source: The Cockleshell Heroes

Moviecut—The Cockleshell Heroes

The Cockleshell Heroes

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!

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.

This was the first full screenplay credit - albeit shared with Richard Maibaim - for Nobby Clearke aka Bryan Forbes following an 'additional dialogue' mention on Alan Ladd's The Black Knight and essentially it's a Boy's Own Paper yarn based on events in World War Two. Once again the usual suspects are wheeled out to support Jose Ferrer and Trevor Howard, i.e. Vic Maddern, Bernard Lodge et al. It adheres like the limpets it features to the tried and trusted formula; ask for volunteers, weed out the demicks, show the rest in training, then the 'mission'. Basically what you see is what you get though as 'action' films go this is more than a tad insipid. Yana, a popular vocalist in the fifties, who began a career just as real singing was giving way to shouting off-key, has one song and one scene which serves to take your mind off the one-trick pony screenplay.

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

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.

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.

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...