"(men sing)" "* Einen bessern findst du nicht" "* Die Trommel schlug zum Streite" "* Er ging an meiner Seite" "* In gleichem Schritt und Tritt" "* In gleichem Schritt und Tritt" "* Kann dir die Hand nicht geben" "* Bleib du im ew'gen Leben" "* Mein guter Kamerad" "* Mein guter Kamerad" "(Churchill on radio) And in breach of a pact of non-aggression... (man laughs)" "(man) Whose birthday is it today?" "It's Mummy's birthday." " (child) My birthday!" " (man laughs)" "(man) Happy birthday." "Here." "Well, go on, then." "(child) One, two, three... (man cheers)" " Look at all the smoke!" " (all chatter)" "("Take the A Train" by Duke Ellington)" "(ship's horn)" "(ship's horn)" "(men speak Italian)" " You have missed the boat, madam." " No." "I've just seen the boat." " But you have missed it, madam." " That's ridiculous." " Regulations." " Sir, please." "We were just shutting up shop, I'm afraid." "In fact, we have shut up shop." "I only want some sugar and tea." "I hope you have your ration book and Co-op number, in triplicate." "Come on." " Boy or a girl?" " Girl." " Passport, madam." " It's in the suitcase somewhere." "Feel free to open it." " Is she good?" " I'm very lucky." "She wakes up in the morning with a smile on her face and it stays there all day." "Despite everything." "Yes, despite everything." "I've got two girls at home." "Bit older than..." " ella." " Lovely name." "Well, you are now free to board the Laconia." "Bound for Liverpool." " Mrs...?" " Smith." "Hilda Smith." " And you are?" " Thomas Mortimer." "Junior Third Officer Mortimer." "(Mortimer) Not a bad day for it." "Penny for them, Captain?" "Penny is too much." "(Captain) What have we done to deserve this?" "1 800 bloody Italians locked in the hold." "AII those Polish Iumberjacks looking after them." "They won't want bread and jam." "Not only that." "We know the reason they're here." "Ballast." "For the journey back." "I've said it before and I'II say it again." "This ship was created for the rich, the idle, pink gins and sunsets over Sorrento." "And so was I." "Oh, well." "I suppose it's better than a dinghy from Doha in the dead of night." " Do you think they'II have staff?" " Oh, Mother, it could be so much worse." "Those poor boys." "(guards shout)" " Look." "There's one." " One what?" "A boxer." "Tough bastards, the Poles." "Hey!" "There's another one." "I can always tell a boxer, you know." "Just by the way they walk, hold themselves,... and hit people." "Hey." "Hey, hey." "Here comes the cream." "You might consider your late father's views on foreigners, Sarah." "She'II look back, Billy." "Bet she will." "Told you." " How long have you known the Captain?" " Trained together." "He was my best man, I was his." "My answer to your next question is yes." "He's a worrier, a botherer, always has been." "If he was religious, he'd never be off his knees." " But is he lucky?" " Oh, no." "Good God, no." "I take it you know what happened to our last ship?" "Best say your prayers." "(ship's horn)" "(music)" "(men cheer)" "(Admiral Donitz)" "Meine Herren." "Restez la, jolie." "Restez la." "(men cheer)" "(man)" "(Hartenstein)" "(man)" "(man)" "(Hartenstein)" "(man) Kein Moos ansetzen hier." "Das geht mir viel zu langsam!" "Jetzt mal, die Frischlinge, angetreten!" "(Rostau)" " (ship's horn)" " Practice round!" " Load!" " Load" " 1,500 yards!" " (horn)" "T arget!" "Coutts." "Captain Benjamin Coutts at your service." "Thomas Mortimer." "Junior Third Officer." " So what do you think?" " Honestly?" "I've seen worse-protected ships but mainly in books on military history." "Basically, your guns are rather similar to my father." "A relic of the Great War." " Sir, it's..." " Back on duty, Townes, now," "No, I've got a toothache, sir." "It's my wisdom tooth." " Unlikely, Townes, in your case." " I've got a dicky..." "No, you haven't." "You haven't." "Back on the guns, now." "(Hilda) * Rock-a-bye baby, on the treetop" "* When the wind blows, the cradle will rock" "* When the bough breaks" "* The cradle will fall" "* Down will come baby, cradle and all" "Dear God, the stories we tell our children." "I have to say, I've told mine those stories too." "And do you know what?" "They laughed." "We come in peace, bearing sweets." "Just please don't ask me to hold her." "She's five months old." "(Coutts) I Iove children." "Especially when Kodak are involved and they