Convoy (1940 film)
| Convoy | |
|---|---|
Original UK poster
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| Directed by | Pen Tennyson |
| Produced by | Michael Balcon |
| Written by |
Patrick Kirwan Pen Tennyson |
| Starring |
Clive Brook John Clements Edward Chapman Judy Campbell |
| Music by | Ernest Irving |
| Cinematography |
Roy Kellino Günther Krampf |
| Edited by | Ray Pitt |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by |
ABFD (UK) RKO Pictures (US) |
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Release date
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Running time
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90 minutes 78 minutes (US) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Convoy is a 1940 British war film, produced by Ealing Studios, directed by Pen Tennyson and starring Clive Brook, John Clements and Edward Chapman. It was Tennyson's last film before being killed in a plane crash.
A Royal Navy cruiser returns to base to find all leave has been cancelled and they are to start out straight away for a special mission. Supplemented with a new 1st officer, who turns out to have caused the captain's divorce a few years earlier, they are sent to meet a convoy in the North Sea and escort it safely into British coastal waters. One stubborn freighter captain, who has the cargo hold full of refugees, mainly Jews, refuses to join the convoy and is captured by a U-boat which sets a trap for the convoy escort. One of the passengers is the former wife of the cruiser's captain, as well as the former lover of its 1st officer, and this is something the Germans make use of when sending urgent messages from the freighter, claiming it is sinking and naming her as one of the passengers. When the ex lover takes the bite and tries to send a destroyer to the freighter's rescue, the captain locks him up, as all ships must protect the convoy. Eventually, a North Sea patrol destroyer comes to the rescue instead, sinks the U-boat and takes the freighter on tow to the convoy, where the captain and his ex-wife meet and come to an understanding.
However, the German pocket battleship Deutschland soon emerges and, although his cruiser is hopelessly outgunned, the captain decides to attack in order to keep the battleship away from the convoy until British battleships arrive. During the battle, the captain and his wife's former lover reconciles before the ex lover dies trying to save the ship. The British battleships arrive at the last minute.
The music is by Ernest Irving and includes a slowed down version of "Rule, Britannia!".
The film premiered at the New Gallery Cinema in London on 5 July 1940, as part of a double bill with The Saint's Double Trouble.
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Wikipedia