User reviews

The submarine used was NOT Varangian! 'It' was in fact two boats, P614 and P615, both built for Turkey by Vickers Armstorng at Barrow-in-Furness but kept hold of by the Royal Navy for the duration of the war. P615 was sunk but P614 was eventually delivered in 1945.

The confusion no doubt arose because someone looked up P61 (as I did) and found Varangian! When in fact, the last digit of both P614 and P615 was in fact just painted out....

There are some extremely realistic moments in the film. These Turkish boats were very similar to the S-class. As no S-class submarines survive, the shots of them (as P61) and of the depot ship "Forth" form part of an interesting record now, as well as an excellent film.

I very much agree with the comment about the verisimilitude of the control room dialogue and action during the torpedo shoot. However, the scenes that really struck me most forcibly as realistic were those in the engine room during the episode where the Baltic A/S net was penetrated. The mechanician operating the electric motor was (in my opinion!) definitely not an actor - he was a matelot doing his regular job, and he was obviously jolly proud of it too. The repetition of these "ahead/astern" scenes suggests that the director was as fascinated as I was. The film is and will remain well worth watching for scenes like these. And for our US friends who find the dialogue difficult - well, I often use the subtitles option when watching modern Hollywood action films, like "Get Shorty". Doesn't stop my enjoyment, and I can then understand about 90% on a second unaided viewing!

It is always pleasant to see John Mills acting but the constraints of wartime mean this is not much more than a propaganda piece – plucky Brits pulling off a near impossible mission. The film quality is good but I had trouble hearing some of the dialog – British accents have changed a lot in 60 years - even for a native speaker.

The underwater scenes where the crew is hunted by two German destroyers lacks the tension of later movies – in particular the superlative Das Boot. I was impressed by the calculations for torpedo firing, Mills trying to get angles and his officer working out trajectories on a slide rule. Funny to think they were still using such technology on the Apollo Missions. The special effects are lacking, although the "bathtub" scenes where Mills looks through the periscope are well done as are the real submarine scenes.

The film lacks the pace and production values of later (and some earlier) war movies. It has the feeling more of docudrama.

With their arrival into port, the crewmembers of the British submarine "Sea Tiger" are looking forward to some rest and relaxation. Unfortunately, they are soon called back to their boat due to orders from their higher headquarters. Once at sea, they are told that their new mission is to find the German battleship "Brandenburg" and sink her before she can get into the Baltic Sea. To get there in time to intercept the battleship they will have to travel on the surface during the day which makes them easy prey for German aircraft. If that wasn't difficult enough, they will also have to contend with German mines and a submarine net in the process--as well as any German destroyers serving as escorts. Not an easy task indeed. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was a solid submarine film which covered most of the basic elements for this type of picture. Admittedly, there were a couple of scenes which strained credibility, but it was still entertaining none-the-less. In any case, I enjoyed this film for the most part and have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Any film about WWII made during WWII by a British production company has no latter-day peer in my opinion, respectfully. The confluence of so many things near and dear to my heart are in At Dawn We Dive: as a descendant of Admiral Horatio Nelson and student of all aspects of World War Two and particularly naval warfare, I favor depictions of subs and action in the North Atlantic and especially those which include the German side of things. For those unacquainted with target priorities, an attack on an enemy warship is the greatest event that a submarine can hope to encounter and such a rare opportunity would develop surprisingly similarly to what we see here. The pacing is deliberate and typical of the works coming out of the Ealing, Rank and British-Gaumont studios back in the day: frankly I prefer its quieter, more cerebral approach for its humanity and realism that engages far better than any over-produced Hollywood movie ever could. This reminds me of Powell and Pressburger's The 49th Parallel thanks to the powerfully persuasive Eric Portman, a favorite of mine. John Mills receives second billing and a smaller font in the titles, so this is clearly meant to be Mr. Portman's film but the whole cast shines. As for the title sequence, am I the only one who is utterly charmed by Gainsborough Production's lovely pre-CGI Gainsborough Girl?

It seemes strange seeing the Gainsborough lady smiling at us before the film starts, since it's far from the overwrought melodramas which the studio's name was soon to become synonymous. It's also the nearest to a conventional war film made by director Anthony Asquith, whose action was usually interior rather than as bellicose as it is here; although again, the film is most engrossing when confined to the interior of the submarine.

