Sons of the Sea (1939)

Good concept, poorly executed.

Excellent, a Must See

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

SONS OF THE SEA is a rather dated spy thriller set in and around the naval training college in Dartmouth. The film opens with the murder of an official and sees his replacement investigating the crime, suspecting that he himself may have been the intended target. Meanwhile a visiting secret service agent looks into the murder while the antics of a local astronomer also raise suspicion.This film is chiefly of note for both the way in which it was made and the way it was filmed. It came out in 1939 just at the outset of WW2 and the enemies are obviously Nazis although they are never mentioned as such by name. The most interesting thing about this though is that it was actually made in colour thanks to a process called Dufaycolor. It was only used for this one film but is pretty decent and a good rival to the more popular Technicolor process.Otherwise this is pretty heavy going, lacking the lightness of touch of many other thrillers from the era. There's no humour to speak of, just a lot of heavy emoting and back-and-forth conversations. I found the acting of the protagonists to be more than a little stuffy as well which also sapped my enjoyment. And the ending just sort of dawdles along instead of being exciting like it should be.

Sons of the Sea was screened recently on BBC2 and I was pleased I taped it. This is a rare early British colour movie from 1939.The Captain of the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth is murdered and and his replacement fears he was the intended target. With the help of his son who is at the college, he tries to find out what exactly happened. Also, there is an agent from the Secret Service staying at the college and the professor at the local observatory isn't acting normal either. Strange goings on...This movie was filmed on location at the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth and as a regular holidaymaker in this area at Paignton, I have visited several of the locations filmed in this, including Dartmouth and Kingswear. The railway scenes were shot on what is now the preserved Paignton and Dartmouth Railway. Not a lot has changed since 1939.The cast includes Leslie Banks, Kay Walsh, Cecil Parker and Nigel Stock. Good parts from all.Sons of the Sea is worth a look at if you get the chance. Very enjoyable.Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

An early British colour movie from the 1930's (the only others that spring to mind are The Divorce of Lady X and The Four Feathers) but sadly not as enjoyable as the other two. As has been mentioned, this showcases the Dufaycolour film process and it does good give results; making the 1930's colourful without overpowering the viewer with garish colours (compare with other early Technicolour movies). The shots of lovely Devon countryside are a bonus as well: As a recent visitor to Devon, I was amazed to recognise Dartmouth, Slapton and Brixham in this movie, all of which seems little changed to this day.The plot is plodding and so so. The direction stilted and stiff and the acting is, at times, woeful but this is all balanced by a intriguing look, in colour, of an era long gone.

I first saw "Sons Of The Sea" during the war (circa "40/41) in Victoria and was struck by the vibrant color of the film. The story line was not memorable and I completely forgot what the story was about. The only actor who's name I remember was Leslie Banks. (That may have been partly because I associated him with the FIRST color film made in the UK, "Wings Of The Morning". (I was about 15 at the time.) In later years, as I became more involved in film (working in television and later in the National Film Board of Canada, in distribution), I kept looking for some mention of this title, but to no avail. I happened to mention to my son, just the other day, about this title, since we had been discussing "Wings..", its' color and its' female lead, Annabella. Today, he called me in to my computer, where he had located IMDb on the Internet, and there was my long lost film! I'm so happy to have found it again and learn more about ITS' history, from then to now. Has a DVD been released of this film? ..or a VHS tape (NTSC!) I'll be back to check soon. Thanks again for finding me!