The Bedford Incident 1965
7.3 / 10
The Bedford Incident
During a routine patrol, a reporter is given permission to interview a hardened cold-war warrior and captain of the American destroyer USS Bedford. The reporter gets more than he bargained for when the Bedford discovers a Soviet sub and the captain begins a relentless pursuit, pushing his crew to breaking point.
During a routine patrol, a reporter is given permission to interview a hardened cold-war warrior and captain of the American destroyer USS Bedford. The reporter gets more than he bargained for when the Bedford discovers a Soviet sub and the captain begins a relentless pursuit, pushing his crew to breaking point.
Videos & Photos
All 1 Videos & 23 Photos
cast
Full Cast & Crew
... Captain Eric Finlander, U.S.N.
... Ben Munceford
... Ensign Ralston, U.S.N.
... Lieut Cmdr. Chester Potter, M.D., U.S.N.
... Seaman Merlin Queffle
... Commodore Wolfgang Schrepke, Deutsche Marine
User reviews
See All 1 Reviews23 Jun 2021 by John Chard
Yeah, it's a lot of work being a mean bastard. The Bedford Incident is directed by James B. Harris and is adapted by James Poe from the 1963 book by Mark Rascovich. It stars Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier, with Widmark co-producing. The cast also features James McArthur, Martin Balsam, Wally Cox and Eric Portman, as well as early appearances by Donald Sutherland and Ed Bishop. The story is set during the Cold War and focuses on the captain and crew of the USS Bedford as it patrols the North Atlantic waters for Russian submarine activities. Capt. Eric Findlander (Widmark) is a tough authoritarian figure who drives his crew hard and keeps them ever ready for any sort of incidents that may arise. They respond loyally to his ethics, this is a crew where nobody ever goes on sick call such is the hard approach instilled in them by their captain. Two newcomers have boarded the ship by helicopter: Ben Munceford (Poitier), a liberal newspaper journalist, assigned to write a story about the Bedford and its grizzled captain and a ship's doctor, Lieut. Comdr. Chester Potter (Balsam), a reserve officer who has volunteered for active duty. Both men are quickly disliked by Findlander, he sees their being there as intrusive and upsetting the tough equilibrium of his ship. When a Russian sub is spotted unlawfully in Greenland's territorial icy waters, Finlander stalks it ready to take action. But the top brass doesn't want a perilous situation arising between the two nuclear powered ships and orders Finlander to sit tight, something he is unable to comprehend and intends to do things his own way. With his hard driven crew at breaking point, this could turn into a catastrophic incident... Taut, tense and impeccably acted by the cast, The Bedford Incident is a superior psycho-drama that feeds off of the paranoia of the Cold War and cloaks it in military claustrophobia. It offers up the dangers of military aggression fuelled by some sense of patriotic duty, with an intriguing "hunt till we drop" iron fist ethic making for an engrossing narrative thread. The film of course is not alone in the "doomsday" scheme of things, even the previous year had seen the release of Sidney Lumet's Fail-Safe and Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove (a link here coming courtesy of James B. Harris having been Kubrick's producer for almost ten years), but Harris' movie is more than the equal of any other film with the same thematics. The box office returns for the film at the time didn't do it justice, but time has been kind to the movie. For now it can be viewed as a lesson in jangling the nerves, a reference point in how to script polar opposite characters; thriving on dialogue set in amongst murky military zeal and an unstable political environment. Now more than ever the film serves as a cautionary tale. Tho there's some differences from the book, the film follows the novel fairly closely. However, the big change comes with the ending. I don't consider it hyperbole to suggest that the ending to the film is stunning. A fitting closure to the piece and the ultimate release from the stifling grip that the makers had held the viewers in throughout the story. Shot in stark black and white by Gilbert Taylor and with Widmark at the top of his game, The Bedford Incident is a must see for the serious War movie fan. 8/10
Release Date:
Oct 11, 1965 (United Kingdom,United States)
Run Time:
1hr 42`
MMPA Rating:
PG
Original Language:
English
