GIFT HORSE [1952 / 2022] [Vintage Classics] [Blu-ray] [UK Release] The Life Story of a ship! The Love Life of her crew! The ship is their sweetheart! For this was a fighting ship!
In 1940, the Royal Navy is frantically recruiting for World War II so pulls Lieutenant Commander Hugh Algernon Fraser [Trevor Howard] out of retirement to captain the HMS BALLANTRAE, herself recently re-commissioned and lent by the Americans to a seriously under-resourced British Navy.
Despite an inauspicious start and multiple repairs, Lieutenant Commander Hugh Algernon Fraser crafts the ship and its crew into an efficient fighting force, culminating in a daring mission to destroy a French dockyard which is crucial to the Nazis in maintaining their formidable battleships.
The climax of the film is a fictional account of the real-life Saint-Nazaire Raid of 1942 AKA “Operation Chariot” – led by a ship very similar to the Gift Horse itself, and celebrated as “The Greatest Raid of All.”
Starring Trevor Howard, Richard Attenborough, Sonny Tufts, James Donald, Bernard Lee, Dora Bryan, Hugh Williams, Meredith Edwards and Sid James. Directed by Compton Bennett.
FILM FACT: The film ‘GIFT HORSE’ [aka ‘Glory At Sea’] follows the story of the fictional ship HMS Ballantrae and her crew from the time they come together in 1940 until they go on a one-way mission to destroy a German-held dry dock in France. The title is a reference to the old proverb “Never looks a gift horse in the mouth.” The real-life ship used in the film was HMS Leamington. Built in 1919 as the USS Twiggs, a Wickes-class destroyer, she was one of the last post-war survivors of the 50 elderly four-funnelled destroyers provided in 1940 by the USA as part of the “Destroyers for Bases Agreement” (also known as "The Fifty Ships that Saved the World"). HMS Ballantrae served on convoy duties, including as an escort for the ill-fated Convoy PQ 17. In 1943 she was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy as HMCS Leamington. After a short period in reserve in 1944, HMS Ballantrae was one of seven sisters transferred to the Soviet Navy, and there became the Zguchij (“Firebrand”). Returned to the Royal Navy in 1950, the ship was listed for disposal in 1951, but before being broken up she was hired for the Gift Horse film. For the final scenes of the film, based on her sister-ship Campbeltown's daring Saint-Nazaire Raid, her four funnels were reduced to two, and cut down at an angle to resemble the funnels of a German torpedo boat, just as Campbeltown's had been. HMS Ballantrae was finally broken up in December 1951. It was shot at Isleworth Studios in London with sets designed by the art director Edward Carrick.
Cast: Trevor Howard, Sir Richard Attenborough, Sonny Tufts, James Donald, Bernard Lee, Dora Bryan, Hugh Williams, Robin Bailey, Meredith Edwards, John Forrest, Patric Doonan, Sidney James, Tony Quinn, James Kenney, George Street, Hugh Hastings, James Carney, Harold Siddons, Harold Ayer, Charles Lloyd Pack, Peter Bathurst, William Russell, Anthony Oliver, Joan Rice, Chris Adcock (uncredited), Michael Ashlin (uncredited), John Brooking (uncredited), John Clevedon (uncredited), Cyril Conway (uncredited), Harold Coyne (uncredited), Lyn Evans (uncredited), John Gabriel (uncredited), Eileen Harvey (uncredited), Peter Hobbes (uncredited), Glyn Houston (uncredited), Barry Johns (uncredited), Cyril Kent (uncredited), Jack May (uncredited), Robert Moore (uncredited), Michael Mulcaster (uncredited), David Oake (uncredited), Olaf Pooley (uncredited), Alan Rolfe (uncredited), George Spence (uncredited), Harry Towb (uncredited), Tim Turner (uncredited), John Warren (uncredited), Ann Wheatley (uncredited), Gwenda Wilson (uncredited) and John Wynn (uncredited)
Director: Compton Bennett
Producer: George Pitcher (uncredited)
Screenplay: Ben Roberts (from an original story), Ivan Goff (from an original story), Hugh Hastings (screenplay), William Fairchild (screenplay) and William Rose (adaptation)
Composer: Clifton Parker
Music Department: Muir Mathieson (conductor) and Eric Rogers (composer: additional music) (uncredited)
Cinematography: Harry Waxman (Director of Photography)
Special Effects: Cliff Richardson
Visual Effects: Bryan Langley (matte process), George Samuels ( trick photography) and Wally Veevers (trick photography)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Digital Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 99 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Milton Films Production / Independent Film Distributors Ltd. / StudioCanal
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘GIFT HORSE’ [1952] is one of those movies because other than a couple of power scenes what we have is a routine sea bound British war film which heavily realise on its wonderful mainly British star packed cast.
Throughout 1941, Britain must have felt that she was fighting the Second World War all by herself. The Nazi war machine had conquered most of mainland Europe with shocking, devastating speed, while Britain’s key potential alley and the only country with the finances and industrial might to challenge the Axis powers was resolutely trying to keep herself from being drawn into yet another European conflict.
While Adolf Hitler’s eyes were set firmly on Russia, he wasn’t content to just ignore Britain altogether. While a full scale, seaborne invasion had been called off, Adolf Hitler tried to break British moral by a dedicated bombing campaign whose key aim was to raze the population’s willingness to fight as much as it was to destroy cities. When the country’s resolution held firm, however, Adolf Hitler tried another tactic, this time taking aim at Britain’s Achilles Heel.
Being an island, Britain was dependant on shipping and imports for everything from food to raw materials. Cut those imports off, and it would not be long before Britain was starving and vulnerable. Therefore, Adolf Hitler deployed his fleet of U-Boats to attack and sink all the shipping conveys that were delivering vital supplies. Without enough battle ships to protect the convoys, Adolf Hitler’s tactic seemed to be working; at points during 1941 it certainly seemed that Britain might actually be falling to her knees.
Yet, by 1942, there was a slight saving grace. After the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbour, the United Staes of America had entered the war. While it would be a few years before her full might would be felt, the one thing she did immediately do was provide Britain with an additional 50 battleships, albeit many of them were rather old in order to help protect the vital conveys sailing across the Atlantic.
‘GIFT HORSE’ is the 1952 film starring Trevor Howard and Sir Richard Attenborough and which details the life of the British crew aboard on of these American ships, which has now been newly released by StudioCanal for their Vintage Classics line. The Battle of the Atlantic has certainly inspired some phenomenal war films over the years, from the British classic ‘The Cruel Sea’ to Wolfgang Peterson’s peerless ‘Das Boot.’ It is fair to say that ‘GIFT HORSE’ certainly faces some stiff competition.
There is great potential though. After we are introduced to Trevor Howard as Lieutenant Commander Hugh Algernon Fraser, who instructs his new crew, looking rather disappointed at the state of their old American battleship, to “never look a gift horse in the mouth” and is director Compton Bennett and screenwriter William Fairchild follow the trials and tribulations of life both on sea and on land for the crew of the ‘GIFT HORSE,’ all leading up to ship’s key role in the thrilling and daring “Operation Chariot,” a plan to destroy the dry docks at Saint-Nazaire that were so vital to German shipping.
Anyone expecting a full blooded war film out of ‘GIFT HORSE’ might want to check their expectations at the door. While there are a few instances of action at sea, director Compton Bennett and screenwriter William Fairchild’s main interest is in charting the life of the ship’s crew, conjuring drama not out of clashes at on the water but rather out of clashes of personality.
The film focuses both on the ships officers and on the lower ranking crew, with Trevor Howard and Sir Richard Attenborough as "Dripper" Daniels being lightning rods for most of the film’s drama. In a rather heavy handed underdog metaphor that aligns Trevor Howard’s captain to the titular ship, Lieutenant Commander Hugh Algernon Fraser is a disgraced sea commander who, very much like the ‘GIFT HORSE’ has been given a second chance. Yet his reputation and occasionally reckless decisions rankle some of his officers, especially James Donald as Lieutenant Richard Jennings. Sir Richard Attenborough, meanwhile, plays a slightly subversive lower ranking crew member with a love of trade unions, who likes nothing more than to try and get under his superior’s skin with an almost fanatical adherence to rules and regulations.
There are a few interesting supporting turns with Sid James as Ned Hardy, owner of Golden Bull public house provides a fun cameo as a barman, but the most eye opening scene is with Bernard Lee as Able Seaman "Stripey" Wood playing it rough and tough as a cockney seaman, a million miles away from the upper class exasperation he employed when playing James Bond’s boss.
‘GIFT HORSE’ should be praised for its focus on the lives of the ship’s crew. Rather than turn in a generic war film filled with blood and thunder, it instead offers an alternative but no less vital perspective on what it means to fight a war. The problem, however, is that this alternative view is presented in a dry, benign manner that offers almost no significant drama or emotion.
‘GIFT HORSE’ sadly suffers due to the fact that its plot and subject matter align very closely to 1953’s vastly superior ‘The Cruel Sea.’ Where the latter film truly achieves a sense of pathos and futility, establishing it as one of the most honest and devastating war films ever made, ‘GIFT HORSE’ with its staid, unconvincing drama and slight, breezy plot, does sadly suffer by comparison to other Second World War films set on the barmy seas.
It is also hampered by some frankly abysmal special effects. Clearly a film made in the early 1950’s is never going to provide spellbindingly convincing VFX, but that is where the willing suspension of disbelief comes into play. Yet that is very hard to achieve where some effect shots depict battle ships floating almost 20 feet off the ocean…it all helps in making ‘GIFT HORSE’ feel, along with its plot, occasionally like a cheap, rushed affair, lacking conviction and substance.
In its final fifteen minutes tries to appease the more war mongering members of the audience with action and explosions and at one point you feel that the film may actually achieve a moment of true poignancy, something it has been trying to do for almost 90 minutes. Yet a jarring, forced tone at the very end serves to ensure that ‘GIFT HORSE’ remains a very interesting British war film. Despite that, I still enjoyed viewing this very stiff upper lip Second World War sea fating all British film and a good document that was hidden from the British public in the Second World War.
In the making of this motion picture ‘GIFT HORSE,’ they gratefully acknowledge the co-operation of the ADMIRALTY, U.S. NAVY DEPARTMENT and the SAINT-NAZAIRE SOCIETY. In 1940 when Britain was fighting alone for her life, the United States of America transferred fifty of her destroyers to the Royal Navy. This motion picture is respectfully dedicated to their exploits and is very broadly based on the adventures of one of those destroyers, and that destroyer was HMS BALLANTRAE.
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Milton Films Production, Independent Film Distributors Ltd., and StudioCanal presents us the film ‘GIFT HORSE’ with a brand new black-and-white high-definition 1080p presentation and is enhanced with a wonderful 1.37:1 aspect ratio. Grain exposure is very nice and there are no traces of problematic digital adjustments. From time to time grain can appear slightly overexposed or underexposed, but all of the visuals, including the ones that reveal the age of the master, have a very pleasing appearance and the entire master is very nicely graded, too. Blacks are stable and lush but not boosted, while greys and whites appear nicely balanced. Aside from some minor tweaks that can rebalance the whites and selected highlights, I think that the grayscale is already wonderful. Image stability is very good. Lastly, from time to time you will notice a few minor specks and even a couple of larger scratches, but they are not at all distracting. To sum up, what you get from this release is a very solid organic presentation of the film ‘GIFT HORSE.’ Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Milton Films Production, Independent Film Distributors Ltd., and StudioCanal brings us the film ‘GIFT HORSE’ with just one standard 2.0 LPCM Digital Audio. The audio has not been recently remastered, but there are no technical anomalies to report. The dialogue is very clean, stable, nicely rounded, and easy to follow. The music breathes quite easily throughout the film, though there are no big shifts in terms of dynamic intensity. Also, there are no pops, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report and especially for a film released in 1952.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
A new restoration of the classic war film and part of the Vintage Classics range.
Special Feature: Operation Chariot and HMS Campbeltown: James Dorrian Remembers the Real Gift Horse [2022] [1080p] [1.37:1 / 1.78:1] [18:55] With this featurette, we get to meet James Dorrian [Military Historian] talks about finally seeing the film ‘GIFT HORSE’ in the 1960’s when he was a young teenager, and was a huge fan of the British actors in that film and also has been very interested in historical military things, but despite this, he had never ever heard of “Operation Chariot” and the involvement of HMS BALLANTRAE destroyer. But in the later 1980’s James Dorrian was living in Vancouver Island, off Canada’s Pacific Coast, and found an old dusty 1958 book in a certain book store and the book was very much of its era and felt the author had left out a lot of important information related the “Operation Chariot” and decided to contact the SAINT-NAZAIRE SOCIETY and found out there were 120 veterans left at from that “Operation Chariot,” and James Dorrian found out that there were some amazing veterans left to tell their personal storied and so James Dorrian left Vancouver Island and moved back to Britain and he could not understand why there was not a lot of fuss about the “Operation Chariot” and eventually he started to gather a lot of important information about the amazing Gift Horse. James Dorrian says we are talking about a particular period in time is early 1942 and that time America came into the Second World War to fight the Nazi regime, but despite this, initially Britain was on its own fighting for their freedom, and also the German felt they were winning the war by sinking tens of thousands of boats in the Atlantic, and as always Britain had only two destroyers in operation, one of course was HMS BALLANTRAE and the other one was HMS CAMPBELTOWN which were both in very poor shape, so had to just battle on regardless and of course each time both destroyers were hit, and had to go back to dry dock to be repaired again, and they were essentially “Gift Horses” and they were better than nothing at all, because Britain failed to plan for World War Two, and the British Government at the time had to try and come up with solutions, and despite these obstacles, especially with the help eventually with the United States of America coming into the war, we somehow eventually defeated the Nazi regime. But when they made the daring assault on the French Saint-Nazaire