The afternoon papers'll be out soon. Knowing how leaky the telephone cables are between here
and Buenos Aires, I shall expect to see the headlines screaming that half the British
fleet are off Punta del Este.
In the early months of the Second World War, the German Navy sent out various surface raiders to attack Allied merchant shipping. The Royal Navy sent out various hunting groups to find them. The group that found Admiral Graf Spee was very lightly armed in comparison, but went straight to the attack.
The British were led by Commodore Harwood, with Captain Woodhouse commanding the Ajax, Captain Bell the Exeter and Captain Parry the Achiles. Captain Hans Langsdorff's Graf Spee was much better armed than the three cruisers and inflicted a lot of damage but was fooled by the tactics of the British. The Graf Spee sustained damage itself and took refuge in a neutral port, but according to international law, had to leave by a specified time. Falsely believing that an overwhelming British force was lying in wait, Langsdorff took his ship out with a skeleton crew and scuttled her.
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Movie Script
| Directed by | Michael Powell Emeric Pressburger |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Michael Powell Emeric Pressburger |
| Written by | Michael Powell Emeric Pressburger |
| Starring | John Gregson Anthony Quayle Peter Finch |
| Music by | Brian Easdale |
| Distributed by | Rank Film Distributors Ltd. |
| Release date(s) | 30 November 1956 |
| Running time | 119 mins. |
| Language | English |
| Budget |