come in black and white and four by three and sealed in an envelope." " You have a beautiful voice." " (woman) She certainly has." "Laura Ferguson, by the way." "Hilda Smith." "We have a problem, sir." "I think you need to come." "(distant shouting)" "(Laura) There the enemy go again, Mortimer." "Right, then, Hilda Smith, what shall we do?" "Now, tell me, do you play cards at all?" "Gin rummy?" "Canasta?" "Oh, poker?" "Snap." "Snap?" "(men shouting)" "(clattering)" "Here." " Can you help me?" " I can't hear you." "(man in Italian)" "(clamour dies down)" "(man in Italian)" "Hi." "I'm Vincenzo Di Giovanni." "As you can tell, it is the great fear of the men that we are here, held captive, beneath the waterline, by these brutal bastards." "Many of our own men work beneath the waterline too." "No one here can really be called safe." "Ah, well done, Mortimer." "Peace in our time, eh?" "please, we vomit and wash in buckets of sea water." "We have less privacy than a pig in a pen." "(men shout)" "I'm sure something can be arranged." "Soap, water." "Fresh air, too, on a short but daily basis, alright?" " Thank you." " I'II report your complaints." "Hey, do you know Billy Hardacre, the boxer, Lieutenant?" "Yes, I do." "Everybody on board knows Billy Hardacre." "He was my hero." "I saw him fight, and I'm a boxer too." " (laughs) - (Mortimer) Oh, really?" "(guard in Polish)" " (men laugh)" " Well, I'II send Hardacre down." "And you can talk about boxing brutality, that stuff, if it makes you happy." "(Steel) What are they complaining about?" "(Mortimer) Nothing much." "Their food is shit, the Poles are bastards and the pens are disgusting, dangerous and overcrowded." " (Steel) Fair enough." " You fight?" "I box." "I fight." "(Rostau)" "(laughter and chatter)" "(Weber)" "(Hartenstein)" "(Rostau) Ja." "(Hartenstein)" "(men shouting)" "(Billy) I wouldn't!" "I just fuckin' wouldn't!" "(men cheer)" "(all chant)" "(blows trumpet)" "(man)" "(all chant)" "(blows trumpet)" " (all cheer) - (trumpet)" "(retches)" "The only question is, do you trust me?" "That's the only question you have to ask." " I trusted you straight away." " So?" "Most men I know would prefer dancing or drinking." "I often do." "You should see my slow waltz after several gin and tonics." "Look, I'm off duty and it's as simple as that." "I have four hours to do exactly as I want to do within reason and this is what I want to do." "It reminds me." "She reminds me." "I think you could be the kind of man that needs no reminding." "The moment she cries." "Promise me?" " And thank you." " Right." "I have three children at home, Mortimer, if you ever fancy a holiday in the Scottish Highlands." "(both women laugh)" "You alright?" "The concept of love at first sight, no." "No, that will not happen to me." "Oh, snap." "The very idea that I'd walk into a room and there he'd be." "Snap again." "Oh, but it was." "It was as if..." "As if you'd known him all your life." "Snap." "That's exactly how I feel about ella's father." " Oh, he must be wonderful." " He was." "He was a wonderful man." "Brave to the point of foolishness." "I'm so sorry, Hilda." "I thought..." "I was hoping..." " (coughs) - (Laura) What's happened to him?" " Seasick, madam." " Seasick my Highland arse!" " This young man has been beaten." " (Billy) Not by me he hasn't." "I don't care if he's the bastard son of Mussolini!" "We do not behave in such a manner." "We leave that to the Germans!" "(Billy) Now, wait." "Before you carry on kickin' off on me, why d'you think I'm in the merchant navy and not ducking bullets?" "Hmm?" "It's because I won't fight any more." "Hmm." "And that is the problem." " (Vincenzo splutters)" " Isn't it?" "Right." "(upbeat piano music)" "May I have the pleasure of this dance?" "Oh, dear God, Mother." "The merry widow." "May I have the pleasure of this dance, miss?" "No." "Thank you." " Do you mind, Sarah?" " No." "Oh, Captain Coutts." " It's embarrassing." " Your poor mother." " (Sarah) Had a good day?" " (Laura) Yes, lovely." "You?" "(Hilda) May I?" "(music stops / applause)" " Shh." " (baby cries)" "Where's that little girl who wakes up with a smile on her face?" "Shh." " Have a bit of this." " (baby cries)" "OK." "alright, alright, alright." " Shh." "Shh." " (baby stops crying)" " Dear me." "Here comes Captain Coutts." " Has he threatened to dance with you?" "He's threatened