ma-cortes Lloyd Bridges and Andrew Keir play WWII commando leaders who lead a group of soldiers on a suicide mission to destroy a Nazi naval stronghold on the French coast by means of a dead ship turned into a live bomb . As the valiant soldiers sailed it down the throat of the enemy . They carry out their risked assignment while keeping their activities hidden from outsiders and German airplanes . At the end , they arrive in the enemy port commanded by Nazi officers : Van Horst (Walter Gotell) and Captain Strasser (George Mikell) . The Germans had a number of reinforced submarine pens, but the target of the actual attack was the dry dock facilities . It was called ¨The St Nazaire Raid¨ or ¨Operation Chariot¨ that commenced on March 28th, 1942 , it was a successful British amphibious attack on the heavily defended Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire in German-occupied France during the Second World War.World War II war film loosely based on the Operation Chariot , an attack on the Iron coast in St Nazaire . It's a fictionalized recounting of the known mission on St Nazaire , here called LeClair (Ste-Nazaire) with a sustained and predictable story , although partially based on true deeds . Acceptable acting from Lloyd Bridges and Andrew Keir as two commanders who take on a strong battle of wits . The film progresses with Commander Major Jamie Wilson/Lloyd Bridges -takeoff on Lord Mountbatten- training the crews of the ships , even though the crew lacks faith in his command abilities . He must overcome tensions with his antagonist Captain Franklin/Andrew Keir . This and the 1952 film "Gift Horse" are based on the same World War Two raid carried out by British forces on the locks of the French port of St Nazaire in 1942 . The highlights of the movie are the violent as well as exciting fights of the crews who successfully fend off an final attack at St. Nazaire or LeClair . And thrilling scenes at the final when the ship penetrates the highly armored stronghold , nets in the port , and explosives blow up under the dry dock . It includes stock WWII , especially when show up some planes , the clips of the diversionary air raid were taken from the film The Dam Busters (1955) . Atmospheric cinematography by Paul Beeson , Walt Disney's usual cameraman, though an alright remastering is necessary . Being filmed on location , shooting was filmed in Gaddesden Place, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire,Millwall Dock, Millwall, London, England, UK (French port of St. Nazaire) and St Katharine Docks, London, England, UK . Good and enjoyable musical score by Gerard Schurmann , though parts of Ron Goodwin's score from Squadron 633 (1964) were used without credit. The film was produced by Oakmont production , a company exclusively dedicated to warfare films (Submarine X1 , Hell boats , Mosquito Squadron , Thousand plane raid , Last escape) . The motion picture was professionally realized by Paul Wendkos who displays enough spectacular images to keep things interesting . Apparently, director worked on the film's original screen story with writer/producer John C. Champion but is uncredited for such . Wendkos whose works remain undervalued in USA directed various TV series and some films as ¨Guns of the Magnificent Seven¨ , ¨Cannon for Cordoba¨, ¨Gidget¨, ¨The Flight¨, ¨The legend of Lizzie Borden¨ and ¨Hell boats¨The film is based on real facts , these were the followings : The operation was undertaken by the Royal Navy and British Commandos under the auspices of Combined Operations Headquarters on 28 March 1942. The extra ships were along to transport all those who took part back to England after the operation. All of the 18 addition ships were sank during the attack. Other ships did accompany the attack but remained outside the area of the attack. In the actual operation the obsolete destroyer HMS Campbeltown was the lead ship in the attack. She was accompanied by 18 other smaller craft. St Nazaire was targeted because the loss of its dry dock would force any large German warship in need of repairs, such as the Tirpitz, to return to home waters via either the English Channel or the GIUK gap, both of which were heavily defended by British units including the Royal Navy's Home Fleet, rather than having a haven available on the Atlantic coast. The obsolete destroyer HMS Campbeltown, accompanied by 18 smaller craft, crossed the English Channel to the Atlantic coast of France and was rammed into the Normandie dock gates. The ship had been packed with delayed-action explosives, well hidden within a steel and concrete case, that detonated later that day, putting the dock out of service for the remainder of the war and up to five years after. A force of commandos landed to destroy machinery and other structures. Heavy German gunfire sank, set ablaze or immobilised virtually all the small craft intended to transport the commandos back to England ; the commandos had to fight their way out through the town to try to escape overland. Almost all were forced to surrender when their ammunition was expended and they were surrounded . After the raid 228 men of the force of 611 returned to Britain; 169 were killed and 215 became prisoners of war. German casualties were over 360 dead, some killed after the raid when Campbeltown exploded. To recognise their bravery, 89 decorations were awarded to members of the raiding party, including five Victoria Crosses. After the war, St Nazaire was one of 38 battle honours awarded to the Commandos; the operation has since become known as The Greatest Raid of All within military circles. The men who took part in this attack received more awards for bravery then any other operation of it's length then any other operation before or since.

