Sons of the Sea (film)
Encyclopedia
Sons of the Sea is a 1939 British drama film
directed by Maurice Elvey
and starring Leslie Banks
, Kay Walsh
, Mackenzie Ward and Cecil Parker
.
is murdered. His successor, Captain Hyde, believes that he was in fact the intended target of the assassination. He soon begins to realise that both British and foreign intelligence agents are at work. He enlists the help of his son, a reluctant sea cadet, to smoke them out.
process - the only full feature film ever made in this.
It has recently been restored and was shown in 2005 on BBC
television. The colour looked a bit thin compared with Technicolor
. The most interesting feature was the extensive scenes of the cadets at Dartmouth
parading,- clearly genuine and an interesting insight into naval officer training at that time. This was still the era when Dartmouth trained cadets from ages 14 to 18. Sadly both the script and direction are weak.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Maurice Elvey
Maurice Elvey
Maurice Elvey was the most prolific film director in British history. He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year....
and starring Leslie Banks
Leslie Banks
Leslie Banks, CBE was an English theatre and cinema actor, director and producer, now best remembered playing gruff, menacing characters in black and white movies of the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life:...
, Kay Walsh
Kay Walsh
Kay Walsh was an English actress and dancer. She grew up in Pimlico, raised by her grandmother....
, Mackenzie Ward and Cecil Parker
Cecil Parker
Cecil Parker was an English character and comedy actor with a distinctive husky voice, who usually played supporting roles in his 91 films made between 1928 and 1969....
.
Synopsis
England, 1939. The head of Dartmouth Naval CollegeBritannia Royal Naval College
Britannia Royal Naval College is the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy, located on a hill overlooking Dartmouth, Devon, England. While Royal Naval officer training has taken place in the town since 1863, the buildings which are seen today were only finished in 1905, and...
is murdered. His successor, Captain Hyde, believes that he was in fact the intended target of the assassination. He soon begins to realise that both British and foreign intelligence agents are at work. He enlists the help of his son, a reluctant sea cadet, to smoke them out.
Production
The film was made shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, something explored in the themes of the film. Unusually for the time, it was made in colour, the DufaycolorDufaycolor
Dufaycolor is an early French and British additive color photographic film process for motion pictures and stills photography. It was based on a four-color screen photographic process invented in 1908 by Frenchman Louis Dufay...
process - the only full feature film ever made in this.
It has recently been restored and was shown in 2005 on BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television. The colour looked a bit thin compared with Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
. The most interesting feature was the extensive scenes of the cadets at Dartmouth
Britannia Royal Naval College
Britannia Royal Naval College is the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy, located on a hill overlooking Dartmouth, Devon, England. While Royal Naval officer training has taken place in the town since 1863, the buildings which are seen today were only finished in 1905, and...
parading,- clearly genuine and an interesting insight into naval officer training at that time. This was still the era when Dartmouth trained cadets from ages 14 to 18. Sadly both the script and direction are weak.
Cast
- Leslie BanksLeslie BanksLeslie Banks, CBE was an English theatre and cinema actor, director and producer, now best remembered playing gruff, menacing characters in black and white movies of the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life:...
- Captain Hyde - Kay WalshKay WalshKay Walsh was an English actress and dancer. She grew up in Pimlico, raised by her grandmother....
- Alison Devar - Mackenzie Ward - Newton Hulls
- Cecil ParkerCecil ParkerCecil Parker was an English character and comedy actor with a distinctive husky voice, who usually played supporting roles in his 91 films made between 1928 and 1969....
- Commander Herbert - Simon Lack - Philip Hyde
- Ellen PollockEllen PollockEllen Pollack was a British character actress, mainly appeared on stage in London's West End. She also appeared in several films.Pollack was born in Heidelberg, Germany and died in London, England.-Selected filmography:...
- Margaret Hulls - Peter ShawPeter Shaw (producer)Peter Shaw, born Peter Pullen, was an actor/producer and the longtime husband of actress Angela Lansbury. Born in Reading, England, he began his career in front of the screen following World War II, and later found success as a studio executive. Shaw served in the British army during the second...
- John Strepte - Nigel Stock - Rudd
- Kynaston ReevesKynaston ReevesKynaston Reeves was christened Philip Arthur Reeves, and was an English character actor who appeared in numerous films and many television plays and series.-Career:...
- Professor Devar - Charles EatonCharles Eaton (actor)Charles Eaton was an American juvenile stage and film performer, and the most important performing male member of the clan once referred to as The Seven Little Eatons. The siblings, all appeared, at one time or another, in The Ziegfeld Follies each year between 1918 through 1923.-Career:On stage...
- Commander-in-Chief