Frogman Crabb
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Frogman Crabb |
| Original title | The Silent Enemy |
| Country of production | Great Britain |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1958 |
| length | 112 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | William Fairchild |
| script | William Fairchild |
| production |
Bertram Ostrer , Raymond Anzarut |
| music | William Alwyn |
| camera | Otto Heller |
| cut | Alan Osbiston |
| occupation | |
| |
Froschmann Crabb ( English original title: The Silent Enemy ) is a British war film from 1958 based on the non-fiction book "Commander Crabb" by Marshall Pugh . He addresses the use of Italian torpedo riders of the Decima Flottiglia MAS in Alexandria and Gibraltar in 1941/42 and the defense against these attacks by Lieutenant Captain Lionel Crabb (1909–1956) of the Royal Navy .
action
In the opening credits, the film is dedicated to the frogmen of all nations who gave their lives underwater, especially Commander Lionel Crabb.
Second World War , Alexandria, December 19, 1941. The two British battleships HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Valiant are moored in port . Italian torpedo riders set sticky mines on the ship's hulls. When they explode, the two units sink to the bottom and are incapacitated for a long time. The commanding British admiral in the Mediterranean states that by turning off the battleships, the maritime balance in the sea is disturbed, so that Gibraltar is in danger. Due to its location opposite the neutral Spanish port of Algeciras, there is a security gap. In addition, a good 1,000 Spanish workers work at British facilities in Gibraltar, which also pose a security risk.
Coming from England, Lieutenant Crabb flies into Gibraltar. He is supposed to support a small unit that fights the Italian frogmen who keep attaching mines to ships in the port. The Royal Navy has only two divers to defend against the Italians.
Crabb is getting used to diving. During a first mission, a time bomb is removed from under a ship loaded with explosives . The bomb is brought ashore and defused by Crabb at an airfield. The divers realize that the bombs are designed in such a way that they do not explode in port but only at sea. The Italians want to suggest to the British that the freighters were attacked by submarines with torpedoes . This is how the traces of the frogmen are to be blurred.
The British consul in Algeciras informed the admiral that a group of Italian naval officers were under cover in Algeciras. Tomalino, an expert in torpedo riders, has lived in the Spanish port for ten months. Apparently the Italians operate from there. In fact, there is a group of Italian experts in the Spanish port who are next planning to blow up a British cruiser in Gibraltar.
To ward off the Italian frogmen the British now set depth charges one. During the attack on Gibraltar a frogman dies, another is captured. However, he refuses to testify. Crabb leads the burial at sea of the fallen Italian, which the Italians in Algeciras observe with binoculars. The English throw a wreath, Crabb crosses himself as a gesture of respect for the brave opponent.
The British Underwater Working Party is given its own headquarters in an old prison. An experienced chief petty officer is assigned to training. But although the team is constantly clearing mines, further explosions and severe damage occur as the frogmen repeatedly find gaps in the safety net.
A four-engine plane crashes off Gibraltar. The Polish General Wladislaw Sikorski is on board . His briefcase has to be retrieved because it contains important secret documents. In the sunken plane wreck it comes to melee between the British and Italians. Air hoses are cut and the glass of a diving mask is pushed in. The British manage to recover the bag, the Italians lose two frogmen.
The future invasion fleet for North Africa is expected in Gibraltar . The Italians are therefore planning a major attack. With the admiral's knowledge, Crabb and a comrade, disguised as Swedes , explore Algeciras. They encounter the Italians and follow them to the tanker Olterra , home port Naples . When a large oil barrel is about to be hoisted on board, the Italians panic, so that Crabb and his companion conclude that the Olterra is not the harmless tanker it appears to be on the outside. They dive to the ship without equipment and penetrate the tanker through an open lock. They discover that the tanker is the mother ship of the torpedo riders, which is the base of operations for the attacks on Gibraltar.
Crabb reports to the admiral. A convoy arriving soon must be protected. The Italians attack again and sink several ships. But Crabb now attacks the Olterra with captured torpedo riders . The British were discovered after the mines were installed, but too late: the Olterra exploded and the attacks on Gibraltar had to be stopped. Crabb receives the Georgskreuz in recognition of his success , but believes that all of his men deserve it.
Reviews
"Although technically and theatrically effective, the film can be challenged if it depicts the Second World War as a chivalrous and sporting duel."
Historical background, production history
Like the book, the film is designed based on actual events that have been artistically condensed. So there never was a close-range underwater battle between British and Italian divers. Although Crabb was involved in the investigation of the Sikorski plane wreck, the crash was in no way related to the activities of the Decima Flottiglia MAS in Algeciras, whose name is not mentioned in the film.
The background to the film production was the ominous disappearance of Crabb in the Crabb affair in 1956. On April 19, Crabb was seen alive for the last time on a diving mission in Portsmouth harbor . As it turned out later, Crabb had been hired by MI6 , which is not allowed to operate within Great Britain, to examine the hull of the Soviet cruiser Ordzhonikidze . The cruiser was on a state visit to England with other units of the Soviet Navy . a. with Nikita Khrushchev on board. It was not until June 9, 1957, a good 14 months later, that the body of a diver was recovered in the port of Chichester , but his head and hands were missing. Whether it was actually Crabb could not be definitively determined with the methods of investigation at the time. The case attracted great public attention and has led to various conspiracy theories up to the present day .
The film was produced in close cooperation with the British Admiralty, the War Office, the Air Ministry and, in particular, the “diving team” of the Mediterranean fleet.
Trivia
The attack on Alexandria in 1941 had already been filmed in 1953 by Duilio Coletti under the title The Seven of the Big Bear in collaboration with the Italian Navy. In 1962, Alarm followed on the Valiant , a British-Italian co-production.
Web links
- Frogman Crabb in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Complete film version of the original on youtube.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ Frogman Crabb. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .