Movie review - "Passage Home" (1955) ** (warning: spoilers)

Peter Finch's first movie under a long term contract for Rank is directed with crispness by Roy (later Ward) Baker, has a bright co-star in Diane Cilento (her first lead) and a superb support cast but isn't much. It's the story: Cilento is a woman on board a ship, and that's about it really. The crew don't like the potatoes they have to eat so Geoffrey Keen throws them overboard but doesn't tell and Finch gets a bit paranoid - but it's very much Captain Queeg lite. The men below decks mumble but there's no mutiny, Finch and Anthony Steel both love Cilento but don't fight over her, Finch tries to rape Cilento and Steel stops him but there seem to be no consequences, Finch gets drunk but recovers to rescue the ship during a storm, the potatoes aren't really paid off, Cilento and Steel go on to be married by Cilento seems sad for some reason.

It's like there's no read point to it and the whole thing is drama with one hand behind it's back. There's lots of good stuff: a decent storm sequence, a sexy bit where a drenched Cilento is kissed by Steel, the acting is solid (the support cast includes Hugh Griffith, Bryan Forbes, Michael Craig, Patrick McGoohan, Geoffrey Keen), Cilento is a sexy different sort of female lead to British actors at the time (with that husky voice and exotic looks), Finch is a believable ship captain, even Anthony Steel is fine. But I kept waiting for the Germans to attack or for Finch to kill someone or... anything, really.