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terrible... so disappointed.

Boring

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

"The Cockleshell Heroes" is a film based on a real mission during World War II called Operation Frankton. The movie takes its name from the two-man collapsible canoes used in the operation. They were the Mark 2 Cockle canoes. Major Herbert "Blondie" Hasler was the commanding officer of the operation. He was a technical adviser to this movie, but disliked the title, which also was used for a book the next year. Hasler was unhappy with the film and walked away as technical adviser.I haven't read the 1956 book by Brigadier C.E. Lucas Phillips, but have read other references for the history of the operation. The movie does follow the actual operation closely. But one can't tell how many of the smaller details in the movie are accurate or fictitious. For instance, the test that the commander puts the men through to see how wily they are in being able to evade capture and in getting to a target. And the backgrounds of the commander and his second in command. And, the names of all the characters are fictitious.José Ferrer directs the film and stars as the commander, Major Stringer. His character is based on "Blondie" Hasler. Trevor Howard's character is Captain Thompson, based on Captain J.D. Stewart. In the movie, Thompson goes on the mission in place of a marine who is injured by a depth charge explosion that rocks their submarine. The real Captain Stewart did not go on the mission.The mission was carried out by a Royal Marines unit known as the Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment. It was part of a special department of the British War Office called Combined Operations. CO's purpose was to harass the Germans with raids and special missions. The RMBPD was set up on July 6, 1942, based at Southsea near Portsmouth. The unit trained at an abandoned fort location on Portsea Island off the Portsmouth Harbor. The movie has Stringer as a reserve officer whose idea the operation was, and who selected his men from volunteers. That's mostly fiction. Hasler was an active marine officer and the men used for the operation were assigned to the RMBPD before the plan was ever hatched.The port at Bordeaux, France, had been a major supply point for import goods to support the German war effort. From June 1941 to 1942, 25,000 tons of crude rubber had arrived through the port, and vegetable oils and other raw materials were brought into Europe for Germany. On September 21, Hasler submitted a plan for Operation Frankton. Using three canoes, he hoped to be able to sink six to 12 cargo ships tied up or anchored at Bordeaux, and then escape overland. The raid was approved on Oct. 13, 1942, but Admiral Lord Mountbatten who increased the number of canoes to six. Each would carry eight limpet mines to attach to ships.The operation took place from Dec. 7 to 12, 1942. One canoe was damaged getting it off the submarine and those two marines stayed on the sub. The remaining five canoes headed for shore. One capsized and the two men died of hypothermia. Another was separated from the rest and the two men were found ashore later and surrendered. Two more canoe teams were caught. Only two canoes made it to the port and attached their mines. Hasler and his teammate, Marine Bill Sparks, set their eight limpet mines on four cargo ships and a patrol boat. The other team set its eight mines on two ships. One ship was badly damaged in the explosions, and five others had holes blown in them. But those five were soon repaired and back in service.Hasler and Sparks were the only two to return of those who went on the mission. With the help of the French resistance, they escaped to Spain and made it to Gibraltar. The two other teams were betrayed by French gendarmes and turned over to the Germans. Along with the two men who had surrendered earlier, they were shot.The Nazis had issued two Commando Orders. The first in July 1942 ordered that all Allied parachutists captured were to be turned over to the Gestapo. The second was issued by Adolph Hitler himself in October 1942. It ordered Germans to kill any commandos or small groups of saboteurs encountered. In the case of the British units who were in uniform, those orders were in direct violation of the laws of war. Uniformed forces were to be treated as POWs. At the Nuremberg trials after the end of the war, German officers who carried out those orders from their high command were found guilty of war crimes.This is a very good movie about a real event that took place during World War II.

A romanticized and entertaining account of a very daring raid. These piratical exploits seem to suit something in the British psyche.Colonel 'Blondie' Haslar, the leader of the raid, became a well-known sailor after WW2. I was told that after discovering he had incurable cancer, he set sail alone for the Antarctic fully intending to die doing what he loved best. He was never seen again. Perhaps a reader could confirm this.You can read the report online in the Navy News of the December 9, 2002, of the death of Bill Sparks, the last survivor of the raid. There is a walking trail in France named after him, which follows the escape route he took through that country to neutral Spain.

The movie was based on a real mission, called Operation Frankton. It was a successful Commando raid, despite the loss of life. The number of casualties in the film is accurate to those in real life. The training regime is somewhat questionable, and some elements would of only been added to make the movie more fun. However, a lot of training has been cut from the movie, as it simply would not be enjoyable to watch at all. All in all the film is fun to watch, you'll learn something about WW2 and although no film cannot capture just exactly what those men went through, it's a brilliant tribute to those who did not make it back.

Reportedly based upon a true story, but much of what is seen in this British motion picture production is simply difficult to believe.The plan and objective are understandable and seem worthy of movie treatment, although in real life one would question the idea of planning a long multi-night canoe trip in the Winter season. Without fire and shelter, the elements would likely be a greater danger than German guns.In any case, the mission itself is contained only within the last third of the film. What comes across as outlandish is in the first 2/3's of the movie in which the "heroes" unknowingly play games with live bombs and also they are put in German uniforms and dropped 380 miles away in Northern England and are told they may break English law and do whatever but must return to their army camp in Southern England within 48 hours to pass the test -- all in the name of a training exercise!It is difficult to believe that such dangerous and reckless training tests occurred in real life. It is difficult to believe that such radical training tests could be authorized by an officer with only the rank of a Major. It is difficult to believe that this training really took place for many reasons.