However incredible they may seem the events narrated in this picture actually occurred and starred by Bernhard Rogge (Van Heflin), captain of the German raider at that time called Atlantis . It deals with the sensational 665-Day chase of the Killer-Ship Atlantis captained by Bernhard Rogge pursued by the British staff commanded by Admiral Russell (Charles Laughton ) ; including an intrigue upon secret agent (Alex Nicol) robbing documents by means of a dangerous mission .
This interesting war movie contains suspense , thrills, sea battles and historical events . It's an European co-production lavishly and mostly produced by the great Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis . Exceptional cast formed by European actors as Italian as Gian Maria Volonte , Eleonora Rossi Drago ,Folco Lulli , Corrado Pani , American as Van Heflin ,Alex Nicol ,Walter Barnes , French as Mylene Demongeot , British as Charles Laughton , Cecil Parker , Ralph Truman , and German as John Ericson ,Peter Carsten , Gerard Herter , Helmut Schmid , Diete Eppler . Very good musical score by the classic Nino Rota , with tunes similarly composed to the subsequent The Godfather . Atmospheric cinematography by Aldo Tonti , though is necessary a fine remastering and contains several stock-shots . The motion picture is well directed by Duilio Coletti .
The picture is based upon events which actually occurred during a series of naval actions in 1940-41 and carried out by Bernhard Rogge (1899-1982) exceptionally played by Van Hefiln . Rogge was one of many German officers who were forced to apply for a German Blood Certificate, that would allow their racial background to be overlooked (he had a Jewish grandparent).He was awarded a Japanese ornate Samurai sword and the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his actions as the commander of the Hilfskreuzer (auxiliary cruiser) Atlantis . Rogge became a Vizeadmiral (vice-admiral) by the end of World War II, and eventually became a Konteradmiral (rear-admiral) of the West German Bundesmarine. Rogge also was one of the few German officers of flag rank who was not arrested by the Allies after the war. This was due to the way he had exercised his command of Atlantis.The skipper of the British vessel, City of Baghdad, which the Atlantis sunk in July 1941, stated, "His treatment of prisoners left respect, instead of hatred". Admiral Karl Dönitz, who was prosecuted for war crimes at the Nuremberg Trials, cited his own support of Rogge in an effort to clear himself of the charge of being antisemitic. Rogge was later a German officer for Nato in the territorial Allied Naval Forces .
