"Battle of the River Plate in 4K" Topic

I was clicking around YouTube yesterday and I found a superb 4K copy of this 1956 film. It even has Dr Who and sci-fi connections!

YouTube link

Of interest are the ships they used for the movie.

HMS Achilles (by then transferred to the new Indian Navy) played herself.

HMS Cumberland was also available and played herself but note that all of her 8-inch guns are missing. By this date she was a trials ship for new cruiser guns. Just aft a twin 3-inch automatic mounting intended for the Tiger/Blake cruisers can be seen.

HMS Ajax was portrayed by HMS Sheffield.
HMS Exeter was actually HMS Jamaica. Both fought together in the Battle of the Barents Sea.

USS Salem was the Graf Spee which explains why she has a USN style bow number. More details below:

link

Faces to look out for are:
The Montevideo bar owner is young Christopher Lee in one of his first film roles – he spoke fluent Spanish. He was later in Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and was one of the best screen Draculas.

A Uruguayan naval officer in the final scene is Roger Delgado, later the first TV incarnation of Dr Who's 'The Master'. Despite his Spanish appearance he was actually born within the sound of Bow Bells in London and was thus the only true 'Cockney' in the Dr Who cast. He was very proud of that.

The padre/chaplain on HMS Exeter is John Le Mesurier (later the very diffident Sgt Wilson in Dad's Army).

The young lookout who first spots the Graf Spee is actor Donald Moffat. Moffat was British by birth but spent most of his later life in the USA. In the sci-fi horror classic 'The Thing' he is the commander of the Antarctic research station:
"I wondered when El Capitan would get a chance to use his pop gun".
He was 'El Capitan'.

Enjoy!

Barry

If you wanted someone to portray a Spanish or Arab villain, then Roger Delgado was your man.
A bit of trivia…I also spotted him in a brief non speaking appearance on a railway platform in one of the old St Trinian's films. Playing, surprise, an official from an Arab country.

@forrester:
In a TV series about Sir Francis Drake, Delgado played the Spanish ambassador to the court of Queen Elizabeth. This was, in turn, then referenced in a later Dr Who episode with him being called 'the Spanish ambassador'!

see: link

Delgado is also the reason why Jon Pertwee later gave up his Dr Who role. Delgado was killed in a car crash in Turkey. Pertwee said he did not want to continue in the part and resigned.

see: link

A lot of people do not know that Pertwee was in the Royal Navy and should have been killed on HMS Hood when she blew up. About 20 crew were left behind at Scapa when she sailed to meet the Bismarck and Pertwee was one of them. Hood survivor 'Cocky' Dundas shared a cabin with Pertwee on Hood and later appeared on Pertwee's "This Is Your Life" episode.

see: link

Barry

The ridiculous thing is now they would make them use an actor of the race to be portrayed. So much for acting range.

The Simpsons kicked off the white actor who played the Indian Apu. But keep the old lady Nancy Cartwright who plays the young boy Bart Simpson. Go figure.

There's a lot of talk on the Dr Who tallons of Weng Chiang (which I'm sure I have not got right and am too lazy to look up now) about a white man playing a Chinese man.

I find its good to have an eccentric type character of another race played by another race, as it adds a lot to it that the "proper" actor may not convey, especially with bad guys. They become more exotic and strange, even to people of the race they portray, I'd assume.

There were plenty of asian actors in that who story, so everyone wins.

Breakfast at Tiffany's another. I didn't blink an eye, until watching the special features. But I love Andy Hardy, so am certainly not complaining.

Sometimes people grumble about made up languages in films, instead of the real language. I feel it puts everyone in the audience in the same boat, whether they know the real language or not.

What do you know, I got it right!

Misspelt talons though.

I do wonder if there are people who feel the same way about animals. They often have humans in costume to play gorillas, for example.

Back to humans, I'd think there are often actors playing other races (well nationalities, at least) that are, conveniently not rained with Fury. For example, a Japanese actor playing a Chinese person. Much like a Scottish avtor playing an Irish person.

I did read that most asian people couldn't identify where a particular adian face comes from (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, so on). I'd assume it's the same for white people. You can make assumptions but never really know.

That 4K version is quite superb. It must be better than the projected original in the cinema! I have a DVD, but not remotely this sharp. Thanks for that find.

@deadhead:
You are most welcome!

Barry