: like their discovery by a dog and Ferrer's character disclosing himself to a large group of French fisherman. He returns, announcing 'They'll be alright'. How did he know? There may have been supporters of the Vichy government amongst them. Twenty times as many French people collaborated with the Nazis than supported the resistance. You couldn't trust anyone. Their mission and their lives depended upon strictest secrecy. And this is where the spare celluloid should have gone: emphasising the eternal moments of danger. The waiting, the not-sleeping, the stress and fear of discovery; so much more could have been done with these issues to emphasise the gripping sense of peril.

Then that needlessly jaunty theme music would keep piping-up. 'A life on the ocean wave'; give me a break. And 'night-time' bore a striking similarity to any winter afternoon, it was so ludicrously light.

As to marching-off down the road accompanied by the ghosts of the fallen - how corny an ending is that?

Mr Ferrer should have stuck to acting.

A very true story.

[peterdillon52 · 8/10 · 24 October 2005]

This is in fact a true story. It was a raid that was authorised by

Mountbatten in 1942. The names of the characters are changed. There was such a raid called operation Frankton that was executed in winter months. The movie is no doubt an exaggeration in many parts but certainly creates a lot of suspense. Of all the performances the only strong one is that of Trevor Howard who delivers his character extremely well on screen. His relationship with his commanding officer is in many ways the centre piece of the film. I can understand why people unaware of the raid would find this film implausible. But I can assure this was a real episode brought to the big screen. The raiders in real life did endure extreme hardship.

Middle of the road

[pjgeary-27094 · 5/10 · 28 August 2021]

It's watchable but there is nothing new here. Train a team of misfits up. All been done before. And better.

Enjoyable film true story history.

[musical-2 · 16 May 1999]

Excellent account of the ten "canoe commandoes" story, who faced fantastic hazards to complete their mission. But only two survivors returned. Good cast of players, specifically Trevor Howard and Anthony Newley, (pre "Stop the World" fame and before his big film break in "Idle On Parade"). Made by Broccoli who later churned out the impressive James Bond films. This is one for the Sunday afternoon thrill!