Crest of the Wave on AllMovie

Crest of the Wave is the original British title of Seagulls over Sorrento, filmed at MGM's Elstree facilities in 1953 and released stateside one year later. Based on a popular play by Hugh Hastings, the story concentrates on a group of British and American naval personnel, stationed on a Scottish island. The men are engaged on a top-secret project involving a revolutionary--and highly volatile--new torpedo. The British officers resent the intrusion of American scientist Bradville (Gene Kelly), while the Yank sailors can't seem to get along with their English counterparts. Tension mounts from the outset when the first test of the weapon fails, killing several men. After a second test likewise proves disastrous, the urgency to succeed the third time round becomes even more crucial. Can Bradville prove the efficacy of the torpedo without sparking another tragedy--and will he ever gain the full confidence of his most formidable foe, British lieutenant Wharton (John Justin)?