Action in the North Atlantic

1943
PG
2h 6m

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

4.6K

YOUR RATING

Humphrey Bogart and Julie Bishop in Action in the North Atlantic (1943)

Trailer for this drama about merchant marines

Play trailer2:16

1 Video

40 Photos

Drama War

An American tanker is sunk by a German U-boat, and the survivors spend 11 days at sea on a raft. Their next assignment - bound for Murmansk through the sub-stalked N. Atlantic.An American tanker is sunk by a German U-boat, and the survivors spend 11 days at sea on a raft. Their next assignment - bound for Murmansk through the sub-stalked N. Atlantic.An American tanker is sunk by a German U-boat, and the survivors spend 11 days at sea on a raft. Their next assignment - bound for Murmansk through the sub-stalked N. Atlantic.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

4.6K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 nomination total

Pebbles
(scenes deleted)

Ray Montgomery

Aherne
(scenes deleted)

Louis Adlon

German Ensign
(uncredited)

Iris Adrian

Jenny O'Hara
(uncredited)

Frank Alten

German
(uncredited)

Kirk Alyn

Brazilian Gun Captain
(uncredited)

C.E. Anderson

Bearded Lieutenant Commander
(uncredited)

Tod Andrews

Ahearn
(uncredited)

Louis V. Arco

Submarine Commander
(uncredited)

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Near the end of the picture, as the ship is nearing Murmansk, several Russian airplanes fly out to meet it. One of the pilots keeps gunning his engine in short bursts. There are three short bursts followed by a long one. Movie audiences of the 1940s would immediately recognize this as the three dots and a dash of the Morse code "V". "V for Victory" was heavily used as a slogan during World War II.

Goofs
The 'Northern Star' really is a doomed ship as the crew's quarters the portholes are not blacked out. The only better way to have your number called would be to light up the transmitter and send a signal "here we are".

Quotes
Lt. Joe Rossi: Now, that's the word of God. And it's good. But I don't think He'd mind if I put my oar in. These are eight men we knew and liked, guys like us. Guys we ate with and slept with and fought with. Well, we were just a little luckier than they were. We'll miss them. All of them.

Alternate versions
The colorized version and many b&w TV prints are edited to fit a two-hour time slot. Most of the cuts involve the interactions of the crew (notably Alan Hale) in the rec room and virtually all of Raymond Massey's domestic scenes with Ruth Gordon with the exception of his actual arrival home. Also omitted are most of the scenes of the cook, extended scenes of the destruction of Massey's ship early on, as well as several interstitial and transitional scenes.

Connections
Edited into Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

Soundtracks
Night and Day
(uncredited)
Written by Cole Porter
Performed by Julie Bishop (dubbed by Martha Mears)

User reviews54

Review

Featured review

8/10

Convoy

"Action in the North Atlantic" a war time tale of 1943 shows great special effects and battle scenes that have a realistic look to them. In fact, the film which turned up on cable recently, was a total surprise. Director Lloyd Bacon showed a flair with this WWII drama about the men that operated the Merchant Marine.

We are taken to the North Atlantic where a group of ships are made to form a convoy, hoping that being so close to each other, they might be protected from attacks. Little prepared the organizers of this idea for the arrival of the infamous German submarines and planes. The action one sees is centered in the Liberty ship that is heading for the old Soviet Union. The heroic account of what the crew of that ship experienced is a tribute to the courageous men that put their lives in peril in order to get their cargo to the different destinations.

Humphrey Bogart, as Lt. Joe Rossi, makes a great appearance. He is totally believable as the man who takes over for his wounded captain and brings the ship to safety. Raymond Massey plays Capt. Jarvis, a man totally dedicated to his profession. Alan Hale, Sam Levene and Dane Clark are seen as part of the brave crew of the Liberty. Ruth Gordon and Julie Bishop are the women left behind.

The film has a great black and white photography by Ted McCord and a haunting musical score by Adolph Deutsch. The battle scenes were staged by Lloyd Bacon with an uncredited assistance from Raoul Walsh and they are amazing for what was accomplished in those days where the technology wasn't so advanced.