The Battle of the River Plate (Pursuit of the Graf Spee)

The Battle of the River Plate (Pursuit of the Graf Spee) (1956)

  • 80% of critics liked it
    (10 reviews)

  • 66% of users liked it
    (726 ratings)

Widely regarded as one of the best and most intelligent British war dramas of the 1950s, The Battle of River Plate is the story of Britain's first significant naval victory in WW2. John Gregson heads the cast as Captain Bell, skipper of the Exeter, one of several vessels engaged in pursuit of the… More

Unrated, 1 hr. 59 min.
Directed By
Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Genres
Drama, Action & Adventure, Classics
In Theaters
Nov 30, 1956 Wide
On DVD
Nov 9, 2010

Critic Reviews

  • Variety Staff, Variety

    The battle sequences, in which the lightweight British cruisers close in on the Graf Spee and force the enemy to take shelter in Montevideo harbor, are powerful, exciting and technically impressive.

  • Bosley Crowther, New York Times

    Give the British filmmakers a good, rousing subject from their own naval history and they're almost certain to come up with a picture that proudly bespeaks the courage and audacity of a hero breed.

  • Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

    Though it's mostly a waiting game, the film is tense and involving, thanks to Powell's fluid shifting of the point of view.

  • , TV Guide's Movie Guide

    The film is adroitly directed by Powell and Pressburger, though the concentration is on the vessels, rather than the men aboard them.

  • , Empire Magazine

    Not Powell and Emeric's greatest work, but still a cut above many '50s war movies.

Read all 9 critic reviews

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Cast

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