l_rawjalaurence Made during the pre-Ealing comedy era, when the studio was turning out a slew of propagandist dramas with a documentary feel (others included WENT THE DAY WELL? (1942), and THE FOREMAN WENT TO France (also 1942)), SAN DEMETRIO London tells the story of a British merchant ship blown up in 1940. The crew spend some time marooned in a life-boat, but eventually return to the stricken ship and manage to patrol it back to safety in the United Kingdom.Co-directed by Charles Frend and Robert Hamer, the film has its roots in documentary, ranging from the use of stock footage to the way in which it examines the lives of ordinary sailors coping with extraordinary situations. The plight of Greaser John Boyle (Mervyn Johns) is sensitively handled, as he quite literally works himself to death and passes away at sea, dreaming of the nylon stockings he has bought for his wife as a present. He is given a funeral with full naval honors. Likewise Messboy John Jamieson's (Gordon Jackson's) transition from callow youth into mature deckhand is cleverly depicted, as some of his suggestions - initially dismissed as impractical by Chief Engineer Pollard (Walter Fitzgerald) turn out to be inspired, helping the crew survive their ordeal.The film as a whole extols the value of community, of human beings setting aside their regional and national differences and learning how to pull together in times of extreme stress. "Yank" Preston (played by the Canadian Robert Beatty), an American passing for a Canadian, begins the film as something of a rebel, preferring the bottle to the responsibility of hard work, but soon proves to be an invaluable member of the crew. It is he who provides the Bible so that Boyle can be given an appropriate send-off to the other world. Even though the bombing of British cities had largely ceased by 1943 - the time of the film's release - it was important that people on the Home Front bonded together to aid the war effort, and SAN DEMETRIO London fulfilled an important purpose in communicating this message.As befits a studio relying mostly on performances and directorial cunning rather than elaborate special effects, the film concentrates on characterization rather than incident. Some of the action sequences might seem a little rudimentary now - especially with the use of back-projections - but we have to remember that the film was produced under difficult conditions with a limited budget. Directors Frend and Hamer make skillful use of such constraints to produce a film that is at once surprisingly touching as well as stirring in its impact.

Andrew_S_Hatton It needs stressing this is a dramatic retelling of an actual event that happened during a world-wide war.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_San_DemetrioAt the time the film was made the whole nation of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland was in severe peril and so the film, like others was of far more importance than a vehicle to entertain.I do not know if every detail is accurate in terms of what exactly happened but some aspects are particularly worth considering.It portrays the men of the British merchant fleet - not the military and what they were doing was attempting to bring vital fuel oil to Britain for use to keep the nation functioning during the time back home they were under intermittent bombing attacks (I recollect it was November 1940) We are actually shown the oil port of Galveston Texas, which I found interesting and I presume the basic technical information about how a ship can be 'rescued' and sailed using auxiliary controls was also correct.OK for entertainment and uplift there was the propagandising - the people seeing it back home in the UK - really did need the fuel that such ships were bringing and did have close relatives away from home in peril amidst uncertainty and they did come from all parts of the UK and even at that time much further afield. It is therefore natural reference was made to an Englishman, Scotsman... etc.etc., and even a North American - who was nominally Canadian because the regulations at that time made it 'legal' for him to be taken on as crew.There was an element of the public service broadcast with mention of The Board of Trade (A UK Government Department) and the regulations allowing only non intoxicated seaman to board a British ship, anywhere in the world - but then showing us that regulation was not surprisingly disregarded.I learned real stuff, some important some merely interesting, and I felt we were given - in just a hundred minutes a real idea of the perils that were faced by those involved in North Atlantic convoys.I also learned - about a bit of social history - how the News of the World ( A Sunday newspaper of long-standing - strap-line- "all the news that's fit to print") really did give an award for darts players scoring three successive treble tops I checked it with my Internet Search engine and my finds included http://www.dartsnutz.net/showthread.php?tid=1206

JoeytheBrit This wartime propaganda film is pretty good in that it focuses on the strengths and determination of the British marine rather than relying on stereotypical portrayals of the enemy to stir up patriotic fervour. What we have here is a display of stiff-upper-lippery right through the ranks, from the plum-voiced officers down to the cor-blimey cockney galley slaves.The story is a true one: a hardy band of survivors from a tanker under fire from German guns spend two days in a cramped lifeboat before finally sighting a ship only to find that it is the tanker from which they fled, somehow miraculously afloat and, with a little TLC, capable of transporting the crew back to land. I'm not quite sure why they spent two days rowing doggedly – admittedly they had to distance themselves form the flaming tanker and its cargo of oil, but surely it would have made more sense to remain reasonably close to where they had been as that would have been – and was –where the search for them would have begun.There are a number of situations and obstacles the resourceful sailors have to cope with and, for the most part, they meet each one with jut-jawed resolution. Mervyn Johns, the little man with the loving wife at home encapsulates the spirit of the bulldog breed, battling on even with a tummy ache. His officer wonders out loud at Johns' endurance, prompting the remark from another officer that is something along the lines of 'you can never tell a person's reserves of strength until they're up against it' – a rallying call to the British audience – fighting alone with no major allies at the time – and a warning to their enemies. There's an Irishman amongst the crew, a Scot and a Taff. There's even a Yank, a sop to the US box office, and probably a deliberate attempt to get the film seen as widely as possible in the States to drum up pro-British sentiment.The film is entertaining enough and you find yourself rooting for the disparate group, even though each is only given the briefest of character sketches before settling comfortably into pre-defined roles designed to appeal to as broad a spectrum of the population as possible, but it lacks any real emotion or depth.

henry-girling San Demetrio, London tells a simple story in a plain way. A merchant vessel from England sails to Galveston, picks up a cargo of oil and on the way back across the Atlantic is attacked. The crew abandon ship and later some of them re-board her and take her back home.It is an inspiring story because it tells of ordinary people getting on with the job that, due to a world war, has to be done. These are modest heroes. Problems that come their way are solved unfussily. No one expects medals, they just get on with it. Being a war film the characters are the usual cross section of society united by the common peril. In the cold and the darkness they do their duty. You feel these are real people, not just actors.This is not a spectacular film. The director does not go for high drama or self conscious acting. There is a death scene which is powerful in its understatement. The narrative is straight forward but exerts a gentle grip. You want to know what happens in the end. This is definitely an under rated film