Naval Warfare Movies

Haie und Kleine Fische

Director: Frank Wisbar
Starring: Horst Felmy, Sabine Bethmann, Wolfgang Preiss, Heinz Engelmann

Language:
Published: 1957
Country: Germany
Length: 117 min.
Keywords: WWII, Feature

This is the VHS release (see more).

Summary

Although this feature preceded Das Boot by more than two decades, it similarly portrays submariners as ordinary men forced to fight a war and the harships they undergo, both at sea and on shore in wartime Germany.


Notes

English translation: Sharks and Little Fishes. Based on the novel by Wolfgang Ott, who also wrote the script for this movie. Erich Topp acted as naval and technical advisor during the filming. The Sharks of the title refer to the German leaders who "consumed" the Little Fishes (U-boats) by continuing to send them into battle against increasingly poor odds. Reflecting the 1950s mood in Germany, the hero questions the reasons behind the war and concludes that it is better to die than to fight for the Nazi cause.

Available for purchase (90DM) from:
ZDF-Programmverwerung
C/O G. Nägeli
55 100 Mainz
Germany

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