Review of We Dive at Dawn (1943) by Andrew H — 31 Dec 2010

A down-to-earth and very good British war drama. It's not over dramatized, not until the end anyway and even then not much. It is also a story about the people aboard a submarine and what life was like. There is a very interesting array of characters within the film and characters in different situations in their lives. There is drama, suspense and an occasional bit of humour thrown in too. The ending of the film is slightly over dramatized however, and it seems a little far-fetched.

The cast has been well chosen and perfectly cast in their roles. There is definitely a class structure within the cast with the officers speaking in 'typical British' accents and the ratings speaking in different regional accents. With this is mind John Mills is excellent as the submarine Lieutenant and it seems the part was written for him. Eric Portman is also perfectly cast as a ships rating but has the manner of a man with a sense of brutality, which is displayed through his dialogue.

A good down-to-earth war film, which has a good story, good characters and a good cast. It is only let down by the slightly over dramatized ending.