- The Silver Fleet
Infobox Film | name = The Silver Fleet
caption = Esmond Knight in The Silver Fleet
director =Vernon Sewell Gordon Wellesley
producer = Michael PowellEmeric Pressburger
writer = Vernon Sewell
Gordon Wellesley
starring =Ralph Richardson Googie Withers Esmond Knight
music = Allan Gray
cinematography =Erwin Hillier
editing =Michael C. Chorlton
distributor =General Film Distributors
released =March 15 ,1943 UK
runtime = 88 min.
country = UK
language = English
budget =
imdb_id = 0036356"The Silver Fleet" (1943) was written and directed by British filmmakers
Vernon Sewell andGordon Wellesley and produced by Powell & Pressburger under the banner of The Archers.Plot
In the early years of
World War II , the Nazis have overrunThe Netherlands and have taken over the shipyard co-owned and run by Jaap van Leyden (Ralph Richardson ). The yard was making submarines for the Dutch Navy. The German 'Protector' Von Schiffer (Esmond Knight ) demands that they resume making submarines, but for the Nazis. By lowering food rations to starvation point, they induce some of the skilled workers to return to the yard.This leads to many problems for van Leyden and his wife (
Googie Withers ) when everyone sees them ascollaborators . But van Leyden works out a way to appear to do what the Nazis want but to keep his conscience clear as well. He undertakes a covert campaign ofsabotage of his own work, leaving notes and graffiti signed under his "nom de guerre" Piet Hein (a reference to the Dutch naval hero Piet Hein, whose victory over a Spanish "Silver Fleet" gives the film its title).One submarine is taken over by the Dutch crew and sailed to England, which leads to greater security. Finally, van Leyden sabotages a submarine with many nazi officials on board and including himself.
External links
*
* Full synopsis and film stills (and clips viewable from UK libraries).
* [http://www.powell-pressburger.org/Reviews/41_49P Reviews and articles] at the [http://www.powell-pressburger.org Powell & Pressburger Pages]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.