Dotsthavesp I wanted to but couldn't!

Teringer An Exercise In Nonsense

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

tomsview I always found this well-made film quite depressing. There is much to admire, but I think you have to be in the mood for it.Although it is set after WW2, I always think of it as part of that group of British war films made during the 1950s: 'Reach for the Sky", "The Cruel Sea", "The Dam Busters" etc.Growing up in the 50's, I remember them well. They had a different vibe to the typical Hollywood war films; a sense of discipline and sacrifice always came through. The music alone was distinctive with scores by the best British composers – nearly always conducted by Muir Mathieson. You could tell from the opening bars that it was a British film.They featured familiar actors who appeared in film after film. "Morning Departure" would be hard to beat for familiar faces: John Mills, Nigel Patrick, Kenneth More, Richard Attenborough, Bernard Lee, George Cole, Victor Maddern, even Michael Caine in an uncredited role as Teaboy."Morning Departure" is the fictional story of the sinking of HMS Trojan, a submarine on a routine patrol. We get a little background on the Captain, Lt. Commander Peter Armstrong (John Mills) and a few of the crew.When the sub meets with an accident, the story concentrates on 12 survivors who are trapped in a small section of the sub. The feeling of claustrophobia is palpable. They expect a rescue mission to be launched, but they only have a limited number of escape vests – the crux of the story is how these men from various levels of British society behave under great stress.The famous British stiff upper lip was in evidence in just about all those films of the 1950's, but especially so in "Morning Departure".The interesting thing was that the audience readily accepted the calm stoicism shown by the fictional Commander Armstrong and the crew. That's because the Royal Navy had built up so much equity in the tradition of grace under pressure.There were plenty of examples in the war just fought, but one only needs to look to the wreck of HMS Birkenhead in 1852 to see the full flower of a tradition that probably even predates that episode."Morning Departure" is a sad story ultimately made bearable by the uplifting spirit of the doomed men.James A Michener once wrote (of those British soldiers and sailors on the Birkenhead), "This, after all, is the way men should behave in time of peril at sea".

MartinHafer This is a creepy story about a doomed sub. I say creepy because of the plot AND because shortly after they filmed this movie, the sub actually did sink--killing many of its crew."Operation Disaster" is about a submarine that is out on routine maneuvers during peacetime--so, you wouldn't expect problems. However, the ship accidentally collides with an old unexploded mine. Most of the crew are killed except for a dozen men trapped in the control room. Eventually, their whereabouts are determined and most of the crew are able to make emergency ascents to the surface. However, there isn't emergency equipment for all--and four are forced to remain behind. Hopefully, the ship can be raised in time to save these brave men.All in all, this is a very claustrophobic film--the sort that certainly won't appeal to everyone. Despite this, however, the acting is quite nice and the film never gets dull. Well worth seeing.

screenman Here's a very rare movie about submarine disaster. In fact, I don't rightly know of another. Perhaps because its the worst-case scenario for submariners and exposes the evident command futility in a crisis that other countries have not wanted the images portrayed. Having the courage merely to tackle such an awkward subject then certainly deserves some stars.Life for submariners routinely entails a quantum leap of hazard compared to those within surface vessels. Anything going wrong - anything at all - might compromise the vessel and its crew. And this is what happens. John Mills - that diminutive, but ever-present military stalwart of the time - commands a British submarine out on 'routine' patrol. Things go wrong. It sinks within its test depth. Can the crew be rescued? There's a thoroughly decent cast make-up the crew, including Richard Attenborough (who goes to pieces once more, as he did in Coward's 'In Which We Serve'). All of the usual issues are addressed, and to that extent it's pretty formulaic. Where it differs from any other formula movie is that non of the solutions work.A residuum of crew are doomed to death.As I say; it's a grim little movie that ultimately evaluates reconciliation to the last hours of life. Submariners of Britain, USA, and Russia have all experienced this nightmare, as indeed have their families ashore. And although submarines have been around for over 100 years, even now there appears to be no dedicated response or recovery protocol either at a national or international level, as the relatives of the Kursk's crew discovered only too well.If you have friends or relations serving in the silent navies, you may want to give this a miss. Otherwise dismiss its vintage and pay attention. What would we do today?

johnfadrian I saw this in first run when I was about 7 years old. It was on a double bill with a Francis the Talking Mule film. My older sister made a deal with me: She'd sit through Francis if I'd sit through OPERATION DISASTER.I remember nothing of the Francis film, but scenes from this film are still vivid in my memory. In the late 1950s John Mills was a guest on the JACK PAAR SHOW and spoke of how life imitated art in that a British submarine was lost in the North Sea under very similar circumstances to those portrayed in the film between the completion of shooting and release in the UK. He said there was criticism in the British press at the time for it's release.I wish it was available on VHS or DVD in the Unites States, but I haven't been able to find it. I would love to see it again.