Yangtse Incident [DVD]

Quite why "Yangtse Incident" has taken so long to come to DVD in an age where classics are routinely knocked out at knock down prices is beyond me. That said, this excellent film has always unfairly played second fiddle to "Cruel Sea", "In Which We Serve", "Sink the Bismark", "Above Us the Waves" et al.

The story of HMS AMETHYST's detention by communist forces during the Chinese civil war, and her subsequent escape, may not be well known by modern generations but this film does a sound job of dramatising events and an outstanding job of bringing to life the violence and danger of being in a warship pounded by shells. It misses a trick or two in portraying Lt Cdr Kerans, who assumes command during the incident, as a little too crisp and stiff upper-lipped, when the man himself was a far more complex and flawed character. That said, Richard Todd (drawing as he so often did on his personal wartime experiences) excels in his portrayal of an inspirational leader. His strong supporting cast deliver a pitch perfect rendition of Royal Navy sailors of the time, even allowing for a little toning down and poetic licence. Bernard Cribbins and Ian Bannen both make early outings in film as junior sailors and William Hartnell is particularly strong as the experienced Leading Hand who has what it takes when the chips are down; the courage and determination in his backened face as he struggles to his feet and takes the wheel after all others in the wheelhouse are killed make this one of the finer moments in cinema's portrayal of naval warfare.

Indeed, it is the brilliant depicition of the smoke, flame, shrapnel and carnage that occur when shells rip into armoured metal boxes that marks this film out. As AMETHYST's guns return fire the scenes descend into a cacophony of defeaning, shattering gunfire and confusion. There was obviously no CGI when this film was made, but there was an abundance of laid-up warships. As a result, AMETHYST began production starring as herself but fell victim to one of the substantial and numerous underwater explosions used to simulate shell splashes, opening up her hull plates and forcing the use of a stand in for the remainder of filming.

The film is not perfect, and in portraying some of the monotony of AMETHYST's days and weeks as a hostage it loses as little pace in the middle section. You might also have wished for a slightly more convincing Communist Chinese colonel than the Georgian actor Akim Tamiroff, his particularly un-chinese face and accent highlighted even more by the presence of Cantonese actor Keye Luke as his subaltern.

Richard Todd and Co, real warships, real explosions, a rip roaringly patriotic score - well you can't go wrong really....God Save the King.

In April 1949, the British frigate HMS Amethyst was making her way upthe Yangtse to take supplies to the British consulate at Shanghai when she was illegally fired on by Mao's shore batteries. She sustained 50 hits, knocking out much of her electronics and power systems and 22 fatalities among her company, including her Captain, Lieutenant Commander Skinner. She had to be beached on mud flats and there she stayed under Communist guns for four months. Enter the Assistant Naval Attache in Shanghai, Lieutenant Commander Kerans (Richard Todd) to take over command. After four months of apparent deadlock when the Communist demand for allowing the ship to leave was the propaganda coup of a false admission that the Amethyst had fired first, it was decided to break out and sail downriver to rejoin the fleet.

This is the true story of that illegal imprisonment and escape. Indeed the American title when it was released over in the States was "Escape of the Amethyst". With such stellar names in the cast as Todd, William Hartnell (soon to find fame as the first Doctor Who) and Donald Houston, this 1957 re-enactment hits all the right buttons, but is typical of British war films from this period (Roughly contemporary with Reach for the Sky, Stalag 17 and The Dam Busters). It's all understated Britishness, of the genre that Todd did so well at that time (he also played the lead in The Dam Busters).

Interesting bit of trivia here, in the film the ship itself was played by .... well, HMS Amethyst, by then retired from Navy service and due to be scrapped although they could not, of course, use the Yangtse, they had to make do with the Orwell in Suffolk.

Altogether a worthy film, similar to many of the same period, but I'm happy to see it out for its first release on DVD. As stated in the headline, it's only taken half a century (52 years to be exact, 1957 - 2009)

This film is a true account of a largely forgotten encounter in the late 1940s in which a British warship, HMS Amethyst, was illegally fired on by Communist Forces upon while making lawful passage up the Yangtse River. The ship sustained heavy damage and suffered 22 dead including the Captain, who succumbed to his wounds the following day. During this encounter the vessel stuck fast on mud flats where she remained for some time.

The film deals mostly with the aftermath of the incident and with the subsequent efforts made to secure the Ship's freedom before the famous dash to freedom was finally made some months later.

This a first class British war film in a similar vein to The Dambusters and countless other war films made in the 40s and 50s. If you are after a Hollywood blockbuster filled with special effects and improbable storylines then this is not for you. If, however, you are looking for a true and factually correct account of a story of British Naval derring-do, you won't get much better than this. Highly recommended.