ACTION IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC Movie Review

1943 Lloyd Bacon

Though conceived and produced as unvarnished propaganda for the Merchant Marines, this sea-going adventure is still enjoyable as nostalgic entertainment. A solid ensemble cast led by Humphrey Bogart and Raymond Massey makes up for not-particularly-special effects and a wandering script. The film's basic purpose is to show how brave the underappreciated seamen were and, in that area, it succeeds. The organization certainly thought so. At the New York premiere on May 21, 1943, a Victory flag was presented to producer Jack Warner as more than 300 sailors trooped into the theater.

In the war, the job of the Merchant Marines is to run cargo between America and Europe. The slow-moving, unarmed ships are easy targets for German U-boats and aircraft. The crews have no illusions about their chances. Lt. Joe Rossi (Bogart) is second in command to the properly gruff Capt. Jarvis (Massey) and tries to ease the friction between Jarvis and the eager Cadet Parker (Dick Hogan).

Below decks, the crew (Alan Hale, Dane Clark, Peter Whitney, J.M. Kerrigan) complains and jokes and philosophizes. Their wisecracking humor is now the most quaint and dated part of the film. When the action picks up as a submarine closes in on the ship, the tension increases considerably. In those scenes, director Lloyd Bacon (with uncredited assistance from Byron Haskin and Raoul Walsh) and writers A.I. Bezzerides, W.R. Burnett, Guy Gilpatric, and John Howard Lawson, are remarkably innovative. Intercutting between the ship and the U-boat, they allow the German characters to speak German, without subtitles. The meaning and intention of the actions are made perfectly clear through inflection and the audience's familiarity with submarine movies. Even if we don't understand the words, we know the drill—the captain (Wilhelm von Brincken) looks through the periscope; we see the ship from his point of view; he barks numbers and orders; they're repeated by various crewmen; other bits of business are accomplished and then—whoosh!—the torpedoes are fired.

The film is divided into two halves that are set on different ships and separated by an interlude ashore in New York. In that short section, Bogart reprises his Sam Spade persona from The Maltese Falcon, and becomes a tough guy in a dark suit and snappy fedora who romances saloon chanteuse Pearl (Julie Bishop) while his Captain goes home to his wife (Ruth Gordon) in a neatly touching domestic scene. The second half is set on one of the new “liberty ships,” in a convoy. The escalating attacks on the ships take on an almost comic book disregard for reality. The screen is filled with model ships, subs and planes, torpedoes, exploding shells and bombs. In one memorable process shot, a bomber attacks a freighter, and the perspective is so skewed that the model plane briefly appears to be larger than the model ship. That is not meant as a criticism. Audiences in 1943 suspended their disbelief for such scenes. And at that time, this particular sort of escapism was meant not merely to divert viewers but to inspire them.

The film served that purpose admirably, and it's still fun to see Bogie and Raymond Massey in roles that were well tailored to their strengths

Cast: Humphrey Bogart (Lt. Joe Rossi), Raymond Massey (Capt. Steve Jarvis), Alan Hale (Boots O'Hara), Julie Bishop (Pearl), Ruth Gordon (Mrs. Jarvis), Sam Levene (Chips Abrams), Dane Clark (Johnnie Pulaski), Peter Whitney (Whitey Lara), Minor Watson (Rear Adm. Hartridge), J.M. Kerrigan (Caviar Jinks), Dick Hogan (Cadet Robert Parker), Kane Richmond (Ens. Wright), Chick Chandler (Goldberg), Donald Douglas (The Lieutenant Commander), Creighton Hale (Sparks), Iris Adrian (Jenny O'Hara), Elliott Sullivan (Hennessy), Glenn Strange (Tex Mathews), Wilhelm von Brinken (German U-boat Captain); Written by: A.I. Bezzerides, W.R. Burnett, John Howard Lawson, Guy Gilpatric; Cinematography by: Ted D. McCord; Music by: Adolph Deutsch. Producer: Warner Bros., First National, Jerry Wald. Awards: Nominations: Academy Awards ‘43: Best Story. Running Time: 126 minutes. Format: VHS.