The Sea Shall Not Have Them

The Sea Shall Not Have Them
VHS movie cover
Directed by	Lewis Gilbert
Produced by	Daniel M. Angel
Written by	Lewis Gilbert Vernon Harris based on the book by John Harris
Starring	Michael Redgrave Dirk Bogarde Anthony Steel Nigel Patrick
Music by	Malcolm Arnold
Cinematography	Stephen Dade
Edited by	Russell Lloyd
Production company	Angel Productions
Distributed by	Eros Films (UK) United Artists (USA)
Release date	30 November 1954
Running time	91 min.
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The Sea Shall Not Have Them is a 1954 British war film starring Michael Redgrave, Dirk Bogarde and Anthony Steel. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and is based on the 1953 novel by John Harris, set during the Second World War. Musical soundtrack by composer Malcolm Arnold. The film title is the motto of the Royal Air Force's Air Sea Rescue Service.

A British aircraft is forced to ditch in the North Sea. Taking to the dinghy with the crew is an Air Commodore with secret German plans. An RAF Air Sea Rescue launch is deployed to the search, struggling against bad weather, mechanical problems and a fire in the galley.

Referring to the film's title, Noël Coward said of the film's two male stars, "I don't see why not. Everyone else has." Redgrave was reportedly bisexual, while Bogarde was homosexual.

The film was shot in Riverside Studios, and Felixstowe, Suffolk.

This film was one of several films about war that Lewis Gilbert made in England. He followed this film with others set in World War II, including Reach For The Sky and Sink the Bismarck!, both starring Kenneth More. He also directed H.M.S. Defiant, which, in contrast, was set during the Age of Sail, along with The 7th Dawn, which was set in insurgency-racked Malaysia after the Second World War, with William Holden, Capucine, and Susannah York.