MartinHafer The film is about a bizarre plan to take a nearly obsolete old naval ship filled with explosives and crash it into a Nazi port--thus crippling the German's ability to use it for their ships. It all sounds very straight forward--and that's EXACTLY what it is. It's a very, very simple plot that is stretched and stretched (often by adding macho theatrics) to the point of boredom. In the end, there are no big surprises. However, I was glad to see the major characters all die in the finale--that way I know they never went on to make a sequel!! The 1960s had a bunch of fine war films--"The Guns of Navarone", "Where Eagles Dare", "The Dirty Dozen", "The Longest Day"--the list could go on and on...but it NEVER will include the likes of "Attack on the Iron Coast"! Despite the presence of Lloyd Bridges, this is a very cheap film--with lots of recycled film footage and a plot that just limps along to the conclusion. I only recommend it for die-hard war film fans--REAL die-hard fans, indeed! Things to look for: Lloyd Bridges playing a Canadian--yet, inexplicably, his wife and son have British accents! Also, if you want, spot the footage from previous films.

SgtSlaughter Paul Wendkos is an average director at best, but has the ability to turn a potentially terrible movie into a satisfying action flick. "Attack on the Iron Coast" is yet another low-budget entry in a series from Oakmont Production, and although it presents nothing new, but holds attention so well that the clichés are easy to overlook.John C. Champion's script is a fictional takeoff on a real WWII event, much like his earlier and much worse "Submarine X-1". This time, the story is based on Mountbatten's raid on the dry dock at St. Nazaire, in which a ship laden with explosives crashed into the repair dock and destroyed important German repair facilities.Lloyd Bridges ("A Walk in the Sun") plays Major Wilson (a takeoff on Lord Mountbatten), who's first commando mission in France turns into a shambles. But he is given a second chance when he plans an even riskier operation to destroy the German repair dock at LeClair (Ste-Nazaire). The only problem is that Captain Franklin (Andrew Keir, "Lion of the Desert") is opposed to the mission from the start, and the two must cooperate as the mission is a joint Army-Navy operation.This film is really a mixed bag. What's good is really, really good and what's bad is really, really bad. Lloyd Bridges gives a sincere performance as Major Wilson, but his character isn't developed as much as I would have liked. We're treated two a two-dimensional hero who doesn't have any weaknesses; he brings to mind John Wayne's Colonel Kirby of "The Green Berets". His conflict with Franklin is the core of the movie and provides enough tension that the German enemies aren't needed until the final act.The German characters are disappointing. We're treated to some very shallow characterizations which bring to mind the worst excesses of "Hogan's Heroes". The officers sit and watch dirty movies and become sated on fine wine and liquor while their subordinates bring in urgent reports of an approaching enemy ship. This is very unfortunate, because both George Mikell and Walter Gotell are very capable German actors who have had very good roles in the past - chiefly, "The Guns of Navarone", where they acted together in 1961. This really let me down. It would have been wiser to exclude German characters altogether and dwell on the commandos some more.The action sequences are withheld until the final 20 minutes or so of the film and range from well-crafted to laughable. Scenes of British commandos dashing about in alleyways and dockyards are excellently staged and well-shot, even if they're very generic. The scenes of British minesweeper in the bay, however, feature some of the worst miniature work of the period. It's obvious that this feature had a low budget, because they aren't many extras or realistic explosions in the entire film.Wendkos manages to keep things interesting by moving his camera fluidly and often shooting from high or low angles, giving the audience a unique perspective on the dialogue or action. The sets are all-top notch and the exteriors are very well-decorated. The German dockyard is expansive and really has a fresh, authentic feel to it and the various British war offices are equally believable."Attack on the Iron Coast" is nothing more than a routine, satisfying 90-minute film. There is nothing fresh and unique about it, but some fair acting and fast pace keep it engaging.

dorrdon I just wanted to point out, that this movie is indeed based on an actual event, the raid on St. Nazaire. The former flush decked WWI Destroyer "Campbeltown" was converted to look like a german "E-Boat" and was loaded with explosives, and rammed into the "Normandie" dry dock. The operation was code named "Operation Chariot", and commenced on March 28th, 1942.