''Gift Horse'' (released in the United States as ''Glory at Sea'') is a 1952 British

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

. It was produced by George Pitcher, directed by

Compton Bennett Herbert William Compton Bennett (15 January 1900 – 11 August 1974), better known as Compton Bennett, was an England, English film director, writer and producer. He is perhaps best known for directing the 1945 film ''The Seventh Veil'' and the ...

, and stars

Trevor Howard Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith (29 September 1913 – 7 January 1988) was an English stage, film, and television actor. After varied work in the theatre, he achieved star status with his role in the film ''Brief Encounter'' (1945), followed by ''T ...

Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. He was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Academy of Film and Televisio ...

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 m ...

, and

Sonny Tufts Bowen Charlton "Sonny" Tufts III (July 16, 1911 – June 4, 1970) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He is best known for the films he made as a contract star at Paramount in the 1940s, including ''So Proudly We Hail!''. He a ...

. The film follows the story of the fictional ship HMS ''Ballantrae'' and her crew from the time they come together in 1940 until they go on a one-way mission to destroy a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

-held dry dock in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The title is a reference to the old proverb " Never look a gift horse in the mouth".

Plot

In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

is desperately short of personnel. Court-martialed eight years before, Lieutenant Commander Fraser is brought out of retirement and put in command of the antiquated "four pipe"

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

-vintage ship HMS ''Ballantrae'', formerly USS ''Whittier'', one of the

Town-class destroyer The Town-class destroyers were a group of 50 destroyers of the Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy that were in service during the Second World War. They were transferred from the United States Navy in exchange for military bases in the Br ...

s from the

destroyers-for-bases deal The destroyers-for-bases deal was an agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom on September 2, 1940, according to which 50 , , and US Navy destroyers were transferred to the Royal Navy from the US Navy in exchange for land rights ...

. On her first mission, convoy escort duty, ''Ballantrae'' suffers a burst steam pipe and has to be left behind while repairs are effected. Fraser's officers and crew resent his efforts to whip them into shape, but he eventually molds them into an efficient fighting force, prior to being sent on ''Operation Boadicea'', a daring suicide mission against a Nazi submarine base on the coast of France. (The latter part of the film is clearly based on HMS ''Campbeltown'' and the

St Nazaire Raid The St Nazaire Raid or Operation Chariot was a British amphibious attack on the heavily defended Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire in German-occupied France during the Second World War. The operation was undertaken by the Royal Navy (RN) a ...

Cast

as Lieutenant Commander Hugh Algernon Fraser *

as "Dripper" Daniels *

as Lieutenant Richard Jennings *

as "Yank" Flanagan *

Bernard Lee John Bernard Lee (10 January 190816 January 1981) was an English actor, best known for his role as M in the first eleven Eon-produced James Bond films. Lee's film career spanned the years 1934 to 1979, though he had appeared on stage from t ...

as Able Seaman "Stripey" Wood *

Dora Bryan Dora May Broadbent, (7 February 1923 – 23 July 2014), known as Dora Bryan, was a British actress of stage, film and television.Hugh Williams Hugh Anthony Glanmor Williams (6 March 1904 – 7 December 1969) was a British actor and dramatist of Welsh descent. Early life and career Hugh Anthony Glanmor Williams (nicknamed "Tam") was born at Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex to Hugh Dafydd Anth ...

as Captain David G. Wilson, Division Commander *

Robin Bailey William Henry Mettam "Robin" Bailey (5 October 1919 – 14 January 1999) was an English actor. He was born in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire. Often cast in upper class and tradition-bound roles such as Mr Justice Graves in Thames Television's ''R ...

as Lieutenant Michael Grant, ship's pilot * Meredith Edwards as Jones, Chief Engineer * John Forrest as Appleby *

Patric Doonan Patric Doonan (George William Doonan) (18 April 1926 in Derby, Derbyshire – 10 March 1958 in London) was a British stage and screen actor. He was the son of comedian George Vincent Doonan and Doris Mary (Nee Endsor) he was the brother of ...

as Petty Officer Martin *

Sid James Sidney James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. He was best known for numerous roles in the Carry On film series. Born to a mid ...

