''The Baby and the Battleship'' is a colour 1956 British

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Jay Lewis and starring

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portray ...

, Richard Attenborough and André Morell. It is based on the 1956 novel by Anthony Thorne with a screenplay by Richard De Roy, Gilbert Hackforth-Jones and Bryan Forbes. The

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

provided much cooperation with sequences filmed aboard HMS ''Birmingham'' and in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

Plot

When a group of

sailors go ashore on leave in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

, they go to visit an old friend who is a baker. He is the father of 12 daughters and, to his great pride and relief, an infant son. So that one of them can take the eldest daughter out that night, they are required to take the son with them to an outdoor dance. 'Puncher' has a reputation for fighting and drinking and, despite his best efforts to live up to his pledge to reform his behaviour, he is provoked by two sailors from another ship and starts a fight while his friend 'Knocker' is dancing with the eldest daughter. During the brawl, Puncher Roberts is knocked unconscious while Knocker and the sister run away on the arrival of police, abandoning the baby in the square. Puncher regains consciousness and finds the square empty, except for the baby. Unable to find his friend Knocker, or the child's adult sister, he smuggles the baby aboard their ship, leaving a message in chalk on the wharfside telling Knocker he has taken 'Number 13' on board. He elicits the help of his fellow sailors to care for the baby while hiding it from their superiors, all while in the midst of a series of joint operations with Allied navies off the coast of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Knocker seeks the help of his rather casual shore-based senior officer but to little avail as the ship also maintains radio silence. Knocker makes the most of the unexpected time among the baker's extended family which becomes tense as the return of the baby is delayed. When Puncher's ship is about to have to surrender to superior forces during training exercises, the Captain is able to use the presence of the baby to extricate himself from an embarrassing loss. The ship returns to port and the entire family is re-united on board.

Cast

- Puncher Roberts * Richard Attenborough - Knocker White * André Morell - Marshal * Bryan Forbes - Professor Evans * Michael Hordern - Captain Hugh * Ernest Clark - Commander Geoffrey Digby * Harry Locke - Chief Petty Officer Blades * Michael Howard - Joe * Lionel Jeffries - George * Clifford Mollison - Sails * Thorley Walters - Lieutenant Setley * Duncan Lamont - Master-at-Arms * Lisa Gastoni - Maria *

Cyril Raymond Cyril William North Raymond MBE (13 February 1899 – 20 March 1973) was a British character actor. He maintained a stage and screen career from his teens until his retirement, caused by ill health, in the 1960s. His many stage, film and televi ...

- PMO *

Harold Siddons William Harold Henry Siddons (17 September 19224 November 1963)D. A. Clarke-Smith Douglas Alexander Clarke-Smith (2 August 188812 March 1959), professionally known as D. A. Clarke-Smith or sometimes Douglas A. Clarke-Smith was a British actor. In a stage career lasting from 1913 to 1954, with interruptions to fight in both Wo ...

- The Admiral * Kenneth Griffith - Sub-Lieutenant * John Le Mesurier - The Marshal's Aide * Carlo Giustini - Carlo Vespucci * Ferdy Mayne - Interpreter * Vincent Barbi - Second Brother * Gordon Jackson - Harry * Vittorio Vittori - Third Brother * Martyn Garrett - The Baby * Barry Foster - Sailor at Dance * Robert Ayres - American Captain * Sam Kydd Chief Steward

Reception

''The Baby and the Battleship'' was one of the ten most popular films at the British box office in 1956.

References

External links

*
Movie review by ''The New York Times''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baby and the Battleship, The 1956 films 1956 comedy films British comedy films Films directed by Jay Lewis Seafaring films Films scored by Humphrey Searle Films set in the Mediterranean Sea Films based on British novels Military humor in film Films about the Royal Navy 1950s English-language films 1950s British films