The Silver Fleet
Encyclopedia
The Silver Fleet was written and directed by British
filmmakers Vernon Sewell
and Gordon Wellesley
and produced by Powell & Pressburger
under the banner of The Archers.
, the Nazis
have overrun the Netherlands
and have taken over the shipyard co-owned and run by Jaap van Leyden (Ralph Richardson
). The yard was making submarines for the Dutch Navy
. The German 'Protector' Von Schiffer (Esmond Knight
) demands that they resume making submarines, but for the Nazis. By lowering food rations to starvation point, they induce some of the skilled workers to return to the yard.
This leads to many problems for van Leyden and his wife (Googie Withers
) when everyone sees them as collaborators. But van Leyden works out a way to appear to do what the Nazis want but to keep his conscience clear as well. He undertakes a covert campaign of sabotage
of his own work, leaving notes and graffiti signed under his nom de guerre Piet Hein (a reference to the Dutch naval hero Piet Hein
, whose victory over a Spanish "Silver Fleet" gives the film its title).
One submarine is taken over by the Dutch crew and sailed to England, which leads to greater security. Finally, van Leyden sabotages a submarine with many Nazi officials on board and including himself.
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
filmmakers Vernon Sewell
Vernon Sewell
Vernon Campbell Sewell was a British film director, screenwriter, producer writer and, briefly, an actor. Sewell was born in London, England in 1903. He was educated at Marlborough College. He directed over 30 films during his career, starting with Morgenrot in 1933...
and Gordon Wellesley
Gordon Wellesley
Gordon Wellesley was an Australian-born screenwriter and writer. Born in Sydney, New South Wales in 1894 he wrote over thirty screenplays and television scripts in Britain often collaborating with the director Carol Reed. He was married to the scriptwriter Katherine Strueby...
and produced by Powell & Pressburger
Powell and Pressburger
The British film-making partnership of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, also known as The Archers, made a series of influential films in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1981 they were recognized for their contributions to British cinema with the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, the most prestigious...
under the banner of The Archers.
Plot
In the early years of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Nazis
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
have overrun the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and have taken over the shipyard co-owned and run by Jaap van Leyden (Ralph Richardson
Ralph Richardson
Sir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
). The yard was making submarines for the Dutch Navy
Royal Netherlands Navy
The Koninklijke Marine is the navy of the Netherlands. In the mid-17th century the Dutch Navy was the most powerful navy in the world and it played an active role in the wars of the Dutch Republic and later those of the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
. The German 'Protector' Von Schiffer (Esmond Knight
Esmond Knight
Esmond Penington Knight was an English actor.He was an accomplished actor with a career spanning over half a century. For much of his career Esmond Knight was virtually blind...
) demands that they resume making submarines, but for the Nazis. By lowering food rations to starvation point, they induce some of the skilled workers to return to the yard.
This leads to many problems for van Leyden and his wife (Googie Withers
Googie Withers
Georgette Lizette "Googie" Withers CBE, AO was an English theatre, film and television actress. She was a longtime resident of Australia with her husband, the actor John McCallum, with whom she often appeared.-Biography:...
) when everyone sees them as collaborators. But van Leyden works out a way to appear to do what the Nazis want but to keep his conscience clear as well. He undertakes a covert campaign of sabotage
Sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
of his own work, leaving notes and graffiti signed under his nom de guerre Piet Hein (a reference to the Dutch naval hero Piet Hein
Piet Pieterszoon Hein
Pieter Pietersen Heyn was a Dutch naval officer and folk hero during the Eighty Years' War between the United Provinces and Spain.-Early life:...
, whose victory over a Spanish "Silver Fleet" gives the film its title).
One submarine is taken over by the Dutch crew and sailed to England, which leads to greater security. Finally, van Leyden sabotages a submarine with many Nazi officials on board and including himself.