Purely Joyful Movie!

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

I avoided "Attack on the Iron Coast" when it was released, given the "B" cast, poor reviews and little promotion by United Artists. Having watched it, I discover a movie with superb performances by Lloyd Bridges and Andrew Keir (in fact, the entire cast)and better production values than "A" list war movies such as "In Harms Way," "Tobruk" and "Operation Crossbow".This is the only movie Paul Wendkos directed that has impressed me. Using oblique camera angles and careful pacing, he manages to get the most out of his meager budget. Likewise, the producers managed a much more expensive looking movie, along the lines of "The Dirty Dozen," with many more sets to dress. The photography here is equally as good as "In Harm's Way". Too bad the script isn't better,with a rather trite subplot to explain Keir's conflict with Bridges. Keir's arguments against the raid did not require them. What I did like about the script is that what appeared to be obstacles Keir used to "sabotage" the raid actually contributed to its success.I must disagree with another reviewer regarding the ship miniatures. They look realistic on my computer screen. However, I have seen other movies ("In Harms Way," "633 Squadron," "The Guns of Navarone") where the miniatures and flats looked perfectly fine on the big screen but not on TV. In fact, in both "War of the Worlds" (1953) and "Thunderball" (1965), the wires holding up the models can be clearly seen on television, but not the big screen and both of these films were nominated for Oscars ("War of the Worlds" winning).I don't want to spoil your enjoyment of this film by overpraising it. So, please go into it with an open mind and judge it by 1968 technical standards. I believe you won't be disappointed.

Just wanted to add further to the comment about this movie being based on Operation Chariot. The purpose of the raid was to disable the only dry dock on the French coast that was large enough for the German battleship Tirpitz, sister ship to the Bismark. During this stage of the war, this was a very important consideration as the Tirpitz could of created a great deal of havoc if it where to get into the North Atlantic and attack the vital convoys that where keeping England in the war. The actual raid was a success. The dry dock and associated equipment was damaged so thoroughly that it no longer was a viable option for the Germans to risk their last battleship in the North Atlantic. It was also a very costly mission. A bombing raid that was supposed to provide a diversion actually had the opposite effect and alerted the Germans. The losses incurred where described as appalling, with most of the commandos killed, wounded or captured. To reflect the importance of this raid, 5 Victoria crosses and 68 additional awards where handed out to the some of the 600 particpants. Only the battle of Rorkes drift saw more Victoria crosses awarded for a single action.

I just wanted to point out, that this movie is indeed based on an actual event, the raid on St. Nazaire. The former flush decked WWI Destroyer "Campbeltown" was converted to look like a german "E-Boat" and was loaded with explosives, and rammed into the "Normandie" dry dock. The operation was code named "Operation Chariot", and commenced on March 28th, 1942.

You could probably have more fun, and learn more, from just 'imagining' what an attack on the coast of occupied France would have been like, rather than putting yourself through this perfunctory movie. And call me pessimistic, but Lloyd Bridges, with his slick enthusiasm and even slicker hair, did not make for a believable wartime Major. That said, the reasons why the operation was approved, and also the revelation that at least six of his men were killed in his stringent training program was thought-provoking.