AllMovie

The Sea Shall Not Have Them is a fascinating mix of documentary-style filmmaking and drama, done decades before the notion of "docu-drama" entered the lexicon of producers. Director Lewis Gilbert, who also co-wrote the screenplay, was running on all cylinders for this picture, giving a warm and vivid (yet accurate) picture of life among the ranks in a specialized unit of the Royal Air Force -- but also handling the action sequences, of which there are many, about as well as any filmmaker of the era. The result is one of the finest thrillers of its period, a superb mix of intimate drama, large-scale thriller, and spare realism that punches several buttons at once in most viewers. The performances are superb to a man, with Michael Redgrave the most mannered (but still acceptable), and Nigel Patrick turning in some of the best work of his film career. Malcolm Arnold's score, which is used relatively sparingly throughout, also lends some impact to the drama, and has long deserved a separate recording. The producer/director team of Daniel M. Angel and Lewis Gilbert was better known for Reach For The Sky and Carve Her Name With Pride, but this movie is at least their equal, and deserves to be re-discovered. It also anticipates the tone and structure of Gilbert's Sink The Bismarck!, and shows what this filmmaker -- now best known for big-budget James Bond thrillers such as Moonraker -- could do in relatively modest circumstances.