Seagulls Over Sorrento [Crest of the Wave] *** (1954, Gene Kelly, John Justin, Bernard Lee, Sidney James, Jeff Richards, Patric Doonan, Patrick Barr) – Classic Movie Review 12,230

Directors Roy Boulting and John Boulting’s 1954 British war drama film Seagulls Over Sorrento [Crest of the Wave] stars Gene Kelly, John Justin, Bernard Lee, Sidney James, Jeff Richards, Patric Doonan, and Patrick Barr.

The Boulting Brothers brought all-acting, no-dancing Gene Kelly over to Britain for their film of Hugh Hastings’s hit stage comedy Seagulls over Sorrento about World War Two wartime life on a Scottish island naval research station, where British and American scientists are testing a new type of torpedo.

[Spoiler alert] Tragedy intervenes into the story as three Brits are killed in the testing, but lieutenant John Justin finds out what’s wrong, and, just as the tests are being stopped by the UK government, Kelly and Bernard Lee’s final experiment works.

This slightly uncomfortable mix is slow moving but very tolerable, and much of the comedy is funny, and some of the drama is genuinely involving. But the international compromises of casting Kelly and tailoring the play for worldwide audiences were mistakes, casting it adrift in some choppy seas.

It was shot at MGM’s Elstree Studios in London on sets designed by Alfred Junge, with location shooting in the Channel Islands. Although set on a Scottish island, it was filmed in Jersey and at Fort Clonque on Alderney in the Channel Islands. Production took place between 4 May 1953 and late July 1953.

The shoot finished in July 1953 but MGM could not release the film in the UK until the stage play finished its London run, delaying the release for almost a year. It was released as Crest of the Wave in the US and Canada.

It was one of three films made by Kelly in Europe over an 18-month period to make use of frozen MGM funds.

The cast are Gene Kelly as Lt. “Brad” Bradville (USN), John Justin as Lt. Roger Wharton, Bernard Lee as Able Seaman “Lofty” Turner, Jeff Richards as Torpedoman 2d Class “Butch” Clelland (USN), Sid James as Able Seaman Charlie “Badge” Badger, Patric Doonan as Petty Officer Herbert, Ray Jackson as Able Seaman “Sprog” Sims, Fredd Wayne as Torpedoman 2d Class “Shorty” Karminsky (USN), Patrick Barr as Cmdr. Sinclair, David Orr as Able Seaman “Haggis” Mackintosh, John Horsley as Medical Officer John Phillips, Lockwood West as Stores Petty Officer Curly, Harry Van Engel as Able Seaman Dawson, John Fabian as Lieutenant Lane, Peter Bathurst as Geoff, Martin Boddey as Member of Admiralty Board, Ronald Adam as Member of Admiralty Board, and  John Rolfe as Wireless Operator.

The stage play by Australian playwright Hugh Hastings was based on his experiences in World War Two. It opened in London’s West End on 14 June 1950 and was a hit, running for more than 1,600 performances, but played for only two weeks on Broadway. All the characters were British in the play, and the emphasis was more on the enlisted men than in the film. Bernard Lee played the same role on the London stage.

Ernesto de Curtis’s song ‘Torna a Sorrento’ (‘Come Back to Sorrento’), is performed on the concertina by David Orr, and is used as background music throughout the film.

It cost $675,000, earned $939,000, somehow resulting in a loss of $58,000. Hastings got only £10,000 for the Film rights. He later turned his play into a musical called Scapa, staged in London in 1962 to hostile reviews.

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 12,230

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