Men of the Lightship (1940)

Men of the Lightship is a short propaganda film produced by the Crown Film Unit for the British Ministry of Information in 1940, the year after the beginning of the Second World War. It dramatises the bombing of the East Dudgeon lightship by the Luftwaffe on 29 January 1940 and was designed to portray Germany as a barbaric enemy. An opening narration explains the traditional understanding of lightships (stationary ships used as lighthouses) as neutral vessels during war.

The filmmakers attempted to recreate the original incident as realistically as possible; the crew of the lightship is composed of real lightship men rather than professional actors. The realism of the film was praised in press reviews upon its release, and it was considered one of the best British propaganda films of the period. Men of the Lightship was also distributed in America in 1941, in an edited version produced under the supervision of Alfred Hitchcock.

Synopsis

In 1940, the East Dudgeon lightship's seven-man crew are waiting for the arrival of another crew to relieve them of their duties so they can return home. While they are waiting, a momentary danger is encountered and dealt with: a drifting mine comes perilously close to the ship and the crew call for a minesweeper to destroy it.