''Sealed Cargo'' is a 1951 American war film about a fisherman, played by

Dana Andrews Carver Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 – December 17, 1992) was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigious roles and character parts ...

, who gets tangled up with

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

s and their

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

s. Other major cast members are Claude Rains, Carla Balenda and Philip Dorn. Andrews' brother Steve Forrest has a small, uncredited part, one of his earliest screen roles. The movie was based on the novel ''The Gaunt Woman'' by Edmund Gilligan.

Plot

In 1943, at the height of the World War II Battle of the Atlantic, Captain Pat Banyon, skipper of the

fishing trawler A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets th ...

''Daniel Webster'', unloads his catch in his home port of Gloucester, Massachusetts. He reluctantly agrees to transport Margaret McLean to Trabo, a small community in Newfoundland. Shorthanded, he hires Danish sailor Konrad, and the ''Daniel Webster'' sails for the

Grand Banks The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a series of underwater plateaus south-east of the island of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. The Grand Banks are one of the world's richest fishing grounds, supporting Atlantic cod, swordf ...

fishing grounds. Once at sea, another Dane, Holger, reports that the radio has been sabotaged. As Banyon knows all the crew well except for Konrad and fellow Dane Holger, he suspects one of them or even Margaret of being a German agent. Sailing at night in heavy fog, they hear gunfire. They search for survivors and come upon the damaged ''Den Magre Kvinde'' (

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

for ''The Gaunt Woman''), a Danish square-rigged

sailing ship A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing square-rigged or fore-and-aft sails. Some ships ...

. She appears to have been damaged in a storm and then shelled. Aboard, they discover only the dazed Captain Skalder and a dead body. He claims that his crew abandoned ship in a storm, and that he was subsequently attacked by a U-boat. The ''Daniel Webster'' tows the stricken ''Kvinde'' to Trabo. Konrad is suspicious: he notes that the German gunfire hit above the waterline (rather than below it, where a gunner intending to sink a ship would aim), and that while the tarpaulin covering the ship's boat is riddled with bullet holes, the boat itself is undamaged. Banyon and Konrad separately sneak below decks to search the hold. When they meet, Konrad has a pistol, but he gives it to Banyon to prove where his loyalties lie. They accidentally discover a second, hidden hold containing rack upon rack of

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

es — the ship is a tender, covertly resupplying the U-boat " wolfpacks". They watch undetected as Holger enters the hold and uses a radio to signal the Germans. However, before the pair can alert the military, Skalder's crew arrives in boats, so they pretend they know nothing. Skalder plans to resupply the U-boats at Trabo. A Canadian flying boat lands in the harbor, and an officer inspects Skalder's papers. Finding nothing wrong, he informs Skalder that a corvette will arrive the next day to inspect his cargo. Banyon offers to leave one of his two Danish crewmen as a witness, allowing him to rid himself of the spy Holger without arousing suspicion. Banyon leaves port, but once out of sight, one man remains aboard to sail to the nearest radio station, while Banyon and the rest take to the

dories A dory is a small, shallow-draft boat, about long. It is usually a lightweight boat with high sides, a flat bottom and sharp bows. It is easy to build because of its simple lines. For centuries, the dory has been used as a traditional fishin ...

and return. Banyon sets up a night ambush; when the Germans come to take the villager's prisoner, the invaders are wiped out. Banyon and his men then set fire to the ''Kvinde'' under cover of darkness. In the resulting confusion, they board, overpower or kill the remainder of the crew, and free Margaret, who had been taken as a hostage. Skalder claims to have set the ship to blow up in twenty minutes. Banyon does not believe him, but takes the ship out to sea, intending to destroy her safely away from the village. He and his men rig some torpedoes to explode. The ''Kvinde'' is approached by two U-boats seeking supplies. Skalder manages to get a gun and wounds his guard, Konrad, before he is killed. As a third U-boat surfaces, Banyon and another man help Konrad into a boat and row away under German gunfire. When the ship explodes, the resulting wave swamps the submarines, sinking them.

Cast

as Pat Banyon *

Carla Balenda Carla Balenda (born Sally Bliss, November 22, 1925) is an American former film and television actress. Early life She was born on November 22, 1925, in Carthage, New York, U.S. She attended high school in Baldwin, Long Island, and participated ...

as Margaret McLean * Claude Rains as Captain Skalder *

Philip Dorn Philip Dorn (born Hein van der Niet; 30 September 1901 – 9 May 1975), sometimes billed as Frits van Dongen (his screen name for German films prior to World War II), was a Dutch American actor who had a career in Hollywood. He was best kno ...

as Konrad *

Onslow Stevens Onslow Stevens (born Onslow Ford Stevenson; March 29, 1902 – January 5, 1977) was an American stage, television and film actor. Early years Born in Los Angeles, California, Stevens was the son of British-born character actor Houseley St ...

as Commander James McLean, Margaret's father *

Skip Homeier George Vincent Homeier (October 5, 1930 – June 25, 2017), known professionally as Skip Homeier, was an American actor who started his career at the age of eleven and became a child star. Career Child actor Homeier was born in Chicago, Illino ...

as Steve * Eric Feldary as Holger * J. M. Kerrigan as Skipper Ben *

Arthur Shields Arthur Shields (15 February 1896 – 27 April 1970) was an Irish actor on television, stage and film. Early years Born into an Irish Protestant family in Portobello, Dublin, Shields started acting in the Abbey Theatre when he was 17 years old ...

as Kevin Dolan * Morgan Farley as Caleb

References

External links

* * * * {{Alfred L. Werker 1951 films 1951 war films American war films American black-and-white films 1950s English-language films Films scored by Roy Webb Films about fishing Films based on American novels Films directed by Alfred L. Werker Films produced by Samuel Bischoff Films set in 1943 Films set in Newfoundland and Labrador RKO Pictures films World War II submarine films 1950s American films