''San Demetrio London'' is a 1943 British

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television show, television and feature film, film, which features Drama (film and television), dramatized Historical reenactment, re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of docu ...

based on the true story of the 1940 salvage of the tanker MV ''San Demetrio'' by some of her own crew, who reboarded her after she had been set on fire by the German

heavy cruiser A heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in calibre, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Treat ...

''Admiral Scheer'' and then abandoned, during the

Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allies of World War II, ...

. The film was produced by

Michael Balcon Sir Michael Elias Balcon (19 May 1896 – 17 October 1977) was an English film producer known for his leadership of Ealing Studios in west London from 1938 to 1956. Under his direction, the studio became one of the most important British film ...

for Ealing Studios and directed by

Charles Frend Charles Herbert Frend (21 November 1909, Pulborough, Sussex – 8 January 1977, London) was an English film director and editor, best known for his films produced at Ealing Studios. He began directing in the early 1940s and is known for suc ...

Plot

The film is a reconstruction of the story of the salvage of the British tanker, MV ''San Demetrio''. Carrying a cargo of oil home from

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

, she was abandoned by her crew having been set on fire by shells from the German cruiser ''Admiral Scheer''. Of the three lifeboats which escaped the damaged tanker, two were picked up by other ships. After drifting for three days, the occupants of the third, who included the chief engineer and the second officer, reboarded the burning ''San Demetrio'', extinguished the fires, and, having managed to restart the engines, returned to Britain, sailing into the Clyde ten days later.

Cast

* Arthur Young as Captain George Waite *

Walter Fitzgerald Walter Fitzgerald Bond (18 May 1896 – 20 December 1976) was an English character actor. Early life Born in Stoke, Plymouth, Fitzgerald was a former stockbroker before he began his theatrical training at RADA. He joined the British Army durin ...

as Chief Engineer Charles Pollard *

Ralph Michael Ralph Michael (26 September 1907 – 9 November 1994) was an English actor. He was born as Ralph Champion Shotter in London. His film appearances included '' Dead of Night'', '' A Night to Remember'', '' Children of the Damned'', '' Grand Pri ...

as 2nd Officer Hawkins * Neville Mapp as 3rd Engineer Willey *

Barry Letts Barry Leopold Letts (26 March 1925 – 9 October 2009) was an English actor, television director, writer and producer, best known for being the producer of ''Doctor Who'' from 1969 to 1974. Born in Leicester, he worked as an actor in theatre, ...

as Apprentice John Jones * Michael Allen as Cadet Roy Housden *

Frederick Piper Frederick Piper (23 September 1902 – 22 September 1979) was an English actor of stage and screen who appeared in over 80 films and many television productions in a career spanning over 40 years. Piper studied drama under Elsie Fogerty at the ...

as Boatswain W.E. Fletcher * Herbert Cameron as Pumpman Davies * John Owers as Steward * Gordon Jackson as Messboy John Jamieson *

Robert Beatty Robert Rutherford Beatty (19 October 1909 – 3 March 1992) was a Canadian actor who worked in film, television and radio for most of his career and was especially known in the UK. Early years Beatty was born in Hamilton, Ontario, the son of ...

as "Yank" Preston *

Charles Victor Charles Victor (10 February 1896 – 23 December 1965) was a British actor who appeared in many film and television roles between 1931 and 1965. He was born Charles Victor Harvey. Born in Southport, Lancashire, England, Victor was a fourth- ...

as Deckhand * James McKechnie as Deckhand * John Coyle as Deckhand * Duncan McIntyre as Deckhand (as Duncan MacIntyre) * Rex Holt as Deckhand *

Mervyn Johns David Mervyn Johns (18 February 18996 September 1992) was a Welsh stage, film and television actor who became a fixture of British films during the Second World War. Johns appeared extensively on screen and stage with over 100 credits between 1 ...

as Greaser John Boyle * Lawrence O'Madden as Captain E.S.F. Fegen V.C. – HMS ''Jervis Bay'' *

James Donald James Donald (18 May 1917 – 3 August 1993) was a Scottish actor. Tall and thin, he specialised in playing authority figures, particularly military doctors. Early life Donald was born in Aberdeen, the fourth son of a Scottish Presbyterian mi ...

as Gunnery Control Officer – HMS ''Jervis Bay'' * James Sadler as Officer of the Watch – HMS ''Jervis Bay'' * Peter Miller Street as Midshipman – HMS ''Jervis Bay'' * David Horne as Mr. Justice Langton * Nigel Clarke as R.J.E. Dodds – Shipping Manager * James Knight as Captain Smith – SS ''Gloucester City'' *

Diana Decker Isabella Charlotte Diana Decker (9 January 1925 – 4 January 2019) was an American-born British actress, singer, and television personality, who was popular from the 1940s to the early 1960s. Early life Decker was born to an American father and ...

as Shopgirl

Production

Although Charles Frend is given sole credit as director, the film was completed by Robert Hamer after Frend became ill. The ''San Demetrios chief engineer, Charles Pollard, was employed as a special adviser. Early film star

Bessie Love Bessie Love (born Juanita Horton; September 10, 1898April 26, 1986) was an American-British actress who achieved prominence playing innocent, young girls and wholesome leading ladies in silent and early sound films. Her acting career spanned ne ...

, her acting prospects having declined, worked on this movie doing continuity, first as an assistant and towards the end of production taking over when the original "continuity girl" left to deliver a baby.

Reception

According to trade papers, the film was a success at the British box office in 1944. The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' said that "In places the music is a trifle too strident; some of the model shots are less successful than others, but on the whole justice has been done to a great theme. The model used in the film is on display at the

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

in London. Model of MV San Demetrio, on display at IWM 01.jpg, Model made for film, view from front Model of MV San Demetrio, on display at IWM 02.jpg, Model showing damage to central section Model of MV San Demetrio, on display at IWM 03.jpg, Details of damage to stern as shown on model

References

External links

''San Demetrio London''
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

* * {{Michael Balcon 1943 films 1943 drama films 1943 documentary films 1940s war drama films 1940s British films 1940s English-language films British black-and-white films British war drama films British documentary films British films based on actual events Films directed by Charles Frend Films directed by Robert Hamer Films produced by Michael Balcon Films scored by John D. H. Greenwood World War II films made in wartime World War II naval films English-language documentary films English-language war drama films