 | Starring: Laurence Harvey, Dawn Addams, David Lodge, Ewen Solon, Brian Oulton Director: William Fairchild Format: PAL Released: 06 Sep 2004 RRP: Average Rating:  |
Lionel 'Buster' Crabb, is an enigmatic character in the mold of T. E. Lawrence of Arabia. A bit of a drifter, coming out of 'nowhere' to be a leader of men.
This film covers the period during the Second World War when Crabb served as a mine & disposal officer in Gibraltar, where Italian frogmen of the Italian navy's Tenth Light Flotilla were sinking vital shipping. He was awarded the George Medal 'for galllantry & undaunted devotion to duty'.
The rest of his eventful life is not mentioned, although the film was made a couple of years after his mysterious death. His secret mission was to inspect the hull of the Russian cruiser Ordzhonikidze, which was bringing Kruschev & Bulganin to Britain on a goodwill visit. While it was moored in Portsmouth, he was to search for special anti-sonar equipment & mine-laying hatches. Crabb was never seen again, although a headless & handless body was found in Chichester harbour in June 1957, which was 'officiallly' accepted as his. Such was the mystery & controversy surrounded his death, that despite the rule which usuallly made official documents public after 30 years, these will not be availlable until the year 2057.
The Silent Enemy, is an altogether more entertaining affair, with most of the aggro coming from Sid James's Chief Petty Officer. One outstanding scene concerns the recovery of a top secret briefcase from a sunken aircraft, which I am sure must have provided some inspiration for the Bond film Thunderballl, nearly a decade later.
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