''The Valiant'' is a 1962 British/Italian
international co-production
A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production companie ...
film directed by
Roy Ward Baker
Roy Ward Baker (born Roy Horace Baker; 19 December 1916 – 5 October 2010) was an English film director. His best known film is ''A Night to Remember (1958 film), A Night to Remember'' (1958) which won a Golden Globe for Golden Globe Award for ...
and starring
John Mills
Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portra ...
,
Ettore Manni
Ettore Manni (6 May 1927 – 27 July 1979) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1952 and 1979.
Life and career
Born in Rome, Manni debuted as an actor in 1952, when in spite of his acting inexperience he wa ...
, Roberto Risso,
Robert Shaw, and
Liam Redmond
Liam Redmond (27 July 1913 – 28 October 1989) was an Irish character actor known for his stage, film and television roles.
Early life
Redmond was one of four children born to cabinet-maker Thomas and Eileen Redmond. Educated at the Christ ...
. It is based on the Italian
manned torpedo
Human torpedoes or manned torpedoes are a type of diver propulsion vehicle on which the diver rides, generally in a seated position behind a fairing. They were used as secret naval weapons in World War II. The basic concept is still in use.
...
attack which seriously damaged the two British
battleships ''
Valiant'' and ''
Queen Elizabeth'' and the oil tanker ''Sagona'' at the port of
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
in December 1941.
The film had a Royal Gala Premiere on 4 January 1962 at the
Odeon Leicester Square
The Odeon Luxe Leicester Square is a prominent cinema building in the West End of London. Built in the Art Deco style and completed in 1937, the building has been continually altered in response to developments in cinema technology, and was the ...
in the presence of
Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent.
[The Times online archive 4/5 Jan 1962]
Plot
Alexandria December, 1941. Two Italian frogmen are captured under suspicion of placing a mine under HMS ''Valiant''. They are brought onto the ship for questioning.
Cast
See also
*
HMS ''Valiant''
*
Luigi Durand de la Penne
Luigi Durand de la Penne (11 February 1914 – 17 January 1992) was an Italian Navy admiral who served as naval diver in the Decima MAS during World War II. De la Penne was born in Genoa, where he also died.
De la Penne graduated from the Ital ...
*
Raid on Alexandria (1941)
The Raid on Alexandria was carried out on 19 December 1941 by Italian Navy divers of the Decima Flottiglia MAS, who attacked and disabled two Royal Navy battleships in the harbour of Alexandria, Egypt, using manned torpedoes.
Background
On 3 D ...
*''
The Silent Enemy''
References
External links
*
*
1962 films
1962 drama films
Italian drama films
British drama films
CinemaScope films
1960s English-language films
Films directed by Roy Ward Baker
Films set in 1941
Films set in Alexandria
British World War II films
Underwater action films
Films set in the Mediterranean Sea
Royal Navy in World War II films
English-language Italian films
1960s British films
1960s Italian films
{{war-drama-film-stub