This movie is all about reality, submarine warfare in WW2 was not a clean precise science. There were no computers giving exact enemy details, there was no precise instrumentation to 100% control the sub. Not all the crew went to fight with a song in their heart, and a smile on their dial.

People with expectations of seeing a "pretty war" in this movie will be grossly disappointed, .............. GOOD, they deserve to be disappointed, they deserve to have reality shoved into their face.

War is not clean, exact, fought by people about to break into song. It is endured by scared, cold/burnt, hungry, desperate people willing to do anything to survive.

"We Dive at Dawn" is a fine example portraying a desperate situation needing desperate actions.

Some inferior production values hamper the enjoyment of We Dive At Dawn. As Americans we can get a big jaded in terms of the better facilities we had. On the other hand our's in Hollywood weren't under attack and the story is a competent one.

We Dive At Dawn plays like a B picture version of In Which We Serve, set in a British submarine instead of surface vessel. The first part of the film shows the lives of the various crew members from Captain John Mills on down, some funny, some sad vignettes. The one with Eric Portman is especially touching and gives you some idea why he volunteers for the almost suicidal mission later on.

When HMS Tiger Fish is at sea, she gets into action and barely escapes, but with fuel lines damaged and not enough to go home. Mills and Portman conceive of a plan to raid a small Danish harbor that Portman was familiar with from before the war.

One thing though I absolutely could not believe that the producers had the chutzpah to put in the film. When Portman takes a landing party to the harbor, when he explains his mission to the civilians one of them replies that "the British Navy is always welcome in Denmark".

Although the Danes had some really unwelcome guests that the British were trying to help them oust, to this day there are still bitter memories of their Navy sinking the Danish fleet in Copenhagen during the Napoleonic Wars. It was a preemptive strike that was made to prevent the fleet from falling into Bonaparte's hands. It left a bad taste in Danish mouths that lingers to this day.

As Winston Churchill was very personally interested in the propaganda value of the British cinema, I can't believe he let that one stand for posterity. Than knowing something of Churchill's ego, it's not hard to believe.

Despite a line that had me reaching, We Dive At Dawn is a competently done wartime war film, with Mills, Portman, and the rest of the cast shown to best advantage.

The main interest here is the period detail. Those who make films today set in the 1940s ought to have a look and listen - then they might not make some of the mistakes of language and tone that are so common.

However, we have to face the fact that this film is a cheap flag waver. The first third drags as we go through some unconvincing stories about the home lives of the sailors, mostly done in the "chirpy working class" mode that the British entertainment industry favoured at the time. The main story is far-fetched and the Danish village is made of the cheapest painted cardboard.

During the war it was obviously important not to scare the families on the home front too much, with the result that there is little real sense of danger on the sub and hardly any casualties. In contrast, think of "Das Boot" with everyone bathed in sweat, cooped up in claustrophobic conditions, breathing foul air and scared out of their wits. It's not like that here. Despite the food and fuel running out and depth charges going off all around, everyone is pretty much calmness personified.

On a positive note, the Germans are real ones and speak correct German, which was good going for a wartime film.

Looking back from the safety of 2005 it is difficult to conceive of the difficulties that must have ensued in making decent films in Britian at the height of WW II. Of course they are going to be patriotic, flag-waving type of affairs but within the constraints of the time there were some fine stories, excellent acting and first rate directing.

We Dive At Dawn is not one of the absolute best of this genre but it is very good. Any film involving John Mills would have a problem being bad. And there is also the marvellous Eric Portman.

Sir John's recent death, happily after a long, long life, brings home the journeyman qualities of so many modern actors. He was equally at home, and equally convincing, as a private soldier, airman or naval rating, or as a senior officer. It is difficult to think that many of today's crop, who seem to speak with their own regional accents both on and off duty, are anything like as versatile, and very few are anywhere near as good.

As to the film, it is a rattling good yarn, with glimpses of the family life and problems of some of the crew. I recently watched it again on afternoon television and was still entertained royally.

I had to smile at an American reviewer having difficulty with English accents. We British have to put up with all sorts of American accents in films all the time.

