bheadher
This movie is never shown anymore, I suspect because it would scare people even more than it did at the time.The movie deals with a gritty, autocratic Naval Captain, in command of a guided missile Destroyer during the height of the cold war, who is almost fanatical about forcing a Soviet Missile sub to surface and acknowledge he is in territorial waters. Finlander (Widmark) is determined, perhaps a bit too determined, for he expects perfection from his crew, and drives them constantly to the brink of psychosis...Poitier is a journalist, who has been granted access to a front line ship, to document just how they operate...he recognizes the palpable tensions on board, and confronts the Captain many times, only to be rebuffed as an ignorant civilian...I don't want to spoil it for you, but if you want top notch drama, this is it...I expect it is still available on DVD...
HotToastyRag
When reporter Sidney Poitier is assigned to a submarine to conduct a routine inspection, he ends up staying aboard for much longer than he planned. He gets to know the amiable crew, including Martin Balsam, Wally Cox, James MacArthur, and Eric Portman, but it's Captain Richard Widmark who proves to be a problem. He's a ruthless captain who isn't at all friendly to their visitor, and he's obsessed with destroying a Russian submarine! If you don't like Cold War thrillers, you're going to want to rent a different film for this weekend. Yes, there are some arguments that are more ship-related than Russian-related, but they're not nearly as intense as The Caine Mutiny. And while the best scenes involve Martin Balsam, he's not the first or second lead, so he doesn't make up for a rather mediocre thriller. There are lots of other movies where you can see Richard Widmark playing an unstoppable bad guy, or Sidney Poitier playing a noble good guy. And if you grew up during the Cold War and love those movies—because I haven't met anyone who likes them for any other reason—you're better off watching The Fifth Missile. It has a better story and infinitely more tension.
edwagreen
Sidney Poitier's role here as the journalist doesn't have the usual racial component attached to it. Unfortunately, this is not a very good film, even with Richard Widmark and Martin Balsam headlining it.Widmark plays a tyrannical captain of an American vessel searching for Soviet submarines in a post-war submarine. Widmark, as always, gives it his all playing a Captain Bligh or Queeg like figure. The man acts as if we're at war and he will hold the crew, not only to the highest standards, he is ready to blame them for anything that may go amiss.The film begins where Balsam and Poitier come on board the ship as the doctor and journalist, respectively.The film falls into the problem of being scenery stagnant. All of the action is on deck and you never see anything else. There is an interesting interview between Poitier and Widmark, where the former reveals his real reason for wanting to interview the Captain.The film's tragic ending can easily be predicted as it essentially goes nowhere.
BruceWillisBlows
The 1965 cold war film, "The Bedford Incident", by James B. Harris is a great suspenseful production. The storyline is written quite well, and accompanied by the great acting from the cast, i instantly became drawn into the film, feeling as if i was there. I thought the angles used by the cameras and the shots they produced where amazing. I felt that the sound effects and lighting added to the tension that built up throughout the film. I did think that the models that were used, the boat and the iceberg, could have been a little more realistic, but hey. All in all i give the film , "The Bedford incident" 4 1/2 out of 6 chicken nuggets
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