ianlouisiana Review of Above Us the Waves

Above Us the Waves (1955)

From the city,from the plough,Mr. Mills' volunteer submariners.

[8/10 · 26 January 2007]

It is instructive to watch fifty years on how the Allies portrayed their victorious armed forces on the screen.The United States were represented by the cigar chomping ,helmet askew,grizzled flinty eyed G.I.dishing out chewing gum to snotty- nosed kids all over the world, The Russians sad - faced country boys,pale and sensitive,hating the Germans of course,but very keen on watching birds - particularly cranes apparently.The French dapper and sophisticated even a little effete but certainly hating the Germans.The Australians rowdy and undisciplined but murderous and hating everybody foreign.And the Brits....ah,the Brits. Inspired amateurs,a mixture of coal miners,shopkeepers,City gents,farmers and barrow boys somehow magically intermingled to produce a bloody - minded fighting man with occasional flashes of genius and and absolute refusal to even consider defeat. Such was the make up of the submariner in general and the midget submariner in particular. "Above us the waves" tells of the exploits of the brave men who sailed deep into the Norwegian fjords to confront the "Tirpitz",scourge of the convoys.Having convinced a sceptical Admiralty in the person of Mr James Robertson Justice that such an attack had at least a small chance of succeeding,Mr John Mills leads his crews quietly and with the minimum of flag - waving to the target where they plant explosives under the keel of the ship.Despite being captured and taken on board Mr Mills and his men stay silent under questioning and the resulting detonation severely damages the "Tirpitz",putting it out of action for six months. Mr John Gregson and his crew are not so lucky and perish in the icy water. This is not a Bruce Wills blockbuster,nobody yells "Yippee - aye - ay motherxxxxxxx" at the enemy,there aren't many bangs for your buck and the special effects aren't up to much.The Germans are played as more or less mirror - images of the Brits and the mutual respect is apparent. "Above us the waves" is a low - key film with subdued performances. War isn't depicted as big boys' game,these men are in deadly danger and fully aware of it.To carry on quietly and,yes,bloody - mindedly if you like.......now that's real courage for you.