The Cruel Sea

THE CRUEL SEA is the tough, often gruesome account of British corvette life on the Atlantic during WWII as seen through the tormented consciousness of Lt. Comdr. Ericson (Jack Hawkins). After losing one ship to a U-boat while protecting a convoy, Ericson's ship, Compass Rose, is itself torpedoed; Ericson and a handful of his men barely survive, adrift on a raft. Given a new command on the frigate Saltash Castle, Ericson is again at the mercy of the "cruel sea" and must face an impossible choice in risking the lives of his men. The film is shot in documentary style, with harsh black-and-white images, and is based on the wartime exploits depicted in aut...