Sailor of the King

I saw this movie years ago on a VHS recording someone else had made when it was shown on a commercial TV channel. Even then, I thought it was a great story. It's based on the 1929 C. S. Forester novel "Brown on Resolution." However, Forester's novel was set in World War 1 around the naval battles of Coronel and the Falklands, while this movie was reset in World War 2 with fictional naval encounters.

But, the movie begins in World War 1 when a young naval officer (Michael Rennie) has a chance meeting on a train and brief affair with a young woman (Wendy Hiller). She refuses his offer of marriage and they part, apparently, for good. Then the movie cuts to the beginning of World War 2 when a British squadron of light cruisers is chasing down a German surface raider. Seaman Brown (Jeffrey Hunter), a Canadian in the RN, is a top-notch sailor, best at his job as signalman, and the best rifle marksman in the fleet. Brown's ship is sent ahead by the squadron commander, Michael Rennie, but the ship's encounter with the German raider results in a loss with all hands but two, Brown and another sailor, who has lost his leg. However, the raider has taken damage that requires repair in some secluded spot.

On the German ship, Brown refuses to give information to the German captain about the squadron chasing him, insisting that his ship was operating alone. Nevertheless, the captain suspects that a larger squadron is after him and he must make repairs quickly and get away. They pull into a small inlet on Resolution Island off the coast of South America and begin repairs. During the night, with the encouragement of his wounded comrade, Brown escapes from the ship, steals a rifle and ammunition, and takes position on the island.

When dawn breaks, Brown begins sniping the work crews effecting repairs. This stops all work and severely delays the Germans' departure. The Germans fire blindly into the cliffs where Brown is hidden, but as soon as they resume repairs, he starts firing again. He keeps up his attacks despite wounds and intense thirst. A final attempt to land troops under cover of fire to get Brown is called back after the ship's repairs are complete and the Germans must be underweigh.

Just as they are emerging from the inlet, Rennie and his squadron appear and finish off the raider. A German officer's report after he is captured informs Rennie that a British sailor on Resolution has held them up single handedly. The story ends with Rennie and Brown awaiting a ceremony with the king where Rennie will be knighted and Brown will receive the Victoria Cross. Brown is also awaiting the arrival of his mother from Canada, Wendy Hiller.

This is a classic adventure story with true heroes and enemies who are simply foemen, not villainous monsters. The acting is superb. Hunter does a great job as seaman Brown: young, enthusiatsic, devoted to duty. Rennie and Hiller, though really in supporting roles, are terrific as young lovers who meet and part in wartime. The DVD also contains an alternate ending to the story.

I bought this movie based on the description listed on Amazon, not knowing anything about the movie. I was very surprised to see a consistently well acted movie throughout. There were terrific acting performances all around. Even if you don't care for war movies, you could still appreciate and enjoy this film--my wife did! It is quite simply a well made, well acted movie. The only thing I wish was different was that I wished the black and white could have been color. It is very much worth your time and money!!

This is a movie that every WW2 collector should have on their shelf. Jeffrey Hunter plays, I think one of his best roles ever, excellent plot and story. I really enjoyed this movie, yes I recommend it, not a bad price either. This is a real winner.

I'd always enjoyed this movie on TV and was glad to be able to add it to my DVD collection. Not having seen it in a while there were scenes I did not remember, particularly at the beginning. I suspect TV stations tended to snip the early scenes to add commercial time since the film-maker took the time to insert something a lot of modern movies don't bother with: Plot Development. The original 'British' ending probably makes the film more dramatic but I prefer the happier 'American' ending; It makes the movie more re-watchable.
The transfer is clean and sharp but be advised that despite what it says on the box, this movie is (and always was) in black and white.

The film covers a time period of two wars, the World War I romance of two people, who remain unmarried and go their separate ways, (played by Rennie and Hiller) and their son, played by Hunter, a signalman in the World War II British Navy. The story is intriging and captivating. Even though the script is not one of the finer war story scripts, the film is worth seeing, especially for Jeffrey Hunter fans.