as Ned Hardy, owner of Golden Bull public house * Tony Quinn as McConalog * James Kenney as John A. Fraser, Hugh's son * George Street as Court Member * Hugh Hastings as Crewman * James Carney as Bone * Harold Siddons as Adm. Bartlett * Harold Ayer as Lt. Cmdr. Carson *

Charles Lloyd-Pack Charles Lloyd-Pack (10 October 1902 – 22 December 1983) was a British film, television and stage actor. Life and career Lloyd-Pack was born at Wapping, East London, to working-class parents. He was seen in several horror films produced by th ...

as Member of Board of Inquiry (as Charles Lloyd Pack) * Peter Bathurst as Member of Board of Inquiry * William Russell as Crewman (as Russell Enoch) *

Anthony Oliver Anthony Oliver (4 July 1922, Abersychan, near Pontypool, Monmouthshire, Wales—November 1995, London) was a Welsh film, television and stage actor. Selected filmography * ''Once a Jolly Swagman'' (1949) - Derek * ''All Over the Town'' (1 ...

as Ship's Officer, Guns *

Joan Rice Joan Rice (3 February 1930 – 1 January 1997) was an English film actress. Rice is best known for her role as Dalabo in the film '' His Majesty O'Keefe'' (1954) which co-starred Burt Lancaster. Apart from that she played Maid Marian in ''The ...

as June Mallory, WRNS cypher officer *

Glyn Houston Glyn Houston (23 October 1925 – 30 June 2019) was a Welsh actor best known for his television work. He was the younger brother of film actor Donald Houston. Early life Glyndwr Desmond Houston was born at 10 Thomas Street, Tonypandy, Glamorgan ...

as Morgan, Engine Room Artificer ncredited

Production

The real-life ship used in the film was HMS ''Leamington''. Built in 1919 as the USS ''Twiggs'', a

Wickes-class destroyer The ''Wickes''-class destroyers were a class of 111 destroyers built by the United States Navy in 1917–19. Along with the 6 preceding and 156 subsequent s, they formed the "flush-deck" or "four-stack" type. Only a few were completed in time t ...

, she was one of the last post-war survivors of the 50 elderly four-funnelled destroyers provided in 1940 by the USA as part of the "

Destroyers for Bases Agreement The destroyers-for-bases deal was an agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom on September 2, 1940, according to which 50 , , and US Navy destroyers were transferred to the Royal Navy from the US Navy in exchange for land rights ...

": (also known as "The Fifty Ships that Saved the World"). She served on convoy duties, including as an escort for the ill-fated

Convoy PQ 17 PQ 17 was the code name for an Allied Arctic convoy during the Second World War. On 27 June 1942, the ships sailed from Hvalfjörður, Iceland, for the port of Arkhangelsk in the Soviet Union. The convoy was located by German forces on 1 July, aft ...

. In 1943 she was transferred to the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

as HMCS ''Leamington''. After a short period in reserve in 1944, she was one of seven sisters transferred to the Soviet Navy, and there became the ''Zguchij'' ("''Firebrand''"). Returned to the Royal Navy in 1950, the ship was listed for disposal in 1951, but before being broken up she was hired for the ''Gift Horse'' film. For the final scenes of the film, based on her sister-ship ''Campbeltown's'' daring

, her four funnels were reduced to two, and cut down at an angle to resemble the funnels of a German

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...

, just as ''Campbeltown's'' had been. She was finally broken up in December 1951. It was shot at

Isleworth Studios Isleworth Studios is the common name of two former film studios in Great Britain. __TOC__ Worton Hall Studios 1913–1952 Worton Hall Studios were based on Worton Hall, in Isleworth. This house was built in 1783 and rebuilt and extended in the ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

with sets designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Edward Carrick Edward Carrick (born Edward Anthony Craig; 3 January 1905 – 21 January 1998) was an English art designer for film, an author and illustrator. Carrick was born in London. His father was Edward Gordon Craig, the theatre practitioner and stage d ...

Reception

The film performed poorly at the US box office, like most British war movies of this era.

References

External links

* *
Review of film
at Variety {{Compton Bennett 1952 films 1950s war drama films British war drama films British black-and-white films Films directed by Compton Bennett World War II films based on actual events Royal Navy in World War II films Seafaring films based on actual events Western Front of World War II films Films scored by Clifton Parker Films shot at Isleworth Studios Films set in 1940 1950s English-language films 1950s British films