Production Countries:
United Kingdom,United States
Status:
Released
Plot Keywords:
Related Movies To
The Bedford Incident
Yeah, it's a lot of work being a mean bastard. The Bedford Incident is directed by James B. Harris and is adapted by James Poe from the 1963 book by Mark Rascovich. It stars Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier, with Widmark co-producing. The cast also features James McArthur, Martin Balsam, Wally Cox and Eric Portman, as well as early appearances by Donald Sutherland and Ed Bishop. The story is set during the Cold War and focuses on the captain and crew of the USS Bedford as it patrols the North Atlantic waters for Russian submarine activities. Capt. Eric Findlander (Widmark) is a tough authoritarian figure who drives his crew hard and keeps them ever ready for any sort of incidents that may arise. They respond loyally to his ethics, this is a crew where nobody ever goes on sick call such is the hard approach instilled in them by their captain. Two newcomers have boarded the ship by helicopter: Ben Munceford (Poitier), a liberal newspaper journalist, assigned to write a story about the Bedford and its grizzled captain and a ship's doctor, Lieut. Comdr. Chester Potter (Balsam), a reserve officer who has volunteered for active duty. Both men are quickly disliked by Findlander, he sees their being there as intrusive and upsetting the tough equilibrium of his ship. When a Russian sub is spotted unlawfully in Greenland's territorial icy waters, Finlander stalks it ready to take action. But the top brass doesn't want a perilous situation arising between the two nuclear powered ships and orders Finlander to sit tight, something he is unable to comprehend and intends to do things his own way. With his hard driven crew at breaking point, this could turn into a catastrophic incident... Taut, tense and impeccably acted by the cast, The Bedford Incident is a superior psycho-drama that feeds off of the paranoia of the Cold War and cloaks it in military claustrophobia. It offers up the dangers of military aggression fuelled by some sense of patriotic duty, with an intriguing "hunt till we drop" iron fist ethic making for an engrossing narrative thread. The film of course is not alone in the "doomsday" scheme of things, even the previous year had seen the release of Sidney Lumet's Fail-Safe and Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove (a link here coming courtesy of James B. Harris having been Kubrick's producer for almost ten years), but Harris' movie is more than the equal of any other film with the same thematics. The box office returns for the film at the time didn't do it justice, but time has been kind to the movie. For now it can be viewed as a lesson in jangling the nerves, a reference point in how to script polar opposite characters; thriving on dialogue set in amongst murky military zeal and an unstable political environment. Now more than ever the film serves as a cautionary tale. Tho there's some differences from the book, the film follows the novel fairly closely. However, the big change comes with the ending. I don't consider it hyperbole to suggest that the ending to the film is stunning. A fitting closure to the piece and the ultimate release from the stifling grip that the makers had held the viewers in throughout the story. Shot in stark black and white by Gilbert Taylor and with Widmark at the top of his game, The Bedford Incident is a must see for the serious War movie fan. 8/10
Cast & Crew of
The Bedford Incident
Directors & Credit Writers
Cast
... Captain Eric Finlander, U.S.N.
... Ben Munceford
... Ensign Ralston, U.S.N.
... Lieut Cmdr. Chester Potter, M.D., U.S.N.
... Seaman Merlin Queffle
... Commodore Wolfgang Schrepke, Deutsche Marine
... Commander Allison Executive Officer - Bridge
... Lieutenant Bascombe U.S.N. - C.I.C.
... Chief Hospitalman Mckinley - Sick Bay
... Lieutenant Beckman U.S.N. - Communications
PC
Paul Carson... Seaman 1st Class - Communications
... Lieutenant Hacker U.S.N. - Communications
... Seaman Jones - Bridge
PT
Paul Tamarin... Seaman 2nd Class - Bridge
... Seaman 1st Class - Bridge
... Seaman 1st Class - Bridge
... Seaman 1st Class - Bridge
ML
Mike Lennox... Lieutenant Krindlemeyer U.S.N. - Bridge (as Michael Graham)
... Lieutenant Hazelwood U.S.N. - Bridge
... Seaman 2nd Class - Bridge (as Stephen Von Schreiber)
Produced By
Videos & Photos of
The Bedford Incident
Videos ( 1)
Photos ( 23 )
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