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HIGHLY recommended: "The Bedford Incident"

J

jayrath

Fleet Captain
Fleet Captain
On a whim, I just watched a DVD from the library, "The Bedford Incident." It's about a U.S. destroyer chasing a U.S.S.R. sub. It was released in 1965 and stars Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier. It very clearly was the inspiration for some of the earliest TOS episodes, and even the earliest TOS publicity photos (that big glass map with concentric circles we never saw in episodes turns out to be a real U.S. Navy plotting board). Martin Balsam plays the McCoy part -- the roles are almost interchangeable.

It is a powerful and disturbing film. Aside from any TOS connection -- and there are many -- I highly recommend it.
 
I'm glad somebody else saw the similarities, CORBOMITE borrows a lot from it, and was intended to borrow more (having the higher ranking guy on along iwth the captain.) It is a helluva good movie.
 
This is actually one of my very favorite movies, and I heartily recommend it to anyone on that basis, though I have to take issue with it being similar to Trek. Martin Balsam's character is a whiny, ultimately cowardly doctor quite unlike McCoy who doesn't get along with or offer any good advice to the captain at all; he's totalyl out of touch with the Navy and its mission. This is fascinating in itself but I don't see what this how to do with McCoy. The amazing ending of the film is completely out of character with anything we saw in Trek and certainly is nothing like the Corbomite Maneuver; there are no characters in the film that are easily equatable to Trek characters. The motivations, temperatements, and goals of the main characters in both stories are diametrically opposite.

So I agree, watch the movie, but not because it has anything to do with Trek. just because it's one of the best Cold War films- which in itself shuold be enough anyway.
 
It does have some similarities in terms of the tension generated, especially to Balance of Terror, but that's something I think you could say about most submarine movies, even soemthing modern like U-571.
 
Jerry Sohl has said repeatedly in interviews that GR wanted to have a higher ranking guy on the ship to be watching Kirk, which is pretty much exactly the situation with the German exnazi NATO guy on board BEDFORD with Widmark's Capt Finlander.

And the James MacArthur character in BEDFORD pretty much IS Anthony Call's BAILEY in CORBOMITE.

So yeah, there are very clear similarities in the notion and the execution of CORBOMITE, and I have no doubt whatsoever that GR watched BEDFORD and that it influenced him.
 
Captain_Koloth said:
It does have some similarities in terms of the tension generated, especially to Balance of Terror, but that's something I think you could say about most submarine movies, even soemthing modern like U-571.
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Most navy movies in general could be transposed fairly easily to Trek.
This movie feels like Trek (in form, though not in message) because the Starfleet depicted in TOS was based on an amalgam of the USN and the Napoleonic navies.
 
trevanian said:
Jerry Sohl has said repeatedly in interviews that GR wanted to have a higher ranking guy on the ship to be watching Kirk, which is pretty much exactly the situation with the German exnazi NATO guy on board BEDFORD with Widmark's Capt Finlander.
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Sorry, but there's no indication in the movie that the former U-boat commander is an ex-Nazi; IIRC he objects when another officer refers to "Hitler's navy." And he's not Finlander's superior officer, they make it pretty clear that he is aboard only as an observer, because Finlander likes to pick his brain about submarines. He clearly has misgivings about Finlander's course of action, but can't do anything about it.

Good point about MacArthur's ensign and Mr. Bailey, I never put that together before.

I also give The Bedford Incident a high recommendation, I haven't seen it in a few years, though, so I just put it at the top of the queue.

--Justin
 
I agree on the awesomness that is The Bedford Incident.

Hella brave film -- stunning ending.

As far as naval films porting to Trek -- I dare anyone to watch "Enemy Below" and not wonder why there was no "story by" credit to the writer for the episode "Balance of Terror."


Tony
 
J.T.B. said:
trevanian said:
Jerry Sohl has said repeatedly in interviews that GR wanted to have a higher ranking guy on the ship to be watching Kirk, which is pretty much exactly the situation with the German exnazi NATO guy on board BEDFORD with Widmark's Capt Finlander.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but there's no indication in the movie that the former U-boat commander is an ex-Nazi; IIRC he objects when another officer refers to "Hitler's navy." And he's not Finlander's superior officer, they make it pretty clear that he is aboard only as an observer, because Finlander likes to pick his brain about submarines. He clearly has misgivings about Finlander's course of action, but can't do anything about it.

