The Cockleshell Heroes

"They Called Them "Canoe Commandos""

1955 1h 37m EN

😐

5.9

MID

★5.9TMDB · 34

War

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

During WW2, German ships are "safely" docked upriver at Bordeaux, but the British send a team of kayakers to attack them.

“They Called Them "Canoe Commandos"”

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Cast

Trevor Howard
Captain Thompson
José Ferrer
Major Stringer
Anthony Newley
Marine Clarke
Victor Maddern
Sgt. Craig
Percy Herbert
Marine Lomas
David Lodge
Marine Ruddock
Peter Arne
Marine Stevens
Graham Stewart
Marine Booth

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: José Ferrer
Writers: Bryan Forbes, Richard Maibaum
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

71 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by José Ferrer, shot by Ted Moore. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Alan Osbiston shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Trevor Howard and José Ferrer and Anthony Newley carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "They Called Them "Canoe Commandos"".

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0049083 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 34 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

José Ferrer directs. Ted Moore behind the camera. Alan Osbiston cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

171 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by José Ferrer, shot by Ted Moore. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Editor Alan Osbiston shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
4Trevor Howard and José Ferrer and Anthony Newley carry the top of the cast.
5Marketing tagline: "They Called Them "Canoe Commandos"".
6IMDB entry: tt0049083 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 34 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Ted Moore
Editing: Alan Osbiston
Runtime: 97 min · 1h 37m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Cockleshell Heroes (1955)

Also by

José Ferrer

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-11-14
★ 6/10
HM Royal Marines don't tend to be centre-stage in many films depicting their wartime escapades. This one recounts their exploits trying to canoe up the Garonne and attack some vital Nazi shipping. The plot is quite interesting but both José Ferrer and Trevor Howard miss their targets - both performances are as strained as their on-screen relationship purports to be. It does celebrate the valiant efforts, however, of this daring raid with great looking photography and Ferrer directs this with a true sense of the jeopardy of the whole enterprise.

Production companies

Who made it

Columbia Pictures
US
WA
Warwick Film Productions
GB

Key crew

EditorAlan Osbiston
Executive ProducerAlbert R. Broccoli

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

mission
world war ii
behind enemy lines
u.s. marine
royal marines

Release history · US

When it landed

Theatrical1956-03-27

Also known as

International titles

Operation CockleshellSE
Cockle Shell HeroesAU
Operatie KajakNL

6.6