THE BEDFORD INCIDENT

This obscure 1965 Cold War thriller was a real discovery.

It’s the first film to be directed by James B Harris who at that time was best known for coproducing some early Kubrick films.  But not Dr Strangelove, which apparently Harris felt shouldn’t be a black comedy, so this film is his attempt to cover the same ground but in serious fashion.

In fact he goes to the other extreme and gives this story a documentary feel in which there’s very little by way of conventional drama, just an insidious sense of a rising tension.

That documentary feel is established right from the start when we see Sydney Poitier and Martin Balsam being lowered from a helicopter onto the deck of the USS Bedford.  It’s a real helicopter and a real ship so never mind that stunt doubles are used,

Poitier plays a journalist whilst Balsam is the ship’s doctor.  Neither is made to feel especially welcome by Captain Finlander (Richard Widmark).  In the case of Poitier though it thankfully has nothing to do with the colour of his skin.  He adds some welcome charisma in à film which might otherwise have been a bit drab given there is a lack of dramatic fireworks. 

The job of the Bedford  is to keep an eye on Soviets subs.  Finlander is an intense and able commander who demands a lot of himself and his highly dedicated crew. Unfortunately he is somewhat frustrated by Cold War inactivity, which ultimately leads to tragedy. He is someone who should have been born some twenty years earlier because he would have loved to have seen  wartime action.  

Widmark gives an outstanding performance because in the wrong hands Finlander might have come across as a one dimensional and unsympathetic character.

When he spots à sub that has strayed out of international waters he obsessively tracks it with a view to making life as difficult as possible for his opposite number.  

Both Poitier and Balsam are impotent observers who slowly become more and more alarmed at the captain’s behaviour.  What risks is he taking in pushing the Soviet sub into a corner, and is he pushing his men too hard?

This is a film which really needs to deliver in the final scenes and it certainly does this.  The final few minutes are extremely tense and they lead to an unforgettable ending.