Crest of the Wave (DVD)

Two men have already died. How many more may be lost? From filmmakers John and Roy Boulting (Brighton Rock, Lucky Jim) comes this suspenseful tale of Royal Navy sailors risking their lives in a dangerous mission to engineer a top-secret torpedo. When a test of the torpedo turns fatal, the Admiralty sends in a team from the U.S. Navy, including Lieutenant "Brad" Bradville (Gene Kelly), the new director of the program. But the tight-knit Brits don't exactly welcome the Yank interlopers, especially when Bradville decides to strip the torpedo down and start anew. A titan of the golden era of movie musicals, Kelly turns in an intelligent, sympathetic performance as a leader equally dedicated to science and to the welfare of his men. Playing a Navy lieutenant must have seemed as natural to Kelly as slipping on a pair of dancing shoes - he was a lieutenant jg in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

• drama
• war