This seemed to be a lackluster film to me that betrays a low budget with poor cinematography and not all that great of a job of editing. It may be of interest to those who know something about submarines during the World War II era, but I recommend that all others beware. Many of the scenes in this film were flat and some of the actors were a bit weak. The story about the men getting called back to duty during a short leave seems realistic enough, but there's no real pacing or tension in the story. I also had a tough time understanding what the actors were saying, partially due to some strong English accents and perhaps some due to an inferior job of sound recording. I give this a 55/100. Most folks will want to "steer" clear.

This is a cracking wartime adventure about a submarine tasked with tracking down and destroying the new Nazi battleship "Brandenburg". The added authenticity of this being actually made during the war is hard to overstate; there is a palpable tension as Eric Portman and John Mills take centre stage in this - admittedly "flag waving" production. Featuring a daring raid on a fuel dump, a tense cat-and-mouse chase, and giving more than a nod to the concomitant problems faced by the families left behind ashore; this is a taut and convincing tale of underwater seamanship that delivers a strong sense of the peril involved - and of the claustrophobia!

Historical accuracy: 6

Acting: 6 Camera work: 7 Editing: 8 Budget: 7 Story: 6 Theme: 7 Pure entertainment factor: 7 Video quality: 7 Special effects: 8 Pacing: 6 Suspension of disbelief: 6 Non-cringe factor: 7 Lack of flashbacks: 10

I'm quite shocked at the low ratings these old WW2 movies get. UK made quite a few WW2 movies during and right after WW2 using real ships and subs so for once we get to see actors use the equipment around them and use real terms and real seafaring language. The Cruel Sea (1953) for example uses a real WW2 ship I think and I can tell you 100% no CGI set looks even close to this good or realistic. We get to see the engine room and even small tech on the ship in The Cruel Sea. It looks glorious! This movie doesn't quite show as much of the sub. But what we see is the real deal. Both ships, subs, streets, clothing. Everything is from WW2 so of course it looks glorious even though I really wish they had shown even more, but this is very short and fast paced flick. Just like The Cruel Sea this is also totally unknown in USA. It was basically made for UK and I guess most have forgotten all these movies even though they look spectacular, have on point dialogue, and always have deep quality directing with plenty of jokes and decent action. If you can enjoy some average modern flick you can for sure enjoy this high quality stuff even though it may feel a bit dated. There is for example a 5 min sequence where they just put the periscope up and down looking for the fictional battleship to sink. Obviously there is no theme or deep plot that moment. This is basically us looking at a WW2 sub crew doing realistic work for several minutes with only a few emotional points. No one even explains any technical details, we don't get a clear narration with CGI showing everything ongoing outside the sub. If you hate this stuff you may feel a few scenes are too much, but personally I found it very engaging. The narration left way for a more realistic experience.

In these movies there is seldom a single lone hero killing 100 Germans by himself and growing slowly as a person. These movies were about the crew overall so there are like 5 leads all with their own stories. And while they are heroic there is no Hollywood tale about a savior and his dame - well, not a single one at least. Rather we get several men doing heroic deeds and several women waiting for them. The first part of the movie is just the crew getting some time off to meet their families and most meet women and plan their futures. Not a single person has it all figured out. They either cheat, drink too much, don't want to settle down, or have no luck in love. Again, you will feel a bit lost here as these are real people not fake Hollywood stuff so you may feel it's a bit unfocused in a way. While in reality it's just more realistic than modern war movies. They made sure to have plenty of women too as this was for all the public. It also has plenty of jokes as IN REAL LIFE. War was not 100% gloomy all the time and modern filmmakers need to understand this before making a film. When groups of people get together they try to have fun no matter the situation. At least when not in a direct battle. And 99% of the time you are not in direct battle.

The story itself is fiction with some very fake events happening too like the final event of the movie that was quite ... Hollywood. So I think WW2 fanatics may be let down by some of these events. It could have happened. But this is a movie made to cheer up Britain so no wonder we largely see huge victories and a fully professional crew that is overly cheery even as the German battleships are bombing them from all directions. Not sure that part is that realistic, but it's surely closer to reality than the constant overly gloomy atmosphere of modern interpretations. I don't feel it's heavy propaganda, but it does omit any major disasters and mistakes.

