North Sea

In the Scottish seaport town of Aberdeen a number of fishermen is saying goodbye to their wives or girlfriends, and boards an old coal-fired trawler. On the high sea the ship is caught in a thunderstorm. The load of coal starts shifting and the boat lists so much that the pumps get stuck. While a radio-message is sent out to the shore the antenna breaks. At ungodly hours the ship is helplessly bobbing up and down the sea. The crew manages to fix the antenna and to pass on their position. NORTH SEA was made under the authority of the British Postal Services which took care of radio communication with ships. Director Harry Watt based the script of the film on reports from the radio-service and shipping companies. Using the same dramaturgic outline as his master Grierson in DRIFTERS he managed to realize an exciting docudrama. Watt recruited his lay actors at the Aberdeen job centre. He succeeded in putting them at ease and having them do convincing performances. NORTH SEA was one of the few British documentaries from the thirties that was also popular with a big cinema audience.