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Sailor of the King

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A shipwrecked British sailor unwittingly helps his estranged father, a naval commander, sink a German cruiser.

Critics Reviews

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Clyde Gilmour Maclean's Magazine A tacked-on prologue and an equally synthetic conclusion are oddly out of key with the stirring simplicity of the central story... Nov 5, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Russ G Klaatu returns from somewhere in the galaxy and goes to sea for the Royal Navy. The scriptwriters tacked on a 17 minute romance angle set in the first war that serves no purpose to the rest of the film but it padded out the running time. I finally recognized the young buck Jeffrey Hunter playing Signalman Brown as the guy from a Star Trek episode a decade and a half later. Some decent action scenes using practical effects and models - not at all badly done for the time. Of course the story is utter balderdash - Royal Navy and German Navy engaged in the Pacific in the early war years and a final bit about a Royal Navy convoy escort being able to "put in at Montreal" hundreds of miles up the St. Lawrence River in wartime but let that go. Overall a decent action yarn that's probably largely forgotten. I'm giving it two and a half stars for effort which for me is a generous rating. Edit: the version I got on Y//T didn't have the "alternate" ending so the connection of Hunter's character to his rescuer and new superior, linking the initial five day affair of decades earlier, wasn't apparent, presuming that was made clear in Ending Two, but maybe that was an Easter Egg I was supposed to figure out via that stuff about his mother bringing him up on all things Royal Navy. I'm not surprised if they shot two endings and chose one in the editing room. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/15/25 Full Review Audience Member Slightly above-average war drama which has two alternate ending, oddly enough. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Sailor of the King (1953) -- [7.0] -- SPOILER REVIEW: This nifty WWII naval actioner is slow to start, but after the midpoint it offers an engaging blend of drama and suspense. Jeffrey Hunter (The Searchers) plays Andrew Brown, a signalman in the British navy who survives the sinking of his ship and escapes German capture. While the Germans carry out repairs to their vessel in an island harbor, Brown becomes a sniper. He takes refuge in the rocky cliffside and starts picking off German soldiers, hoping to stall their progress long enough for British reinforcements to arrive. Helping to make this more than your average matinee war movie is a potent dramatic twist -- that Brown is the illegitimate son of the naval commander coming to his rescue. Michael Rennie (The Day the Earth Stood Still) and Wendy Hiller (A Man for All Seasons) play Brown's parents. The script, based on a novel by C.S. Forester (The African Queen), lets the audience in on the secret, but neither father nor son ever learn their relation to one another during the course of the film. This admirable restraint in storytelling allows for a compelling teaser of a finale. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member NOBODY remembers this one except me. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Unremarkable World War 2 drama further hampered by a stodgy romantic prologue between Hillier and Rennie. Most notable for it's inclusion of an alternate ending screened in addition to the regular movie. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member wow umn just seen this movie 4 the 1st time n think that this is a good movie 2 watch..its got a good cast of actors/actressess throughout this movie...i think that bernard lee, jeffrey hunter, michael rennie, patrick barr, peter van eyck, robin bailey, wendy hiller, victor maddern play good roles/parts throughout this movie i think that this is a good 1953 movie 2 watch its got a good cast throughout this movie i think that the director of this drama movie had done a good job of directing this movie because you never know what 2 expect throughout this movie its a good movie 2 watch with a good cast throughout this movie Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Sailor of the King

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Movie Info

Synopsis A shipwrecked British sailor unwittingly helps his estranged father, a naval commander, sink a German cruiser.
Director
Roy Boulting
Genre
War
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 25m