San Demetrio London

Just for the record, "San Demetrio London" is not a religious movie, and it has nothing whatever to do with any sort of sacred personages. In fact the characters depicted in this movie are quite the antithesis.

"San Demetrio" was the name of a ship, a British commercial tanker operated by the Eagle Tanker Company, that was sailing during World War II. The incredible story recounted in the film is true, and the jaw-dropping ordeal endured by the members of the crew took place exactly as depicted. Without giving the story away, suffice it to say that, had these men been members of the military rather than mere civilian merchant seaman, it is very likely that every one of them would have been awarded the Victoria Cross.

I had heard of this movie for many years but only recently finally got the opportunity to actually view it. It is an extremely dramatic story told in a very simple and straightforward manner. That is as it should be, because the story itself is so dramatic that no embellishment is necessary, and would probably only diminish the impact of the story.

It is acknowledge that some of the special effects are less than first-quality by today's standards. However, allowances must be made for the fact that this film was produced in Britain in 1943, and there was a war on. That being said, the depiction of the tanker itself, and the details of the manner in which it was operated, are extremely accurate. I've sailed on several elderly merchant ships that had been built during WW-II, including an old T2 tanker, and I can vouch for the movie's authenticity. This is not altogether surprising when one considers that "San Demetrio London" was directed by the same man who later made "The Cruel Sea". Highly recommended as a depiction of WW- II at sea.

The tale of tanker on a return trip to Galviston, Texas. It has a bit of a run in with a "Jerry" boat and the remainder of the film depicts the courage of the crew trying to keep things afloat. As the film was made during World War II the sentiments are entirely predictable/understandable.

Gordon Jackson looks worryingly young and the Britishness of the movie is summed up when the Captain risks blowing up the boat for the sake of giving the crew a hot cup of tea.

Don't expect anything too spectacular but enjoy a feelgood movie 1943 style.

The San Demetrio is a tanker that is apart of an trans-Atlantic convoy travelling to England from the States. When the convoy is attacked by an U-boat their destroyer is sunk and the San Demetrio is damaged very badly and the crew abandon ship. All the life boats are picked up but one boat drifts and is lost. Weeks later the crew in the lifeboat come across a ship, only to find that the San Demetrio has survived despite burning badly. The crew re-board the ship but find that getting the fire out is only the first of the dangers they must overcome.

I must have read the wrong synopsis when I thought of watching this film – I thought it was a standard action packed film where the crew of a tanker battle against the u-boat. Regardless of this, I was glad I watched it as it was different from the usual wartime propaganda in some ways and was quite enjoyable, if not thrilling. The plot shows the men battle through difficult conditions and being heroes without realy thinking of it – they were just doing their duty and being themselves. This message is still important today and is told in a low-key way with the need for action etc.

However, being low-key means that not all the tension of them being on a burning ship (that could explode) comes through. Likewise the majority of the danger they face remains with them and I never felt gripped or on the edge of my seat – the most I could say is that it was interesting rather than involving. The cast do well despite the irritating addition of an American to the cast (yes, the studios have been doing it that long!), but this is a minor annoyance. The rest are all good British stiff upper lips regardless of class or rank.

Overall this is an enjoyable little film but I wanted it to be as exciting on the screen as it could have been. Sadly the low-key nature of the film makes the tension turn into more interest than edge-of-seat tension.

A very well made (especially for the period) war film. Though i'm not really gonna talk about how the film was made, other than it isn't flashy or fancy, just does a good job of telling a wonderful story. Based on the true story of how a Merchant Navy petrol tanker was abandoned and then re-boarded by some of her own crew.

Also this is one of very few war films about the Merchant Navy (which suffered higher casualty and fatality rates than all the armed services), but it equally could be in peace time as only at the very start do you see Germans. Maybe thats why so few films were made about the Merchant Navy, whats a war film without some nasty Nazis in armbands with submachine guns running about and a few achtung minen signposts?

Quite possibly the best thing I can say about this film is that after seeing this as a kid I wanted to join the Merchant Navy, and I did, and I'm training to be an Engineer Officer, as these film clearly shows engineers are brilliant and deckies useless.

Engineers - 1, Deckies - 0.

Paul.

The captain of the Jervis Bay, Captain E. S. F. Fegen Royal Navy, was the escort commander for convoy HX84 traveling between Halifax and Great Britain.

The Jervis Bay was an armed merchant cruiser only equipped with four inch guns but quite adequate to deal with any German U boats which might happen to ' chance their arm. '

It was therefore quite a shock when he encountered the German pocket battleship, Admiral Scheer in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Certainly not where he would have expected a German surface raider to be.

Taking a gamble Captain Fegen engaged the raider, itself equipped with radar controlled eleven inch guns, and thus allowed the convoy a further twenty minutes to escape into the darkness which by that time was beginning to fall.

Several of the merchant ships were still badly damaged subsequently by the Admiral Scheer. San Demetrio was abandoned by her captain and crew, but later rejoined by part of her crew without the captain. This latter point together with the refusal to accept assistance once in home waters allowed the insurers to make salvage payments to all who embarked on the perilous voyage.

A member of the party interviewed after the war said that the men would have made every effort to save the ship and cargo in any event. Great Britain being upon its knees and fighting alone for her very existence against Germany, Italy and Japan with a neutral USSR and USA observing with a casual interest.

The King later awarded Captain Fegen the Victoria Cross in recognition of the courageous sacrifice of himself and his crew.

The film renders an entertaining account of this annal of the sea.