Gift Horse

Gift Horse (1952)

Compton Bennett's war drama The Gift Horse follows the fortunes of ageing destroyer The Ballantrae and her crew from the time they come together in 1940 until the climactic raid on occupied St Nazaire in 1942. Trevor Howard plays Lt Cmdr Hugh Alginon Fraser, the newly appointed captain, back in service after having left the navy following a court martial.

Date of release
1952-06-01
TMDB
6.6 / 10 (23)
Runtime
1h 35m
Genres
Adventure, War, Drama
Director
Compton Bennett

Casting

Interesting facts

Gift Horse is a 1952 British black-and-white World War II drama film. It was produced by George Pitcher, directed by Compton Bennett, and stars Trevor Howard, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, and Sonny Tufts.

Production

The movie was meant to star Robert Stack but when he arrived in the UK he was refused a work permit and was replaced by James Donald. Part of the finance came from two rubber merchants, Colonels Weil and Prior.

The film was backed by James Lawrie and John Woolf. They formed a new company, Molton Films, to take the film over from Jay Lewis Productions as Jay Lewis refused to allow director Compton Bennett to work unhindered while filming.

The real-life ship used in the film was HMS Leamington. Built in 1919 as the USS Twiggs, a Wickes-class destroyer, she was one of the last post-war survivors of the 50 elderly four-funnelled destroyers provided in 1940 by the US as part of the "Destroyers for Bases Agreement": (also known as "The Fifty Ships that Saved the World"). She served on convoy duties, including as an escort for the ill-fated Convoy PQ 17.

The film was shot at Isleworth Studios in London with sets designed by the art director Edward Carrick.

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