The Bedford Incident (1965)

Yeah, it's a lot of work being a mean bastard.

The Bedford Incident is directed by James B. Harris and is adapted by James Poe from the 1963 book by Mark Rascovich. It stars Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier, with Widmark co-producing. The cast also features James McArthur, Martin Balsam, Wally Cox and Eric Portman, as well as early appearances by Donald Sutherland and Ed Bishop.

The story is set during the Cold War and focuses on the captain and crew of the USS Bedford as it patrols the North Atlantic waters for Russian submarine activities. Capt. Eric Findlander (Widmark) is a tough authoritarian figure who drives his crew hard and keeps them ever ready for any sort of incidents that may arise. They respond loyally to his ethics, this is a crew where nobody ever goes on sick call such is the hard approach instilled in them by their captain. Two newcomers have boarded the ship by helicopter: Ben Munceford (Poitier), a liberal newspaper journalist, assigned to write a story about the Bedford and its grizzled captain and a ship's doctor, Lieut. Comdr. Chester Potter (Balsam), a reserve officer who has volunteered for active duty. Both men are quickly disliked by Findlander, he sees their being there as intrusive and upsetting the tough equilibrium of his ship. When a Russian sub is spotted unlawfully in Greenland's territorial icy waters, Finlander stalks it ready to take action. But the top brass doesn't want a perilous situation arising between the two nuclear powered ships and orders Finlander to sit tight, something he is unable to comprehend and intends to do things his own way. With his hard driven crew at breaking point, this could turn into a catastrophic incident...

Taut, tense and impeccably acted by the cast, The Bedford Incident is a superior psycho-drama that feeds off of the paranoia of the Cold War and cloaks it in military claustrophobia. It offers up the dangers of military aggression fuelled by some sense of patriotic duty, with an intriguing "hunt till we drop" iron fist ethic making for an engrossing narrative thread. The film of course is not alone in the "doomsday" scheme of things, even the previous year had seen the release of Sidney Lumet's Fail-Safe and Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove (a link here coming courtesy of James B. Harris having been Kubrick's producer for almost ten years), but Harris' movie is more than the equal of any other film with the same thematics. The box office returns for the film at the time didn't do it justice, but time has been kind to the movie. For now it can be viewed as a lesson in jangling the nerves, a reference point in how to script polar opposite characters; thriving on dialogue set in amongst murky military zeal and an unstable political environment. Now more than ever the film serves as a cautionary tale. Tho there's some differences from the book, the film follows the novel fairly closely. However, the big change comes with the ending. I don't consider it hyperbole to suggest that the ending to the film is stunning. A fitting closure to the piece and the ultimate release from the stifling grip that the makers had held the viewers in throughout the story. Shot in stark black and white by Gilbert Taylor and with Widmark at the top of his game, The Bedford Incident is a must see for the serious War movie fan. 8/10

There is something of the "Enemy Below" (1957) in this tautly directed naval cat and mouse thriller. Richard Widmark ("Finlander") is captain of the USS "Bedford" an American destroyer that is on the tail of a Soviet submarine caught in it's territorial waters. What ensues now is tense and nerve-wracking as the captain must play his dangerous game under the scrutiny of journalist "Munceford" (Sidney Poitier) and an observing German Commodore - and former U-boat commander - (Eric Portman), keeping his ship on maximum readiness as the his crew and his officers start to fray a bit round the edges. Widmark is good in this, less so Poitier - his part is maybe just too restricted by the environment and his dialogue isn't great, but Portman offers a sagely foil and a solid supporting cast including Martin Balsam in one of his best roles, manage to help convey the increasing sense of menace as we soon realise that the simplest of mistakes will cost lives. The location - amongst the ice floes, adds well to the suspense too - and the photography encapsulates that to great effect. Certainly a superior cold war film with the enemy not necessarily below....