Francis here. Two weeks ago we dropped our first World War II episode, “Wolves Among Us” and discussed the Battle of the Atlantic and how critical it was to the overall war. We had a blast researching and discussing the subject and ended up with I think one of our best episodes ever.
Fresh from us recording that episode, I finally got around the actually watching the movie I recommended to everyone at the end of the episode, Tom Hank’s 2020 historical-action-thriller Greyhound. Holy Humunga Chunga, folks! You have got to see this movie! Here’s the trailer:
The sad part about this is that the movie was released right in the heart of the pandemic so almost no one got to see it in theaters. This is a down and dirty shame as it packs more into its tight 90 minutes than almost any movie twice that long. It is based upon a book by the always-amazing C. S. Forester originally entitled “The Good Shepherd” which is now being bumped up in my reading queue.
In brief, it’s the story of the commander of a US Fletcher-Class Destroyer who is leading a convoy of ships across the Atlantic in February of 1942. His tiny escort group – the protecting forces if you will guarding the large number of unarmed merchant ships – is composed of three other similar ships from various Allied nations, all trying desperately to be everywhere at once. As you might suspect, they all become the prey of Nazi U-boats once they enter what was called the “Black Pit”, the enormous area in the middle of the Atlantic where air cover cannot reach them.
Hanks always delivers a riveting performance in any role I’ve ever seen him in and this one is no exception. By keeping things from his perspective, as an all-too-human dogged leader under enormous stress, the power of the movie is made relatable, and the sheer terror of the hunt comes through for the audience to experience.
The best moments of the movie in my opinion are the terrifying ones, and none are more so than the appearances of the U-Boats themselves. Their presences is well-teased through the radar and sonar detections, but to see them rise from the depths like the shark from Jaws, painted with skulls on their conning towers, is a powerful use of cinematography. This is brilliantly brought to life in the faces of the sailors on the Greyhound when the U-Boat commanders begin broadcasting their intentions over the radio: “Greyhound, Greyhound, this is Grey Wolf. We hunt you. You and your friends. We watch your ships sinking into the deep. We hear the screams of your comrades as they die. The Grey Wolf is so very hungry!”
Chills, folks I’m telling you.
Greyhound is available to watch now via several streaming services and will no doubt continue to be for a while now. It’s worth paying the price to see it . . . and after you do, check out our discussion of the history that it is a (fictionalized) part of:
