Rent H.M.S. Defiant (1962)

Swashbuckling Adventure - H.M.S. Defiant review by GI

A solid seafaring adventure story set in during the Napoleonic Wars starring Alec Guinness as the firm but fair Captain of a British warship that sets sail to join the fleet in the Mediterranean. He's beset by problems from the sadistic martinet second in command (Dirk Bogarde) and the slow build up of a disgruntled crew tired of the poor conditions and routine punishments in His Majesty's Navy. There's some swashbuckling action along the way although this is mostly a well performed character study with first class performances. Anthony Quayle plays the head of the mutineer crew. It's an entertaining British film from the early sixties with a plot that has been done before but if you have a fondness for such films it's worth rediscovering.

Sea War. - H.M.S. Defiant review by Steve

Salty sea adventure set during the French Revolutionary Wars. The narrative is spliced into the 1797 naval mutinies at Spithead and Nore, but this is mainly an acting duello between Alec Guinness as the experienced and relatively liberal captain of the ship and Dirk Bogarde as the aloof, cruel disciplinarian who seeks to take command.

Bogarde's villainy sometimes drifts into the cartoonish, though there is a psychological logic to his brutality. But he unbalances the film, because he makes the justified concerns of the crew more about personalities rather than the institutional barbarity of the navy. The uprisings did actually lead to some minor concessions.

Still, this is a genre picture about life at sea in wooden ships under sail. The story begins with the pitiless pressgangs, then the ruthless oppression of the crew enforced by social class and the lash. And concludes with a sea battle against the French. The men are so harshly treated, they may as well surrender and hope for better conditions under the revolution.

But of course they rally round the flag. The wonderful support cast of wormy sailors is stoutly led by Anthony Quayle as an honourable mutineer. There's an abundance of studio set ups and painted backgrounds, so it doesn't feel realistic, but there's plenty of period atmosphere. It's an interesting twist to a familiar story which gets a boost from its stars.