Purely Joyful Movie!

Just so...so bad

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

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

Many a second world war film perpetuated the portrait of Britain as a society where the upper classes held the upper hand,but few were as explicit in their depiction of the "officers and men" ethos as those depicting the Senior Service. From Noel Coward's patronising the lower deck in "In which we serve" onwards,servile cockneys,mancs and scousers(and Bernard Miles doing his country boy schtick)lurked in the passageways waiting for some nob from Dartmouth to put a bit of spine in 'em and tell 'em what to do. Not until "Up the creek",many years after the war,was the balance redressed,with Peter Sellers' C.P.O, showing who really ran the ship. With "Morning Departure",we get very much the mixture as before,albeit purveyed rather more insidiously than many. Mr John Mills is the archetypal movie naval hero;articulate but not a wordsmith,brave but not reckless,a loving husband but not soppy. When his submarine sinks after an accident it soon becomes clear that there is not enough rescue equipment to go round,and after a lottery,four men have to stay behind.Two officers and two O.R.s. That nice Mr Nigel Patrick(claustrophobic) is the First Lieutenant who bravely volunteers,Mr Richard Attenborough,bravely overcomes his former cowardice and Mr James Hayter is Able Seaman Higgins,the ageing cockney sparrer,with his Old Kent Road philosophising that keeps the others going until they are claimed by the Grim Reaper. That's not to say there isn't much to enjoy (if that's the right word) in "Morning departure".There is a fine performance from Mr Bernard Lee as the O.C. Rescue Operations,and you don't get the feeling that actually not much is happening,because the plight of the crew is very involving despite the over - familiarity of the performances. I first saw the film when I was 10 years old,and my grandmother sniffled into her handkerchief throughout. 60 years on and a grandfather myself,I may be made of sterner stuff,less impressed with the trappings of social status(my grandmother called her doctor "sir") and less enamoured with chirpy cockneys,but it's stark black and white images are still affecting,and Mr Mills is still just the man I'd like to be on a doomed submarine with.

I first saw this movie at the time of its original release, & it has remained in my memory quite indelibly. Particularly as one of your submissions referred to the sinking of an actual British submarine at the time of the release of "morning departure". HMS "Truculent" was the name of that submarine & the nation was very somber, but I believe the the movie realistically brought home to the public what these submariners went through. My father had served in the Royal Navy during WWII on Destoyers & had his ship sunk under him while in the Mediterranean. So I appreciated the fine acting & portrayal of the courage of the men in the Royal Navy. John Mills always epitomized the character of the rolls he took & this was one of his best for me, except for maybe Scott of the Antartic, but that's another story.

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