Gift Horse (1952) Online
In 1940, a mothballed American destroyer is commissioned in the Royal Navy. Her experienced Commanding Officer has had a checkered career and the crew are mostly lacking sea experience. A series of mishaps seem to dog the ship for some time, and the personal lives of the crew are turbulent, but at last the ship's company make good and the destruction of a U-boat marks their first success. Now they are asked to volunteer for the most dangerous mission they will encounter.
Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Trevor Howard | - | Lt. Cmdr Hugh Alginon Fraser | |
Richard Attenborough | - | Able Seaman 'Dripper' Daniels | |
Sonny Tufts | - | Ordinary Seaman 'Yank' Flanagan | |
James Donald | - | Lt. Richard Jennings, No. 1 | |
Bernard Lee | - | A.S. 'Stripey' Wood | |
Dora Bryan | - | Glad Flanagan | |
Hugh Williams | - | Captain David G. Wilson, Division Commander | |
Robin Bailey | - | Lt. Michael Grant, Pilot | |
Meredith Edwards | - | Jones | |
John Forrest | - | Appleby the Captain's Steward | |
Patric Doonan | - | Petty Officer Martin (as Patrick Doonan) | |
Sidney James | - | Ned Hardy, Owner Golden Bull | |
Tony Quinn | - | McConalog the Bartender | |
James Kenney | - | John A. Fraser, Hugh's Son | |
George Street | - | Court Member |
Commander Fraser refers to his service medals as "Squeak" and "Wilfred". These were nicknames for the the British War Medal and the British Victory Medal of World War I. (Note: The 1914 Star and the 1914-15 Star star were nicknamed "Pip". The three names come from the names of characters in a Daily Mirror cartoon strip.)
The ship portraying H.M.S. Ballentrae was actually H.M.S. Leamington. She was Lend Leased to the U.K. as one of the fifty Lend Lease destroyers in 1940. In an interesting twist, she was further loaned by the British to the Soviets in 1944, and named Zhguchi. She was returned in to the British in 1950 and scrapped in 1951. She was used for the set of this movie prior to scrapping.
The film is loosely based on the actual raid undertaken in 1942 by H.M.S. Campbeltown, in which the ship, loaded with explosives, rammed and subsequently destroyed the dock gates at the French port of Saint-Nazaire. This was the only dry dock outside of Germany able to accept and repair the German battleships Tirpitz and Bismarck.
The military mission in this movie is based on the real World War II raid on Saint-Nazaire by H.M.S. Campbeltown in a campaign known as "Operation Chariot".
The dedication states: "In 1940 when Britain was fighting alone for her life, the United States transferred fifty of her destroyers to the Royal Navy. This picture is respectfully dedicated to their exploits and is very broadly based on the adventures of one of these destroyers."
The so-called "Gift Horse" of this movie's alternate title refers to the nickname of the aged decrepit four-stacker ex-U.S. Navy destroyer seen in the movie, the H.M.S. Ballantrae.
This movie and Attack on the Iron Coast (1968) are based on the same World War II raid carried out by British forces on the locks of the French port of Saint-Nazaire in 1942.
This movie takes place from 1940 to 1942.
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