''Under Ten Flags'' ( it, Sotto dieci bandiere) is a 1960 Italian-American
war film
War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...
directed by
Duilio Coletti and starring
Van Heflin
Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin Jr. (December 13, 1908 – July 23, 1971) was an American theatre, radio and film actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man. H ...
,
Charles Laughton, and
Mylène Demongeot. It was entered into the
10th Berlin International Film Festival
The 10th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 24 June to 5 July 1960. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Spanish film '' El Lazarillo de Tormes'' directed by César Fernández Ardavín.
Jury
The following people were announ ...
.
Plot
Loosely based on actual events during World War II, the film depicts real-life German Captain
Bernhard Rogge commanding the navy raider ''
Atlantis
Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and '' Critias'', wherein it represents the antagonist naval power that b ...
'', which from May 1940 to November 1941 sank 22
Allied merchant ships. The story alternates between scenes at the
Admiralty and scenes at sea, particularly showing Captain Rogge's humanity and chivalrous conduct of his military engagements. Rogge was one of the few German flag rank officers who was not arrested by the Allies after the war, due to his conduct as a military officer. After eighteen months of successful raids, ''Atlantis'' is sunk on 22 November 1941 by the British
cruiser ''
Devonshire
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, ...
''.
Cast
*
Van Heflin
Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin Jr. (December 13, 1908 – July 23, 1971) was an American theatre, radio and film actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man. H ...
as Captain
Bernhard Rogge
*
Charles Laughton as Admiral Russell
*
Mylène Demongeot as Zizi
*
John Ericson
John Ericson (sometimes spelled Erickson; September 25, 1926 – May 3, 2020) was a German-American film and television actor known primarily for his co-star role with actress Anne Francis on the ABC television series '' Honey West'' in the 196 ...
as Krüger
*
Cecil Parker as Col. Howard
*
Folco Lulli
Folco Lulli (3 July 1912 – 23 May 1970) was an Italian partisan and film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1946 and 1970. He was the brother of actor Piero Lulli.
Selected filmography
* ''How I Lost the War'' (1947)
* ' ...
as Paco
*
Alex Nicol as Knoche
*
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 ...
as Windsor
*
Eleonora Rossi Drago as Elsa
*
John Lee John Lee may refer to:
Academia
* John Lee (astronomer) (1783–1866), president of the Royal Astronomical Society
* John Lee (university principal) (1779–1859), University of Edinburgh principal
* John Lee (pathologist) (born 1961), English ...
*
Ralph Truman
Ralph du Vergier Truman (7 May 1900 – 15 October 1977) was an English actor, usually cast as either a villain or an authority figure. He possessed a distinguished speaking voice. He was born in London, England.
Truman originally studied at t ...
as Adm. Benson
*
Grégoire Aslan as Master of Abdullah
*
Peter Carsten
Peter Carsten (30 April 1928 – 20 April 2012) was a German actor and film producer. He appeared in 90 films between 1953 and 1999, including in supporting roles, ''Dark of the Sun'' (1968), ''Hannibal Brooks'' (1969), ''Madame Bovary'' (1 ...
as Lt. Mohr
*
Helmut Schmid
Helmut Schmid (1925–1992) was a German actor. He was the husband of actress Liselotte Pulver
Liselotte Pulver (born 11 October 1929), sometimes credited as Lilo Pulver, is a Swiss actress. Pulver was one of the biggest stars of German cine ...
*
Gian Maria Volonté as Samuel Braunstein (as Gianmaria Volonté)
References
External links
*
1960 films
American black-and-white films
American war films
English-language Italian films
Films directed by Duilio Coletti
Films produced by Dino De Laurentiis
Macaroni Combat films
World War II naval films
Films scored by Nino Rota
1960s English-language films
1960s American films
1960s Italian films
{{WWII-film-stub