World War II sea saga following the fortunes of the crew of HMS Compass Rose, a corvette dispatched for its maiden duties protecting convoys in the cruel North Atlantic in 1940.
It's a straightforward retelling of the Nicholas Monsarrat novel peppered with youthful talents who grew up to be stars: watch for Denholm Elliott, Stanley Baker and Donald Sinden in particular. However, Jack Hawkins steals the top honours with his moving portrayal of the captain's wartime dilemma: commanding individuals as a crew and putting the protection of his and other vessels even above the lives of men found floating in the water (the first sub-hunting sequence when he does just that is a killer) and perfectly illustrates that this is a war film more concerned with human tragedy than glorifying combat.