Sailor of the King [Blu-ray]

The first part of the film is a little dull as it is a love story between a naval officer( Richard Savile) and a young woman who he meets on a train during the first world war. It is very daring as they have obviously slept together.

They part and you hear no more of it.

Next we meet the naval officer Michael Rennie during the second world war in the pacific where he is involved in tracking down and destroying a German battleship the Essen.

The story concentrates on a Canadian naval rating Brown. He says his father is dead and his mother who is English brought him up in Canada with a love of the the navy.

He is a crack shot but is in signals. His ship is sunk and he escapes form captivity to give the Germans who have a damaged ship grief.

Richard Savile ( Michael Rennie) is now in command of a squadron of British ships hunting a raider called the Essen. He wants to engage the ship but is low on fuel so sends in two others The German raider outguns the British but is hit by a torpedo and has to stop for repairs.

One of the cruisers is sunk and only two survivors are taken on board by the Germans. One is the Canadian rating Brown. he manages to escape and is able to hold up the Germans for some time enabling the British to close with the Essen

One of the German survivors of the Essen tells the British there is a rating ashore who held them up.

We then go to the ending which either Brown died and Richard Savile meets his mum realising it is the lady he met all those years ago. There is then an alternative ending which is Brown is alive and receives the Victoria Cross.

It is a great story and even though I have seen it quite a few times it never fails to be an emotional ending.You still left in doubt as to whether Brown was Savile's son or whether he realises this fact.

A great British war film with a cracking story.

A love story producing an out of marriage boy when things like that were frowned upon.
The boy grows up in Canada joins the British Navy and as he is a crack shot he is able to prevent and slow down the repairs of a German Warship, by picking of the workers from a vantage point on a nearby cliff.

There are two possible endings shown on this DVD, shame there isn't one where the Mother and Father don't actually get together again - but that is probably just my soft heartedness that likes to see happy endings..

This is a good adventure story, but more than that. It shows a passed age when duty to country came fist.

Well worth buying.