to dance with everyone." "Now, be prepared, Hilda Smith." "The very next dance is mine." "Just think of it as your part of the war effort." "And what part of England would you be from, Mrs Smith?" "Your accent perplexes me." "I have gypsy blood, I suppose." "always been a bit of a wanderer." "Never nailed your colours to the mast?" "But you must be from somewhere." "We're all from somewhere." "I know where I'm from." "And you'd be very surprised." "Do you know Oxfordshire by any chance?" "Yes, I do, as a matter of fact." "Very well." " (baby cries)" " A mother's touch, I'm afraid." " Thank you, Mortimer." " (Mortimer) That's alright." "(Hilda) Thank you so much." " I'II take her back to the cabin." " Are you alright?" "I will be." "A mother's touch indeed." "Do you know, I never heard my baby cry." " Your baby never cried?" " Oh, I cried." "For attention, mainly." "I was never there to hear you, darling." "Oh, the joy and bliss of nannies!" "That's all." "(man) Herr Kapitan!" "Practice round!" " Load!" " Load." "For God's sake!" "Is there nothing that can be done about that damned smoke?" "Poor-quality fuel, sir." "Boiler's in desperate need of an overhaul." " It's just a fact of this..." " The war, I know." "The bloody war." "I'm going to start smoking again before this thing's over, I can tell you that." "(piano plays "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean")" "(captain) AII together now." "One, two, three." "* My bonnie lies over the sea" "* My bonnie lies over the ocean" "* So bring back my bonnie to me" "* Last night as I lay on my pillow" "* Last night as I lay on my bed" "* Last night as I lay on my pillow" "* I dreamed that my bonnie was dead" "* Bring back, bring back" " * Oh, bring back my bonnie..." " No riff-raff, Sarah." "(Hartenstein)" "(Hartenstein)" "(Mannesmann) Achten, ob er auswandert!" "(Mannesmann) Und schickt mir Rostau auf die Brucke!" "* Bring back, bring back" "* Oh, bring back my bonnie to me" "You do know that you missed out a whole chorus and a verse, don't you?" " (mother) Father doesn't mean it." " I will never understand the English." "(piano plays "Home on the Range")" "(out of tune) * Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam" "* Where the deer and the antelope play" "Er, just had an order from the Captain, Hilda." "He, er, he requires someone on stage who can hold a tune." "You..." "You mean me?" "bloody good idea!" "Mrs Smith is going to sing." "Oh, no, I couldn't." "I just couldn't." "Not in public." "But you have..." "You know you have a beautiful voice." "Oh, come on, Hilda, entertain the troops." "I would if I could." "Sing We'll Meet Again." "You'II bring the house down." "I don't know all the words to that song." "Every man, woman and child knows those words." "(Coutts) Tell you what." "I'II hold the baby." "It's not a Iong song, is it?" "(Rostau)" "(Rostau)" "* And the skies are not cloudy all day" "(polite applause)" "(piano plays "We'll Meet Again")" "* We'll meet again" " * Don't know where, don't know when - (audience joins in)" "* But I know we'll meet again some sunny day" "* Keep smiling through" "* Just like you always do" "(singing continues faintly)" " My mother would kill me." " Oh, come on, Sarah." "(singing continues faintly)" "I've always hated that song." "Ja." " (Vincenzo hums along) - (guard sings Polish version)" "* Keep smiling through" "* Just like you always do" "* Till the blue skies drive those dark clouds far away" " (knock on door) - (singing continues)" "Sir." "(sighs)" "No." " Do you want me to?" " No." "Get him." "I'II talk to him." "* Some sunny day" "(all cheer)" "(knock on door)" " Come." " (door opens)" "This was sent a few moments ago." "It isn't good news, is it, sir?" "No." "You might wish to sit down." "AII of them, sir?" "What kind of a world is it when German bombers can come blindly in the night and murder innocent families?" "When bullets and blood are the only currency?" "Not the kind of world I wish to live in." "If you want, you can, er..." "Erm, well, sit here." "Why don't you just stay here?" "Tell nobody, sir." "Just, er..." "Nobody is to know, sir." "(Townes) Fire!" " Load!" " Load." " (Townes) 1,500 yards!" " 1,500 yards." " (Townes) Target!" " Target." "Fire!" "(explosion)" "(Rostau)" " Done your rounds?" " Tinned ham and tongue tonight, sir." "Baby potatoes." " The crew menu?" " Meat