The Baby and the Battleship
Encyclopedia
The Baby and the Battleship is a colour 1956 British
comedy film
directed by Jay Lewis
and starring John Mills
, Richard Attenborough
and André Morell
. It is based on the 1956 novel by Anthony Thorne with a screenplay by Richard De Roy, Gilbert Hackforth-Jones
and Bryan Forbes
. The Royal Navy
provided a large amount of cooperation with sequences filmed aboard HMS Birmingham
and in Malta
.
sailors go ashore on shore leave
to Naples, they are forced to care for a baby, separated from its mother. During a brawl, Puncher Roberts is knocked unconscious and finds the square empty, except for the baby. Unable to find his friend Knocker, or the child's mother, he smuggles the baby aboard their ship in the midst of a series of joint operations with Allied navies off the coast of Italy.
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Jay Lewis
Jay Lewis
Jay Lewis was a film director, a film producer and writer born in Warwickshire, England.-Director:*A Home of Your Own starring Ronnie Barker *Live Now - Pay Later *Invasion Quartet...
and starring John Mills
John Mills
Sir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
, Richard Attenborough
Richard Attenborough
Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi...
and André Morell
André Morell
André Morell was a British actor. He appeared frequently in theatre, film and on television from the 1930s to the 1970s...
. It is based on the 1956 novel by Anthony Thorne with a screenplay by Richard De Roy, Gilbert Hackforth-Jones
Gilbert Hackforth-Jones
Commander Frank Gilbert Hackforth-Jones R.N. was an author of the mid 20th century. His writings reflected his own love and experience of the sea and sailing...
and Bryan Forbes
Bryan Forbes
Bryan Forbes, CBE is an English film director, actor and writer.-Career:Bryan Forbes was born John Theobald Clarke on 22 July 1926 in Queen Mary's Hospital, Stratford, West Ham, Essex , and grew up at 43 Cranmer Road, Forest Gate, West Ham, Essex .Forbes trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of...
. The Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
provided a large amount of cooperation with sequences filmed aboard HMS Birmingham
HMS Birmingham (C19)
HMS Birmingham was a member of the first group of five ships of the "Town" class of light cruisers. She was built at Devonport Dockyard , and launched on 1 September 1936.-Early career:...
and in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
.
Plot
When a group of Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
sailors go ashore on shore leave
Shore leave
Shore leave is the leave that professional sailors get to spend on dry land. It is culturally infamous for its excess. Sailors without family obligations and with basic lodging needs provided aboard ship may spend their wages for the journey in a brief period of extravagance ashore and return to...
to Naples, they are forced to care for a baby, separated from its mother. During a brawl, Puncher Roberts is knocked unconscious and finds the square empty, except for the baby. Unable to find his friend Knocker, or the child's mother, he smuggles the baby aboard their ship in the midst of a series of joint operations with Allied navies off the coast of Italy.
Cast
- John MillsJohn MillsSir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
- Puncher Roberts - Richard AttenboroughRichard AttenboroughRichard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi...
- Knocker White - André MorellAndré MorellAndré Morell was a British actor. He appeared frequently in theatre, film and on television from the 1930s to the 1970s...
- Marshal - Bryan ForbesBryan ForbesBryan Forbes, CBE is an English film director, actor and writer.-Career:Bryan Forbes was born John Theobald Clarke on 22 July 1926 in Queen Mary's Hospital, Stratford, West Ham, Essex , and grew up at 43 Cranmer Road, Forest Gate, West Ham, Essex .Forbes trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of...
- Professor Evans - Michael Horden - Captain Hugh
- Ernest ClarkErnest ClarkErnest Clark was a British actor of stage, television and film.-Early life:Clark was the son of a master builder in Maida Vale, and was educated nearby at St Marylebone Grammar School. After leaving school he became a reporter on a local newspaper in Croydon...
- Commander Geoffrey Digby - Harry LockeHarry LockeHarry Locke was a British character actor.He was born and died in London. He was a familiar face in three decades of British cinema, with appearances including Passport to Pimlico , Reach for the Sky , Carry On Nurse , The Devil-Ship Pirates and The Family Way .In 1969 he appeared in Randall...
- Chief Petty Officer Blades - Michael HowardMichael Howard (actor)Michael Howard is an American actor, director, and master teacher, and founder of Michael Howard Studios in New York City.-Early life:...
- Joe - Lionel JeffriesLionel JeffriesLionel Charles Jeffries was an English actor, screenwriter and film director.-Early life and career:Jeffries attended the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wimborne Minster, Dorset. In 1945, he received a commission in the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry...
- George - Clifford MollisonClifford MollisonClifford Lely Mollison was a British film and television actor. He was married to the actress Avril Wheatley. His younger brother was the actor Henry Mollison.-Selected filmography:* The Lucky Number...
- Sails - Thorley WaltersThorley WaltersThorley Walters was an English character actor.He is probably best remembered for his comedy film roles such as in Two-Way Stretch and Carlton-Browne of the FO...
- Lieutenant Setley - Duncan LamontDuncan LamontDuncan William Ferguson Lamont was a British actor. Born in Lisbon, Portugal, but brought up in Scotland, he had a long and successful career in film and television, appearing in a variety of high-profile productions....
- Master-at-Arms - Lisa GastoniLisa GastoniLisa Gastoni is an Italian film actress. She has appeared in 60 films since 1954. She also co-starred as Giulia, Ricco Poccari's girlfriend in the Sapphire Films TV series The Four Just Men for ITV.-Selected filmography:* Doctor in the House * The Baby and the Battleship * Three Men...
- Maria - Cyril RaymondCyril RaymondCyril William North Raymond MBE was a British character actor....
- PMO - Harold SiddonsHarold SiddonsHarold Siddons was a British film and television actor, appearing in Genevieve, The Dam Busters, Appointment in London, They Who Dare, The Purple Plain, Quatermass and the Pit, A Night To Remember and The Wrong Arm of the Law...
- Whiskers - D. A. Clarke-SmithD. A. Clarke-SmithD. A. Clarke-Smith was a British actor.He was born on 2 August 1888 at Montrose, Scotland. He was educated at the University of Oxford, studying law and voice culture, and while there joined the Oxford University Dramatic Society. His stage career was interrupted by the First World War...
- The Admiral - Kenneth GriffithKenneth GriffithKenneth Griffith was a Welsh actor and documentary filmmaker.-Early life:He was born Kenneth Reginald Griffiths in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Six months after his birth his parents split up and left Tenby, leaving Kenneth with his paternal grandparents, Emily and Ernest, who immediately adopted...
- Sub-Lieutenant - John Le MesurierJohn Le MesurierJohn Le Mesurier was a BAFTA Award-winning English actor. He is most famous for his role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the popular 1970s BBC comedy Dad's Army.-Career:...
- The Marshal's Aide - Carlo Giustini - Carlo Vespucci
- Ferdy MayneFerdy Mayne-Early life:He was born Ferdinand Philip Mayer-Horckel, in Mainz, Germany. His German father was the Judge of Mayence, and his half-English mother gave singing lessons. Because his family was Jewish, he was sent to England to protect him from the Nazis, and he stayed with his aunt, the photographer...
- Interpreter - Vincent Barbi - Second Brother
- Gordon JacksonGordon Jackson (actor)Gordon Cameron Jackson, OBE was a Scottish Emmy Award-winning actor best remembered for his roles as the butler Angus Hudson in Upstairs, Downstairs and George Cowley, the head of CI5, in The Professionals....
- Harry - Vittorio Vittori - Third Brother
- Martyn Garrett - The Baby
- Barry FosterBarry Foster (actor)Barry Foster was a British actor who appeared in numerous film roles and is known for his leading role as a Dutch detective in the ITV drama series, Van der Valk, which spanned five series over 20 years from 1972....
- Sailor at Dance - Robert AyresRobert Ayres (actor)Robert Ayres was an American film, stage and television actor.-Selected filmography:* The Black Widow * Delayed Action * A Prize of Gold * It's Never Too Late...
- American Captain