Description
The Silent Enemy DVD
WITH OPTIONAL SUBTITLES. BRAND NEW RESTORATION. No of discs: 1. Black and White. Year: 1958. War. Running Time: approx 107 mins.
Director: William Fairchild.
Cast: Laurence Harvey, Sid James, Michael Craig, Dawn Addams, John Clements
and Nigel Stock.
Special features include: Interview with Tim Binding, author of The Real Commander Crabb; Pathé News item on Commander Crabb; behind the scenes stills gallery.
The Silent Enemy is the story of Lionel “Buster” Crabb and his exploits during World War II as a deep sea diving bomb disposal expert. In 1941 Italian frog-divers travelled astride small torpedo-type vessels to attach explosive charges to the hulls of enemy ships. Naval Lieutenant ‘Buster’ Crabbe, an expert in mine and bomb disposal, is sent to Gibraltar to combat this new threat. Never having dived before, he sets to work to master the technique of underwater operations. He and his team locate many of the frogmen’s charges and render them harmless, but with an invasion of North Africa imminent, time is not on their side. The underwater sequences are atmospheric and intense, giving insight into the grim business of checking ships for enemy mines. Based on the book Commander Crabb by Marshall Pugh, the film was made following publicity created by Crabb’s mysterious disappearance and likely death during a Cold War incident.
