Review of The Silent Enemy

Lieutenant Commander Lionel "Buster" Crabb G.M.,O.B.E.,R.N.V.R.was a true eccentric,a man of indomitable courage,a naval officer in the fine tradition that service has for tolerating individuality and independence of thought amongst its members.After a dazzling wartime career he stayed in uniform for some years taking part in peacetime operations all over the world.Because of the mystery surrounding his disappearance the latter part of his naval service has become shrouded in controversy,but it is known that in 1956,at the age of 46 with years of hard drinking catching up with him,he was engaged on a "deniable" operation by the Home Office(read M.I.5.) to inspect the hull of the Russian cruiser "Ordzhonikidze" in Portsmouth Harbour where it was moored up during a "Goodwill" visit by Messrs Kruschev and Bulganin. He had already successfully done a similar job on it's sister - ship "Sverdlov" and there was no reason to suppose the second task would be any more difficult than the first,but he never returned from the dive. Almost immediately rumours began to fly and a cover - up plan was put into action,the police removing the appropriate page from the guest book in the Portsmouth hotel where he spent his last night. Conspiracies and counter - conspiracies were hinted at for forty years and "Buster" Crabb was not forgotten.Eventually a retired Soviet Naval Intelligence officer living in the Middle East was permitted to give what is now generally accepted to be the true version of Commander Crabb's fate.Apparently he was spotted swimming between the two Russian warships by an alert crew member,a marksman was called up from below deck and shot him in the head with a rifle,killing him instantly. Fortunately the body sank and an awkward diplomatic incident was avoided So sensitive is this issue even today that the Cabinet papers referring to it were recently re - classified as not due for release until 2057. "The silent enemy" was made 2 years after his disappearance and makes no effort to airbrush out his unconventionality,even going so far as giving Mr Laurence Harvey a silver - topped cane identical to the real one "Crabbie" carried everywhere. Ariving at Gibraltar as a bomb - disposal expert,Crabb had no previous underwater experience,but,diving at first in plimsoles and trunks,was soon removing mines sewn on British ships by a brave team of Italian frogmen based in nearby Algeciras in nominally neutral Spain. He and his team become engaged in a war within a war so to speak,eventually going mano a mano underwater against their silent enemy in an operation to recover a suitcase of military secrets from a crashed aircraft in the harbour.Crabb was awarded the George Medal for his part in this success.The movie ends here,rather abruptly,as his assistant CPO Thorne passes the news on to him.Mr Harvey acknowledges his men's salutes,"You all deserve the ruddy medal" he says steadily before marching off.Probably to tell the Admiral precisely that. Mr Harvey plays Crabb as the best kind of naval officer.He doesn't patronise his men,nor does he try to curry their favour.He doesn't call them by their first names or look at photographs of their wives and kiddies,he just leads them.He won't require them to do anything that he is not capable of doing himself at least as well,preferably better. Mr Sid James is very good in the role of CPO Thorne the sort of man who is the backbone of the navy ;respected by both the Wardroom and the Lower Deck,a man of humour and compassion who knows King's Regulations back to front and knows how to apply them justly.On the cusp of his transition to "Carry On" buffoonery this was one of his last gos at proper acting,it's a great pity he rarely went back to it. "The Silent Enemy" is a sincere and well - made tribute to a brave and resolute man who survived the hot war in the warm blue Mediterranean only to die in the Cold War in the chilled black oily waters of Portsmouth Harbour.50 years on I doubt whether anyone involved in the decision to send him on that last operation is still alive.Doubtless Crabbie has been giving them a piece of his mind at the soonest opportunity.