"Action in the North Atlantic" contained all the stock clichés, including the well-integrated crew with each member delivering his own stereotyped ethnic exhortations, the traditional burial at sea of a prized compatriot, and a tough stand against the enemy
All the performers took a back seat to the special effects as two spectacularly staged shipboard explosions and fires dominated the film
As, respectively, the lieutenant and captain aboard a merchant-marine ship, Bogart and Massey had little real chance to show much more than pure determination in their roles, but both alternated effectively between moments of tenderness when on shore with their loved ones (Julie Bishop for Bogart, Ruth Gordon for Massey) and extreme courage on board ship
Both men uttered the usual wartime banalities as the enemy, consistently portrayed as vicious and inhuman, went about its business of machine-gunning men in lifeboats, maniacally smiling all the while
Firmly directed by Lloyd Bacon, "Action in the North Atlantic" still works as a war actioner
All the performers took a back seat to the special effects as two spectacularly staged shipboard explosions and fires dominated the film
As, respectively, the lieutenant and captain aboard a merchant-marine ship, Bogart and Massey had little real chance to show much more than pure determination in their roles, but both alternated effectively between moments of tenderness when on shore with their loved ones (Julie Bishop for Bogart, Ruth Gordon for Massey) and extreme courage on board ship
Both men uttered the usual wartime banalities as the enemy, consistently portrayed as vicious and inhuman, went about its business of machine-gunning men in lifeboats, maniacally smiling all the while
Firmly directed by Lloyd Bacon, "Action in the North Atlantic" still works as a war actioner