The Silent Enemy (1958)
Based on the real life exploits of Lionel "Buster" Crabb, a bomb disposal expert who leads a team of divers who defuse bombs placed on the hulls of British ships off the coast of Gibraltar by Italian frogmen using 'underwater chariots'.
Crabb is someone i was unaware of until watching this film. Laurence Harvey is very good in the role depicting an officer who commands both the respect of his men and also his superiors in Naval High Command.
The underwater scenes are shot brilliantly with the location work on the coast of Gibraltar excellent giving the film a genuinely realistic look.
The Silent Enemy i found really entertaining and also enlightening as it builds up towards an almost Bond like race against time to destroy the Italian frogmen's underwater base before they decimate the incoming British Naval fleet on it's way to North Africa.
As a final thing it's probably the only film that Sid James, brilliant as the divers drill instructor, is cast alongside Italian Gothic horror star Giacomo Rossi-Stuart
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