The Battle of the River Plate (film) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Battle of the River Plate (Pursuit of the Graf Spee)
US release Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Michael Powell Emeric Pressburger
Produced by	Michael Powell Emeric Pressburger
Written by	Michael Powell Emeric Pressburger
Narrated by	David Farrar
Starring	John Gregson Anthony Quayle Peter Finch
Music by	Brian Easdale
Cinematography	Christopher Challis
Editing by	Reginald Mills
Distributed by	Rank Film Distributors Ltd.
Release date(s)	29 October 1956 (1956-10-29) (Royal Film Performance)
Running time	119 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	£275,348
Money made	$750,000 (US)

The Battle of the River Plate is a 1956 British war film. In the United States, it was also known as Pursuit of the Graf Spee. It was made by the famous filmmaking team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. The movie tells the exciting true story of a major naval battle during World War II.

The film shows the Battle of the River Plate. This was one of the first big naval fights of World War II in 1939. It happened between three Royal Navy ships and a powerful German warship called the Admiral Graf Spee.

The Story of the Film

At the start of World War II, Germany's navy, the Kriegsmarine, sent out special ships called merchant raiders. These ships attacked Allied merchant ships that carried supplies. To stop them, the British Royal Navy sent out groups of warships to hunt them down.

Soon, the German battleship Admiral Graf Spee was found in the Atlantic Ocean. It was near South America. The Graf Spee was very fast and had powerful guns. But three British cruisers decided to attack it anyway. They got close quickly to reduce the Graf Spee's advantage in gun range. The British ships also attacked from different directions. This made it harder for the Graf Spee to shoot at all of them.

Even so, the Graf Spee, led by Captain Hans Langsdorff (Peter Finch), caused a lot of damage. One British ship, HMS Exeter, was hit badly. It had to go to the Falkland Islands for repairs.

The Graf Spee also got damaged. It went into the neutral port of Montevideo, Uruguay, to fix itself. Under international law, a warship can only stay in a neutral port for a short time. This is just to make it seaworthy, not to get ready for another battle. If it stays too long, the ship and its crew would be held for the rest of the war.

The British first demanded the Graf Spee leave within 24 hours. But then they changed their plan. They wanted more time for their own warships to arrive. They spread false rumors that many more British ships were coming. In reality, only three cruisers were waiting. HMS Exeter had been replaced by HMS Cumberland.

Captain Langsdorff believed the rumors. He took his ship out with only a small crew. As people watched from the shore, the Graf Spee sailed out. Then it suddenly exploded and caught fire. Langsdorff had ordered his ship to be sunk on purpose. This was a relief to the British fleet. They knew many lives had been saved. At the end of the story, the British praised Langsdorff for his humane decision.

Main Actors

On the Ships

On Land

How the Film Was Made

The idea for The Battle of the River Plate came about in 1954. Filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger were invited to a film festival in Argentina. They decided to use the trip to research the story of the Admiral Graf Spee.

They found a key part of their story when a British naval officer gave Pressburger a book. It was called I Was Graf Spee's Prisoner by Captain Patrick Dove. This book helped them create the human side of the film's story.

Filming started on December 13, 1955. This was exactly 16 years after the real battle. Many local people in Montevideo were used as extras. They helped show the Admiral Graf Spee arriving and leaving the port. However, scenes of the Admiral Graf Spee sailing were filmed in Malta.

Two songs were written for the film by Brian Easdale. They were "Dolores' Song" and "Rio de la Plata." Actress April Olrich performed them, but singer Muriel Smith provided the singing voice.

The Ships in the Film

Many real ships were used in the movie! This helped make the battle scenes look very real.

• The Admiral Graf Spee was played by the American ship USS Salem. It kept its US Navy number, 139, for the film. Captain Langsdorff explained this in the movie as part of the ship's camouflage.
• The supply ship Altmark was played by RFA Olna.
• HMS Ajax was played by HMS Sheffield.
• HMS Exeter was played by HMS Jamaica.
• HMNZS Achilles played itself! At the time, it was serving in the Indian Navy as INS Delhi.
• HMS Cumberland also played itself when it joined the British ships.
• The German freighter Tacoma was played by RFA Fort Duquesne. This ship took the Graf Spee crew off before it was sunk.
• A British Ton-class minesweeper played the gunboat Uruguay.
• HMS Birmingham was used for some gun firing scenes. It also showed explosions on the Exeter and acted as the Graf Spee during a refueling scene.

The filmmakers were able to use ships from the Mediterranean Fleet of the Royal Navy. They also used the USS Salem to play the Admiral Graf Spee. Even though the Salem looked a bit different from the real Graf Spee, it helped make the film very realistic.

The producers also used a 23-foot model of the Salem in a 6-foot-deep tank. This was for scenes showing hits during the battle and the sinking of the Admiral Graf Spee.

In one scene, the Admiral Graf Spee tries to disguise itself as an American cruiser. This was a common trick for ships attacking merchant vessels. The US Navy did not allow any Nazi symbols to be shown on the USS Salem. So, the scene where the German flag is raised was filmed on a British ship. Also, the Graf Spee crew wore US Navy helmets. This was because the filmmakers were not allowed to use German helmets.

Two of the real ships from the battle, HMNZS Achilles and HMS Cumberland, were available for filming 15 years later. This was very helpful for the movie.

What Really Happened: Film vs. History

The film paid a lot of attention to details. For example, it showed the warning bells before each gun salvo. It also showed the scorch marks on the gun barrels after the battle. The movie also showed naval procedures accurately.

The film shows the Admiral Graf Spee and Altmark refueling side-by-side. In reality, the Germans used a slower but safer method of refueling from the back of the ship. But the side-by-side method looked more dramatic for the movie.

The film spends almost 20 minutes on the battle itself. The real battle lasted a little over an hour before the chase into Montevideo began. The movie shows the first few minutes of the battle in real time. However, some events, like the Exeter being hit, are shown happening faster than they did.

Commodore Harwood is shown wearing the rank of a rear admiral from the start. This is correct because 'Commodores of the first class' wore those symbols at the time. The chaplain on HMS Exeter is also correctly shown wearing a civilian dark suit. Naval chaplains did not wear military uniforms until later in the war.

The film only briefly mentions what happened to Captain Hans Langsdorff after he sank his ship. In the movie, he looks sad and quiet. In real life, he was taken to a hotel in Buenos Aires. He wrote letters to his family and then took his own life. He did this to show that he was not a coward and to symbolically go down with his ship.

Langsdorff's funeral

Captain Langsdorff was buried in Argentina. Both sides in the battle respected him for his honorable actions.

Some small details from the real event were not shown in the film. For example, the German crew left the Graf Spee on an Argentine tugboat, not in rowboats. Also, the British government secretly arranged for French and British merchant ships to leave Montevideo every 24 hours. This was to make the Graf Spee's departure seem less urgent.

Awards

The Battle of the River Plate was nominated for three BAFTA Awards in 1957. These were for "Best British Film," "Best British Screenplay," and "Best Film From Any Source."

Book

In 1956, Michael Powell published a book called Graf Spee. It was also known as Death in the Atlantic in the US. The book told the story of the film in more detail. In 1976, a new version was released with the title The Last Voyage of the Graf Spee.