ThiefHott Too much of everything

GazerRise Fantastic!

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Griff Lees Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

jc-osms I must confess I'd not heard of this film as it was off my radar (no pun intended) despite starring those two fine actors Sidney Poitier and Richard Widmark in the leads and the solid Martin Balsam in support. More fool me as it proved to be a fine, gritty Cold War thriller, highlighting explicitly then and still, I'd contend, now, that one wilful or accidental action in the heat of the moment could lead to catastrophe for the world. The film skilfully combines a study of men under pressure with the wider political picture, at the same time cleverly invoking the classic story of Moby Dick, with Widmark's Captain Freelander as obsessed with catching a fleeing Russian submarine as old Captain Ahab was his pesky whale.All the action takes place on Freelander's US navy destroyer encompassing a gradually increasing character examination of the wilful Captain, driving his crew to exhaustion and the end of their wits by keeping them constantly at attention or GQ as it's called here, so that in the end a simple misunderstanding by a pressurised, even terrorised young officer of a phrase used by the captain in conversation leads to disaster. The abrupt ending is particularly memorable, the better for being so inevitable and brutal.Widmark as the crusty old captain is excellent in his portrayal of this particular single-minded sailor, while Poitier is also fine as the journalist who by questioning the captain's methods effectively acts as the conscience of the film, for once his skin colour having no bearing on his character''s relevance to the plot. Balsam too steps up as the passed over new medical officer who yet predicts the climactic outcome from way back.Tautly directed in black and white, the tension is palpable as the American ship closes in on its prey and nerves become frayed to breaking point on the bridge, in so doing making an early case for greater psychological consideration due to crew members as advocated by Balsam's character.Topical and relevant, especially with recent events echoing even today in Syria, this is an unflinching and superbly acted contemporary thriller which deserves to be better known.

Spikeopath The Bedford Incident is directed by James B. Harris and is adapted by James Poe from the 1963 book by Mark Rascovich. It stars Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier, with Widmark co-producing. The cast also features James McArthur, Martin Balsam, Wally Cox and Eric Portman, as well as early appearances by Donald Sutherland and Ed Bishop.The story is set during the Cold War and focuses on the captain and crew of the USS Bedford as it patrols the North Atlantic waters for Russian submarine activities. Capt. Eric Findlander (Widmark) is a tough authoritarian figure who drives his crew hard and keeps them ever ready for any sort of incidents that may arise. They respond loyally to his ethics, this is a crew where nobody ever goes on sick call such is the hard approach instilled in them by their captain. Two newcomers have boarded the ship by helicopter: Ben Munceford (Poitier), a liberal newspaper journalist, assigned to write a story about the Bedford and its grizzled captain and a ship's doctor, Lieut. Comdr. Chester Potter (Balsam), a reserve officer who has volunteered for active duty. Both men are quickly disliked by Findlander, he sees their being there as intrusive and upsetting the tough equilibrium of his ship. When a Russian sub is spotted unlawfully in Greenland's territorial icy waters, Finlander stalks it ready to take action. But the top brass doesn't want a perilous situation arising between the two nuclear powered ships and orders Finlander to sit tight, something he is unable to comprehend and intends to do things his own way. With his hard driven crew at breaking point, this could turn into a catastrophic incident...Taut, tense and impeccably acted by the cast, The Bedford Incident is a superior psycho-drama that feeds off of the paranoia of the Cold War and cloaks it in military claustrophobia. It offers up the dangers of military aggression fuelled by some sense of patriotic duty, with an intriguing "hunt till we drop" iron fist ethic making for an engrossing narrative thread. The film of course is not alone in the "doomsday" scheme of things, even the previous year had seen the release of Sidney Lumet's Fail-Safe and Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove (a link here coming courtesy of James B. Harris having been Kubrick's producer for almost ten years), but Harris' movie is more than the equal of any other film with the same thematics. The box office returns for the film at the time didn't do it justice, but time has been kind to the movie. For now it can be viewed as a lesson in jangling the nerves, a reference point in how to script polar opposite characters; thriving on dialogue set in amongst murky military zeal and an unstable political environment. Now more than ever the film serves as a cautionary tale. Tho there's some differences from the book, the film follows the novel fairly closely. However, the big change comes with the ending. I don't consider it hyperbole to suggest that the ending to the film is stunning. A fitting closure to the piece and the ultimate release from the stifling grip that the makers had held the viewers in throughout the story. Shot in stark black and white by Gilbert Taylor and with Widmark at the top of his game, The Bedford Incident is a must see for the serious War movie fan. 8/10

secondtake The Bedford Incident (1965)A tightly focused moment in an imaginary cold war naval confrontation, the Incident in question is an example a small thing becoming a big one. This was the big fear in the Soviet/American nuclear buildup. Richard Widmark as the ship's captain is in a intense mode without the snarling excesses that made him a film noir staple. Martin Balsam as the newly arrived doctor, and Sydney Poitier as a congenial photographer both fill in roles of reason and normalcy--the you and me of the situation. And then there are the side characters, and the one impulsive moment that changes everything.It's hard to call this a great film. The pace and editing, the photography, and the acting are all first class, certainly. The writing on a broad level is fine, the concept in total. On the immediate level, the dialog is good with a slightly predictable edge to many lines. But it works overall, just not brilliantly. What holds it together for us is a sense of history--the very real fear of atomic annihilation--and it's a history that is thankfully starting to feel a little distant. Not that I think nuclear war is less likely now than then, but that this kind of war, with superpowers toe-to-toe at the brink, is no more. And so something the movie had then, the immediacy of pure terror, the walking out of the theater into the street and looking up with sweat at the sky, it doesn't have now. And it might need that to fully succeed.

writers_reign This is another take on the cat-and-mouse war games that was kick-started by The Enemy Below. The twist is that this time the U-boat commander is on the bridge of the American destroyer in an advisory capacity at the invitation of skipper Richard Widmark. Widmark just knows there's a Soviet sub down there somewhere and damned if he isn't going to wait it out whatever it takes. Instead of a full-on chase the screenplay carefully filters the action through the eyes of two newcomers who join the ship via helicopter whilst it is in mid voyage; Sydney Poitier is an eminent photo-journalist assigned to do a magazine story on Widmark whilst Martin Balsam is the new ship's doctor. All four are on top of their game and Wally Cox scores in a rare dramatic role although James McArthur is slightly wooden. With no 'action' in the accepted sense until the final reel the film holds the attention by simply racking up the tension. Excellent.