It's a feel good war movie with plenty of personal relationships. It stays true to the real WW2 tech as we are literally on WW2 subs during WW2. They even found German speakers. The Danish captain meanwhile speaks utter gibberish which is a shame. There are a few scenes and events where they saved some money. But again, it's so short that you hardly get time enough to get mad at this stuff. It's also the typical WW2 British actors you recognize as most young men were drafted or worked in essential industry, but they made a ton of movies as there were only a few left and they were top tier though a tad too old. I would for sure recommend it, but don't expect a great or deep story. Sink the Bismarck! (1960) is likely what you are looking for if you want a deep story, great acting, and a clear storyline. This is a bit more dated and at times unfocused. We don't for example ever see the ship they hunting up close. Not a single time. We only loosely follow the story itself from news segments, statements, and from what the crew itself sees. A modern movie like this would have shown us all sides. I would strongly recommend U-571 (2000) as another fictional WW2 sub tale with plenty of story and action.

Respected British Director Anthony Asquith, who Made Over 40 Films from the Late-20's, Until the Mid-60's, Helming Mostly Pedestrian Pictures. A Long and Steady Career. Nothing that Great but a lot of Interesting and Fine Films.

Here He Brings to the Screen a Very Realistic, Very Somber Sub-Movie with a Substantial Amount of Fantastic Images Inside the...

"Sub" (Underneath) "Marine" (Water)...as One Mate Explains (for the kiddies, one guesses).

For Once None of the Armaments, Hardware, and Vessels Don't Look Like Little Models, and the Verisimilitude is one of the Movies Main Strengths.

There are some Things Among the Crew that Seek to Levitate the Seriousness Somewhat. John Mills Never Cracks a Smile, Until the End, as Sober as a Submariner has to be During the Hunt.

Because, for Success, Everything Rides On Zero Mistakes.

The Film Takes Quite a While to "Dive" with a Hefty Amount of Screen-Time Devoted to On-Shore Leave and Romantic Entanglements.

But Once the "Mission" to Sink a Battleship is Under-Way, the Movie Really Picks Up and the 3rd Act is Bombastic (on shore) with Bullets and Bombs Blasting Away.

Considering it was Made in 1943, this Waves Propaganda Mostly, and is a Straight Forward, Gritty, and Tense Story that in the End is a Winner.

I watched this expecting to see the usual British stiff upper lip stereotypes and was surprised to find the dialogue remarkably natural and tinged with black humour. It was more like Eastenders Goes to Sea than In Which We Serve. The scenes during the approach and attack are remarkably realistic in their depiction of a fighting ship and the stuff ups and banter among the ship's company (well at least based on my service in the 1970s). Some of the throwaway lines are very witty ("I'm not joining the Band of Hope just to please some greasy fish fryer!). My only complaint is that they didn't show what happened to the Irish coxswain and his bride to be, or the tattooed PO and his "I Love Arabella" tattoo!

I am a fan of submarine books and movies. Most of the movies are crap. I happened to stumble on this movie on UCSD-TV (San Diego) last night and was instantly enthralled. So much more realistic (IMHO) than the typical (American) submarine movie. Compare to "Destination Tokyo" (which I like), for instance. In that movie everything is bright and shiny and relatively uncramped. In WDaD I was thinking "whoa, Das Boot but British". Yeah, it's not perfect but I (like a previous reviewer) was impressed by the portrayal of the difficult submerged attack on the "Brandenburg".

So is this where the old "shoot a bunch of junk out of a torpedo tube so they'll think we're sunk" ploy actually originated?

Anyhoo, on my (short) list of good WWII submarine movies, I would have to put this in the top 5.

Whilst I enjoy submarine action films, I wasn't expecting much from one created in the midst of WW2. Nevertheless, this must be one of the best wartime films actually created mid-conflict I have viewed, once the initial rather predictable scenes regarding being called to action are cast to one side. The film managed to convey the tension of life aboard a submarine at this time, with the weakest parts those based outside of the submarine. John Mills' face shows great communication when presented with difficult decisions and made the film work, whilst not going so far as being unbelievable. A very good effort in what must have been tricky film making times.