Good point about MacArthur's ensign and Mr. Bailey, I never put that together before.

I also give The Bedford Incident a high recommendation, I haven't seen it in a few years, though, so I just put it at the top of the queue.

--Justin
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He stated he was a former U-Boat commander in the war (WWII); so yes he was indeed a Nazi; but I do agree he was just an observer/advisor, and not Finlander's superior. Hell, had he been the Bedford would have backed off the the 'incident' as portrayed in the film would not have happened in the manner it did.
 
Noname Given said:
J.T.B. said:
trevanian said:
Jerry Sohl has said repeatedly in interviews that GR wanted to have a higher ranking guy on the ship to be watching Kirk, which is pretty much exactly the situation with the German exnazi NATO guy on board BEDFORD with Widmark's Capt Finlander.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but there's no indication in the movie that the former U-boat commander is an ex-Nazi; IIRC he objects when another officer refers to "Hitler's navy." And he's not Finlander's superior officer, they make it pretty clear that he is aboard only as an observer, because Finlander likes to pick his brain about submarines. He clearly has misgivings about Finlander's course of action, but can't do anything about it.

Good point about MacArthur's ensign and Mr. Bailey, I never put that together before.

I also give The Bedford Incident a high recommendation, I haven't seen it in a few years, though, so I just put it at the top of the queue.

--Justin
Click to expand...

He stated he was a former U-Boat commander in the war (WWII); so yes he was indeed a Nazi; but I do agree he was just an observer/advisor, and not Finlander's superior. Hell, had he been the Bedford would have backed off the the 'incident' as portrayed in the film would not have happened in the manner it did.
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Apologies all around; I think I was remembering detail from the novel, in which the Uboat commodore -- who is not anywhere near as appealing as the character in the film -- actually shoots the bomb and sets the thing off.
The book is written in a very awkward style; the movie improves on just about all points. Wish James Harris had directed more good movies (I don't count stuff like his COP as even borderline watchable.)
 
A beaker full of death said:
Of course he's an ex-nazi. He couldn't have been a u-boat commander and not be in the nazi party. It is implied he didn't care for Hitler or, perhaps, nazism.
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That is incorrect. Not every U-boat skipper was a Nazi party member, in fact, the Wehrmacht officially prohibited NSDAP membership until 1943 or 1944, though many members served anyway. The first CinC of the Kriegsmarine, Raeder, was not enthusiastic about the Nazi government and had a strained relationship with Hitler, and the navy remained the least politicized of the armed forces. Otto Kretschmer, probably a model for the officer in the film, was never a party member, and was widely respected by his colleagues when he served with NATO after the war.

In general, German naval officers cared little for Hitler. See http://books.google.com/books?id=e8...5V4Hnra&sig=NctbhMU5rMWjnfGkwZh7gBa33tc&hl=en
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Indeed, which is why party membership was so low in the Kriegsmarine.

--Justin
 
Based on the OP's recommendation, checked out The Bedford Incident. A good film but IMHO it is more akin to Fail-Safe and Crimson Tide than anything else.

If you really want submarine movies that tie much more explicitly to Trek, check out The Enemy Below and Run Silent, Run Deep (directed by Robert Wise, no less!).

Agree with AJBRyant, "Balance of Terror" is almost a beat for beat copy of Enemy. Both are great!
 
I've always used the end of the Bedford Incident as an example of just how dangerous an overbearing boss can be. Though it's never resulted in anything nuclear, I've made many a careless mistake in my work when the boss is hanging over me harassing me to get a project done faster.
 
Forbin said:
Though it's never resulted in anything nuclear, I've made many a careless mistake in my work ...
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I am really pleased to hear that! Then again, so have I.
Now, what to do about those poor fellows that could potentially nuke something? (From what I hear that ia a pretty current issue in the US right now.)
 
HaplessCrewman said:
Agree with AJBRyant, "Balance of Terror" is almost a beat for beat copy of Enemy. Both are great!
Click to expand...

And if only the Romulans had a good drinking song sung to the tune of Der Alte Dessauer (which is one of my favorite marches -- dumb trumpet solo notwithstanding)...


Tony
 
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