pie, sir." "Meat pie?" "Hmm." "Oh, come on, James!" "Don't keep me waiting." "There's a war on!" "Jetzt gibt's ein Geballer." "(Hartenstein / Mannesmann)" "Funf, vier, drei, zwei, eins." "(Mortimer) Munich, June 1 942?" "A holiday snapshot perhaps?" "Who has holidays in Germany these days, Hilda?" "Only Germans." "(Hilda) Mortimer." "(explosion)" "(Rostau)" " Go on, now!" " (people scream)" "T ake the child to the lifeboat, alright?" "Stay here." "Keep calm, everyone." "Steadily make your way out." "Follow me." "Keep calm, everyone." " Sir!" " I've ordered "abandon ship"" "and "man the lifeboats" which naturally there are not enough of." "Mortimer!" "You know what to do." "Jettison the confidential mail and the codes, but first find out what distress signals have been transmitted." "I know, your path may be somewhat blocked, but just do the best you can." "(sighs)" "(man shouting)" "What are you doing?" "Up the stairs!" "(all laugh)" "(all shout)" "(gunshots)" "(gunshots)" "Before you start, this isn't our fault." "The mainmast's fallen and the wireless transmitter is in bits on the deck." "We had no chance of sending an SOS." "What about an emergency set?" "We're flashing SSS signals to say we've been hit and warning of submarines." " We are doing our best, you know." " I know you are." "Mortimer." "When it's time to go, tell the bridge we'd Iike to go too." "Poor bastard." "(screaming and shouting)" "(Polish guard shouts)" " (Mortimer) That way!" " Charlotte!" " (Mortimer) That way!" " Charlotte!" "Go up!" "Head for starboard!" "You stand a better chance!" "Stay on starboard!" "Starboard is that way!" " Have you seen my children?" " I'm afraid not." " They're blond, six and..." " I'm afraid I haven't seen them." "(Charlotte) And then you'II proceed to your mustard station." "And crew members will be at hands to... to assist." "Don't panic!" "Don't panic!" "(explosion)" "(mother) Charlotte!" "Anthony!" "(crashing)" "Charlotte!" " (mother) What are you doing?" " They'II be in a lifeboat." " You know they're here!" " No, I don't." "(explosion)" "Put me down!" "That is so unlucky." "(people scream)" "(explosion)" "There you go, sir." "Shall we chuck it in?" "(explosion)" "We're fucked, aren't we?" "We've had it." "The ship's fucked, but we're not." "Come on." " The confidential mail?" " AII gone." "Over the side." " The men in the radio room, sir." " They're scared." "Of course they are." " Shall I go down, sir?" " No, you shan't." " Shall I man the guns, sir?" " Right, you." "Stop being a bloody hero." "You're making me ill." "You're a young man still." "And whatever's happened, there will be life after death one day." "Do you understand?" "Do you understand?" "Good." "Fine." "Sir." "SSS Laconia." "(Mannesmann)" "(man) Keep the Italians out of the boats!" "Billy, help me!" "(Billy) Leave him alone!" "He's one of ours!" "In fact, leave them all alone!" "(man screams)" "Kids!" "Kids!" "This is it!" "The moment you've both been waiting for!" "OK!" "On the count of three!" "A-one." " (ship creaks)" " A-two." "A-three!" "Stand back, stand back!" "Just follow me." "(explosion)" "(baby cries)" " Thank you, Mortimer." " The baby is why." "Shh." "(Hilda) Shh." "Shh." "It's alright, don't worry." "Everything will be fine." "(Hilda) EIIa!" "ella!" "(Mortimer) EIIa!" "ella!" "(Hilda) EIIa!" "(Hilda) EIIa!" "ella!" "ella!" "(Billy) Over here!" "This way, kid, this way." "Come on!" "Keep your eyes on the boat, come on." "That's it." "Keep your eyes on the boat." "Come on." "That's it." "I've got them." "Come on." "Come on." "It'II be that bloody black smoke." "The bastards couldn't miss it." " I told you, didn't I?" " Many times." "And I said I'd start smoking again before this voyage was over." "I knew it." "Don't forget to cup your hand around the cigarette." "Don't want the enemy to see the glow." "Have you got enough there?" "Oh, I think so, somehow." "Anyone who thinks that war is somehow a good thing should be stood here tonight, George." "And what's more, I'II believe that to my dying day." "I don't know." "This war, fighting the Third Reich, Hitler, the Nazis, it's a good war, it's a good thing." "It has to be." "But only if we win it." " (ship creaks)" " Uh-oh." "Oh, dear God." "Here we go." "(ship creaks)" "(crashing)" "Jawohl!" "Hey!" "Ein halbes!" "No ella?" "No." "No ella." "(Laura) Oh!" "You will have to be brave