harbour where they rammed the enemy ships with the Gift Horse, the sailors were asked to be volunteers because of the very secret mission and of course they signed up because they were totally loyal to the Gift Horse, and it all happened with British Commandoes in 1942. But with the two destroyers they cut down the big funnels to make them look like a Nazi destroyer so they can fool the Germans, as well as raising the Nazi flag. On top of all that, they knew the Nazi codes, so when they did the light flashing, the German’s thought the destroyer was one of their fleet. There were three types of fuses to blow up the Gift Horse two hours after they rammed the enemy in the harbour and so the fuses were set up for the right amount of time to blow up the two “Gift Horses,” which the German navy did not know about and a lot of German’s were killed. Able Seaman Ralph Batterson who was on one of the HMS ML 306 motor launches and was taken prisoner by the German’s and ended up in a POW camp and then after the war wrote a book on his experiences and tells his story on being involved in the movie ‘GIFT HORSE’ and was an extra. James Dorrian reckons that “Operation Chariot” was pivotal to the war effort. Ralph Batterson says that the commanders in the battle are not like the commanders of today, as those commanders were Navy Royal marines and were really part of the army and they were sort of home grown secret gorilla army and they were paid cash every weeks to find their own board and lodgings, as well as their food and you have all these burly guys after going through their exercise’s then swanning back to their little terrace houses with all of their weapons, grenades and other military stuff, and asking what was for tea and this was a very typical British attitude, you really could not make it up, and the film ‘GIFT HORSE’ was a total tribute to those brave reckless men and what they achieved, because at that time, the british Government hated them and were trying to get them disbanded, so that is the background to “Operation Chariot,” and James Dorrian cannot understand why this daring raid was kept quiet for far too long and should have been celebrated in a massive way in dedication to so many brave men. James Dorrian is so pleased it has now been released on the Blu-ray in showing everyone what a daring raid they achieved and the German’s got their comeuppance, and this historic cataclysmic event. At that point in the featurette ends and was quite a fascinating and interesting one, and especially with the James Dorrian input.
Special Feature: Behind the Scenes Stills Gallery: With this featurette, we get to view some wonderful 1080p black-and-white images of behind-the-scenes relating to the film ‘GIFY HORSE.’
Special Feature: Ceremony Commemorating the Five-Year Anniversary of the Saint-Nazaire Raid [1947] [1080p] [1.37:1] [1:36] With this featurette, we get to hear about the news report of the “Saint-Nazaire Raid” or “Operation Chariot” that was a British amphibious attack on the heavily defended Normandy dry dock at Saint-Nazaire in German-occupied France during the Second World War. The operation was undertaken by the Royal Navy and British Commandos under the auspices of Combined Operations Headquarters on the 28th March, 1942. Saint-Nazaire was targeted because the loss of its dry dock would force any large German warship in need of repairs, such as Tirpitz, sister ship of Bismarck, to return to home waters by running the gauntlet of the Home Fleet of the Royal Navy and other British forces, via the English Channel or the North Sea. The obsolete destroyer HMS Campbeltown, accompanied by 18 smaller craft, crossed the English Channel to the Atlantic coast of France and was rammed into the Normandy dock gates. The ship had been packed with delayed-action explosives, well hidden within a steel and concrete case that detonated later that day, putting the dock out of service until 1948. A force of commandos landed to destroy machinery and other structures. German gunfire sank, set ablaze, or immobilized virtually all the small craft intended to transport the commandos back to England. The commandos fought their way through the town to escape overland but many surrendered when they ran out of ammunition or were surrounded by the Wehrmacht defending Saint-Nazaire. Of the 612 men who undertook the raid, 228 returned to Britain, 169 were killed and 215 became prisoners of war. German casualties included over 360 dead, some of whom were killed after the raid when Campbeltown exploded. To recognise their bravery, 89 members of the raiding party were awarded decorations, including five Victoria Crosses. After the war, Saint-Nazaire was one of 38 battle honours awarded to the commandos. The operation has been called “the greatest raid of all” in British military circles.
Original Trailer [1952] [489i] [1.37:1] [1:59] This is the original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘GIFT HORSE.’ Here they inform us that we proudly present ‘GIFT HORSE’ starring Trevor Howard, Sir Richard Attenborough, Sonny Tufts and James Donald, with Bernard Lee, Robin Bailey and Joan Rice. As Thrilling As It Really Was!
Finally, the film ‘GIFT HORSE’ holds up extremely well after 70 years, it’s full of charm and male-bonding, with a big helping of that classic cheeky side to British cinema. It’s got a stellar cast; like Sire Richard Attenborough who was always an asset to any and every film he was in. It can’t quite pull of its transition from light-hearted drama to full on battle but has its good intentions seeing it through. If you’re a fan of war films but are fatigued by the repetitive fashion of today’s films then this one will be a totally satisfying experience. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
