Das Boot (the original uncut version DVD) - Page 6

Sailor Steve · 01-04-10, 09:46 PM

Since we're on the subject of navies and Nazis, I will take a diversion to mention The Sea Chase. It's certainly not a great movie, or even a particularly good one, but it is interesting. It's about a German merchant captain in Australia when the war breaks out, and he feels it's his duty to get his crew home to Germany so they can decide for themselves what they want to do. He was originally in the Kriegsmarine commanding a cruiser, but was ousted because of his outspoken opinions against the party. His best friend is a captain in the RAN, but he looks the other way when The Captain sneaks out of the harbor in the dead of night.

The Captain takes the crew of an island radio station hostage so he can "liberate" supplies, but while they are preparing to leave the evil Nazi First Mate sneaks back and murders them all, which makes the Australian best friend set out to bring them all to justice.

As I said, not a great movie, but there is one notable twist: the German captain is played by...John Wayne!

01-04-10, 11:37 PM

The evil Nazi XO is a recurring theme in Naval theatre, particularly in wartime propaganda films and later during the post-war period when rearming West Germany became important for NATO.

See additional examples from 49th Parallel - Leslie Howard and Raymond Massey and of course the classic submarine movie The Enemy Below with Robert Mitchum and Kurt Jurgans.

Das Boot the movie treats Number 1 with far more depth and sympathy than does The Boat the book and I suspect that was to avoid comparison with the stereotypes found in The Sea Chase and the above flics.

It would be interesting to see if the original German text differs significantly from the English translation in this regard.

Edit
Forgot that Under Ten Flags, the highly fictionalized movie about Raider Atlantis also had an Evil Nazi Officer on board but I cannot recall if he was XO or just a junior officer.

01-04-10, 09:46 PM	#76
Sailor Steve Eternal Patrol Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: High in the mountains of Utah Posts: 50,369 Downloads: 745 Uploads: 249	Since we're on the subject of navies and Nazis, I will take a diversion to mention The Sea Chase. It's certainly not a great movie, or even a particularly good one, but it is interesting. It's about a German merchant captain in Australia when the war breaks out, and he feels it's his duty to get his crew home to Germany so they can decide for themselves what they want to do. He was originally in the Kriegsmarine commanding a cruiser, but was ousted because of his outspoken opinions against the party. His best friend is a captain in the RAN, but he looks the other way when The Captain sneaks out of the harbor in the dead of night. The Captain takes the crew of an island radio station hostage so he can "liberate" supplies, but while they are preparing to leave the evil Nazi First Mate sneaks back and murders them all, which makes the Australian best friend set out to bring them all to justice. As I said, not a great movie, but there is one notable twist: the German captain is played by...John Wayne! __________________ “Never do anything you can't take back.” —Rocky Russo

01-04-10, 11:37 PM	#77
Randomizer Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	The evil Nazi XO is a recurring theme in Naval theatre, particularly in wartime propaganda films and later during the post-war period when rearming West Germany became important for NATO. See additional examples from 49th Parallel - Leslie Howard and Raymond Massey and of course the classic submarine movie The Enemy Below with Robert Mitchum and Kurt Jurgans. Das Boot the movie treats Number 1 with far more depth and sympathy than does The Boat the book and I suspect that was to avoid comparison with the stereotypes found in The Sea Chase and the above flics. It would be interesting to see if the original German text differs significantly from the English translation in this regard. Edit Forgot that Under Ten Flags, the highly fictionalized movie about Raider Atlantis also had an Evil Nazi Officer on board but I cannot recall if he was XO or just a junior officer. Last edited by Randomizer; 01-05-10 at 12:00 AM.