for me now." "Brave." "Yes." "(Laura) I need you to go to Scotland to find my husband, tell him what's happened here, to me." "(Hilda) I'II borrow your bravery." "You might have to be even braver if you do what I want you to do." "If you..." "I need you to... (Hilda) Of course I'II find him." "He will know about your courage and your love." "Castle Scourie." "Northwest Highlands." "Three boys." "Nine, six,... nearly five." "Zacharias." "Wendell." "Upjohn." "Family names." "My husband's family names." "Go on." "Call me sentimental." "(groans)" "(Billy) Over here!" "This way, come on." "That's it, straight to me, come on." "Come on." "Got ya." " There's room for two inside, you know." " No." "Only one." "(Billy) Sure?" "Gut." "(woman) Help me!" "(woman) please!" "(man shouts in the distance)" "(people shout in the distance)" "(man) What's that?" "(women and children scream)" "Oh, fuck a duck." "Hey, girl, who do you think you are?" "The Last of the Mohicans?" "(Hartenstein) Do you have your captain or any senior officers on board?" "(Billy) He spoke that in English!" "Did you hear that?" "No officers." "But ladies." "English ladies." "(knock on door)" "I want nothing from you." "You've already given us far, far too much." "(Hartenstein) Such bravery is highly commendable, madam, but totally stupid." "We are 644 nautical miles from the coast of West Africa." "Yes?" "Vincenzo Di Giovanni, sir." "There were 1 800 of us Italian." "But there won't be any more." "And for that you can thank the Polish and some of the British too." "They had guns and they had oars and they beat us and..." "I think I get the point, young man." "Really I do." "This is very kind of you, Captain." "If you were English, you'd be a gentleman." "Germany has gentlemen too, madam." "Not recently, sir." "(Hartenstein)" "(Drexler)" "(faint singing)" "(Mortimer) * My bonnie lies over the sea" "* My bonnie lies over the ocean" "* So bring back my bonnie..." "Hey!" "31 biscuits, seven bars of chocolate, a Iot of Horlicks tablets and... that's about it." "No heater." "No first-aid kit." "No oil lamp." "No compass and no axe." "Look, it's not my fault, baby face." "I mean, I was just a wine waiter." "Er, I don't suppose we've got any flares, have we?" "No, we fuckin' well haven't!" "Why don't you look for the water casks?" "And I told you, don't be looking at me as if it's my fault, pal!" "I am no pal of yours, pal." "Fucking...!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "How are you, sir?" "Welcome aboard." "(Billy) I can't believe it either." "No swastikas, no Heil Hitlers, no torture, no propaganda." "And what's more..." "There's fucking brandy in this coffee." "It is popular with both men and women in Germany." "(Elizabeth) Thank you very much." "I don't suppose, erm..." "No, no, silly of me." "Cold cream, you're thinking of?" "Good Lord." "I've never met a man yet who takes care of his skin." "We have to." "Under the sea it is always, erm..." "Sweaty?" "If there is anything else you might want?" "When the, erm, our ship sank," "I'm afraid I became separated from my daughter." "If you see her when you search the sea..." "She's 1 8." "Very pretty." "It runs in the family." "Your clothing will be returned as soon as it is dry." "And the clothing of your children too." "These are not my children." "Er, well, er, you and the children..." "My child was a baby." "She was seven months old." "You killed her." "Well,... regrettably..." "This is war." "We..." "We can offer you some eau de Cologne." "I picked up 1 93 men, women and children, four degrees, 42 minutes south," "1 1 degrees, 26 minutes west." "German submarine." "If any ship will assist the shipwrecked Laconia crew,..." "..I will not attack her." "I will not attack her." "(Rostau)" "(Hartenstein)" "(Hartenstein)" "(Rostau)" "(Hartenstein)" "(Rostau)" "(Hartenstein)" "(Rostau)" "(man) What?" "Do the Americans know?" "Send a car." "(Drexler)" "Hey!" "What is the German for "truth"?" "Or "deception" or "betrayal"?" " This has the aroma of a trap." " But what if it isn't a trap, sir?" "Ah, there you have it, young man." "There you have it." "cleared for take-off tomorrow." "0700 hours." "Are you certain we shouldn't tell them about the German submarine?" "No, good God, no." "(Hartenstein)" " Goddamn submarine!" " What action should they take?" " Fire at them!" " Fuckin' fire!" "(yells)"