''Torpedo Bay'' is a 1963

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...

directed by

Charles Frend Charles Herbert Frend (21 November 1909, Pulborough, Sussex – 8 January 1977, London) was an English film director and editor, best known for his films produced at Ealing Studios. He began directing in the early 1940s and is known for such ...

and Bruno Vailati and starring

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...

. The story is based on events that took place at

Betasom BETASOM (an Italian language acronym of ''Bordeaux Sommergibile'' or ''Sommergibili'') was a submarine base established at Bordeaux, France by the Italian '' Regia Marina Italiana'' during World War II. From this base, Italian submarines particip ...

, a submarine base established at

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

by the

Italian Navy "Fatherland and Honour" , patron = , colors = , colors_label = , march = ( is the return of soldiers to their barrack, or sailors to their ship after a ...

during

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 ...

. The film was released as ''Beta Som'', the Italian language acronym meaning Bordeaux Sommergibile. Phonetically B (for Bordeaux) is Beta and SOM is an abbreviation for 'Sommergibile' which is the Italian for submarine. In the United States

American International Pictures American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...

released it as a

double feature The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera ho ...

with ''

Commando Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...

'' (1964).

Plot

An Italian submarine captain (

Gabriele Ferzetti Gabriele Ferzetti (born Pasquale Ferzetti; 17 March 1925 – 2 December 2015) was an Italian actor with more than 160 credits across film, television, and stage. His career was at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s. Ferzetti's first leading role ...

) tries to navigate his sub through enemy waters whilst being stalked by a British commander (

). The Italian sub manages to make it into the neutral port of

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

followed by the British commander. During their stay, the two captains agree not to fight. They come to respect each other. Eventually the Italian sub leaves port after the Captain accuses his lover (

Lilli Palmer Lilli Palmer (; born Lilli Marie Peiser; 24 May 1914 – 27 January 1986) was a German actress and writer. After beginning her career in British films in the 1930s, she would later transition to major Cinema of the United States, Hollywood produ ...

) of spying. The British commander follows, but ends up losing his ship to the Italian's torpedoes.

Cast

- Captain Blayne *

- Leonardi *

- Lygia da Silva *

Alberto Lupo Alberto Lupo (byname of Alberto Zoboli; 19 December 1924 – 13 August 1984) was an Italian film and television actor best known for his roles in swash-buckling and actions films of the 1960s. Lupo starred in films such as ''A 008, operazione ...

- Magri *

Valeria Fabrizi Valeria Fabrizi (born 20 October 1936) is an Italian actress, singer and television personality. Life and career Born in Verona, in 1936 Fabrizi made her acting debut in the revue ''Campione senza valore''. The same year, she had her first lead ...

- Susanne *

Renato De Carmine Renato De Carmine (25 January 1923 – 18 July 2010) was an Italian stage, film and television actor. After graduating at the Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico, De Carmine worked mainly on stage, notably at the Piccolo Teatro ...

- Ghedini *

Daniele Vargas Daniele Vargas, stage name of Daniele Pitani (20 April 1922 – 7 January 1981) was an Italian film actor. Life and career Born in Imola, a small town in the district of Bologna, after attending high school with Pier Paolo Pasolini, Daniel ...

- Brauzzi *

Andrew Keir Andrew Keir (né Buggy, 3 April 19265 October 1997) was a Scottish actor who appeared in a number of films made by Hammer Film Productions in the 1960s. He was also active in television, and especially in the theatre, in a professional career t ...

- O'Brien * Paul Muller - Police Commander

References

External links

* 1963 films American International Pictures films Films directed by Charles Frend World War II submarine films Italian war films Films set in the Mediterranean Sea Macaroni Combat films French World War II films Italian World War II films English-language French films English-language Italian films 1960s English-language films 1960s Italian films 1960s French films {{WWII-film-stub