The Cockleshell Heroes
In March of 1942, Royal Marine Captain Hugh Thompson reports for duty at the Portsmouth Marine Barracks. Later that day, Marine Acting Major Stringer reports for duty and introduces himself to Thompso…
The Cockleshell Heroes
In March of 1942, Royal Marine Captain Hugh Thompson reports for duty at the Portsmouth Marine Barracks. Later that day, Marine Acting Major Stringer reports for duty and introduces himself to Thompson. Stringer will command a special unit assigned to travel by canoe up the Gironde River in occupied France to Bordeaux and there to blow up several German supply ships in the docks. Forty-three men arrive to contend for places on the team. All are volunteers for hazardous service, the sort of man of which Thompson is openly skeptical. Stringer begins by interviewing the men, one at a time, asking, "Why did you volunteer for hazardous service?" He throws out many obvious rejects and then tests the rest by dropping them by parachute 300 miles north, dressed in German uniforms with neither money nor ID, and telling them to get back to barracks in 48 hours. Eight of the men make it back, and they are the final selection. Stringer now has his crew--but the friction between him and Thompson only grows, because Stringer's methods grate on Thompson's professional sensibilities. The appalling lack of discipline of the men irk Thompson even more, but Stringer insists on doing things "his" way. Then comes an exercise to attempt to penetrate the Thames--and not a man reaches his objective, and all of them get picked up within hours. Stringer humbles himself before Thompson, who delivers a bracing lecture on the meaning of command, leadership, and discipline. Stringer takes the hint and retrains his men far more rigorously, with promising results. The operation is approved, and when Stringer and Thompson receive their orders, Thompson suggests that they go get drunk. Alone in a dining room with a bottle of brandy between them, Thompson confesses that he had been disgraced in the Battle of Cambrai and lost his chance to make things up when the war ended. He tells Stringer that he has his chance to be a hero, and not to muff it. Their men take their own liberty in a local pub, and start a brawl with Royal Navy men during which one of them (Marine Ruddock) slips out unnoticed. He is missed the next morning. Thompson, thoroughly angry, confines the other men to barracks and goes after Ruddock personally. He sees for himself that Ruddock's wife is cheating on him, and then finds Ruddock in another pub and tells him to take fifteen minutes and "do a good job of it; that's an order." Ruddock, of course, obeys--and his fight with the "other man" takes place entirely off-screen, with Captain Thompson and a London "Bobby" looking on and agreeing, like gentlemen, to take no official action. Finally Stringer, Thompson, and their men board a Royal Navy submarine and set out for the mouth of the Gironde River. On the last night, a depth-charge attack causes Marine Lomas to injure himself fatally by bumping his head against a metal strut. Thompson pleads with Stringer to let him take Lomas' place rather than idle a canoe, and Stringer reluctantly agrees. The canoes are launched, and the men begin paddling toward the mouth of the Gironde. The heavy seas of the tide race swamp one of the canoes; its crew swim to shore and are captured by the Germans. The leading sergeant has his crewman shot dead at another point on the river; the sergeant takes his revenge by tossing a fast-detonating mine into a patrol boat so that the other three canoes can escape. A third canoe is about to be captured when its crew detonates its fast-detonating mine and blows up all the other mines that they carry. Now two canoes remain, manned by Stringer and Marine Clarke, and Thompson and Marine Ruddock. They reach Bordeaux and attach twelve limpet mines to the hulls of several ships. Thompson and Ruddock are captured by the Germans and interrogated, and tell them nothing. Eventually Thompson, Ruddock, and the original crew who had gotten swamped in the tide race, are shot by a firing squad. Stringer and Clarke are rescued by French fishermen and given disguises in which they start to make their way out of France--after having the chance to witness all those mines blowing up and sinking all those cargo ships. Thus Operation Cockleshell is a success, though at the cost of nine lives. As Stringer and Clarke walk up the road from Bordeaux, nine ghosts briefly join them.
The Cockleshell Heroes
Action,Drama,War
Film Details
In March of 1942, Royal Marine Captain Hugh Thompson reports for duty at the Portsmouth Marine Barracks. Later that day, Marine Acting Major Stringer reports for duty and introduces himself to Thompson. Stringer will command a special unit assigned to travel by canoe up the Gironde River in occupied France to Bordeaux and there to blow up several German supply ships in the docks.
Forty-three men arrive to contend for places on the team. All are volunteers for hazardous service, the sort of man of which Thompson is openly skeptical. Stringer begins by interviewing the men, one at a time, asking, "Why did you volunteer for hazardous service?" He throws out many obvious rejects and then tests the rest by dropping them by parachute 300 miles north, dressed in German uniforms with neither money nor ID, and telling them to get back to barracks in 48 hours.
Eight of the men make it back, and they are the final selection. Stringer now has his crew--but the friction between him and Thompson only grows, because Stringer's methods grate on Thompson's professional sensibilities. The appalling lack of discipline of the men irk Thompson even more, but Stringer insists on doing things "his" way.
Then comes an exercise to attempt to penetrate the Thames--and not a man reaches his objective, and all of them get picked up within hours. Stringer humbles himself before Thompson, who delivers a bracing lecture on the meaning of command, leadership, and discipline. Stringer takes the hint and retrains his men far more rigorously, with promising results.
The operation is approved, and when Stringer and Thompson receive their orders, Thompson suggests that they go get drunk. Alone in a dining room with a bottle of brandy between them, Thompson confesses that he had been disgraced in the Battle of Cambrai and lost his chance to make things up when the war ended. He tells Stringer that he has his chance to be a hero, and not to muff it.
Their men take their own liberty in a local pub, and start a brawl with Royal Navy men during which one of them (Marine Ruddock) slips out unnoticed. He is missed the next morning. Thompson, thoroughly angry, confines the other men to barracks and goes after Ruddock personally.
He sees for himself that Ruddock's wife is cheating on him, and then finds Ruddock in another pub and tells him to take fifteen minutes and "do a good job of it; that's an order." Ruddock, of course, obeys--and his fight with the "other man" takes place entirely off-screen, with Captain Thompson and a London "Bobby" looking on and agreeing, like gentlemen, to take no official action. Finally Stringer, Thompson, and their men board a Royal Navy submarine and set out for the mouth of the Gironde River. On the last night, a depth-charge attack causes Marine Lomas to injure himself fatally by bumping his head against a metal strut.
Thompson pleads with Stringer to let him take Lomas' place rather than idle a canoe, and Stringer reluctantly agrees. The canoes are launched, and the men begin paddling toward the mouth of the Gironde. The heavy seas of the tide race swamp one of the canoes; its crew swim to shore and are captured by the Germans.
The leading sergeant has his crewman shot dead at another point on the river; the sergeant takes his revenge by tossing a fast-detonating mine into a patrol boat so that the other three canoes can escape. A third canoe is about to be captured when its crew detonates its fast-detonating mine and blows up all the other mines that they carry. Now two canoes remain, manned by Stringer and Marine Clarke, and Thompson and Marine Ruddock.
They reach Bordeaux and attach twelve limpet mines to the hulls of several ships. Thompson and Ruddock are captured by the Germans and interrogated, and tell them nothing. Eventually Thompson, Ruddock, and the original crew who had gotten swamped in the tide race, are shot by a firing squad.
Stringer and Clarke are rescued by French fishermen and given disguises in which they start to make their way out of France--after having the chance to witness all those mines blowing up and sinking all those cargo ships. Thus Operation Cockleshell is a success, though at the cost of nine lives. As Stringer and Clarke walk up the road from Bordeaux, nine ghosts briefly join them..