The Bedford Incident (film)
The Bedford Incident is a Cold War film from 1965 starring Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier, and co-produced by Richard Widmark. The cast also features Martin Balsam and Eric Portman, as well as an early appearance by Donald Sutherland. The film was based on the 1963 book by Mark Rascovich, which was patterned after Herman Melville's Moby Dick.
The screenplay was written by James Poe. It was directed by James B. Harris, who up to that point was best known as Stanley Kubrick's producer. Harris had recently split from a nine-year partnership with Kubrick. Just after the split, Kubrick would make Dr. Strangelove (1963), which raises similar issues to The Bedford Incident.
Tagline
The cold war just got hotter.
As earth-shattering, and unexpected, as catching lightning in a bottle!
High adventure on the high seas, from the company that gave you "The Caine Mutiny"!
It's not an incident, it's the works!
A relentless pursuit to
the breaking point.
Plot
The
American destroyer USS Bedford detects a Soviet submarine in the GIUK gap near
the Greenland coast. Though they are not at war, Captain Eric Finlander (Widmark)
harries his prey mercilessly, while civilian reporter Ben Munceford (Poitier)
and NATO naval advisor, Commodore (and ex-World War II U-boat captain) Wolfgang
Schrepke (Portman), look on with mounting alarm. The film also features James
MacArthur as Ensign Ralston, a inexperienced young officer who is constantly being
criticized by his captain for small errors.
Munceford is on board in order to write an article of life on a navy destroyer, but his real interest is Captain Finlander who was recently passed over for promotion to admiral. Munceford is curious as to why. He is treated with mounting hostility by the captain because he is seen as a civilian putting his nose where it does not belong and because he disagrees with Finlander's decision to continue with an unnecessary and dangerous confrontation.
The crew becomes increasingly fatigued by the unrelenting pursuit. Sonar operator Merlin Queffle (Wally Cox) starts hallucinating and has to be relieved. Finally, Ralston mishears a casual conversation ("If he fires one, I'll fire one") and launches an ASROC ("Fire one, aye!") that sinks the quarry, but not before it detects the attack and launches four torpedoes at the destroyer. Finlander initially continues his fight by deploying countermeasures and attempting to evade the Soviet counterattack. Realization dawns, for everyone except Munceford, that the approaching torpedoes will be nuclear. Finlander surrenders to the inevitable, leaves his post, and displays regret in his last few seconds of life. The movie ends with still shots of various crewmen "melting" as if the celluloid film were burning as the Bedford and her crew are vaporized. The last image of the film is an iconic, towering mushroom cloud from the detonation.
Cast
Richard Widmark - Captain Eric Finlander U.S.N.
Sidney Poitier - Ben Munceford
James MacArthur - Ensign Ralston (as James
Macarthur)
Martin Balsam - Lieut. Cmdr. Chester Potter, M.D., U.S.N.
Wally Cox - Seaman Merlin Queffle
Eric Portman - Commodore Wolfgang Schrepke
Deutsche Marine
Michael Kane - Commander Allison Executive Officer - Bridge
Colin Maitland - Seaman Jones - Bridge
Paul Tamarin - Seaman 2nd Class
- Bridge
Frank Lieberman - Seaman 1st Class - Bridge
James Caffrey -
Seaman 1st Class - Bridge
Burnell Tucker - Seaman 1st Class - Bridge
Michael Graham - Lieutenant Krindlemeyer U.S.N. - Bridge
Bill Edwards - Lieutenant
Hazelwood U.S.N. - Bridge
Stephen von Schreiber - Seaman 2nd Class - Bridge
(as Stephen Von Schreiber)
Ronald Rubin - Seaman 1st Class - Bridge
Eugene Leonard - Seaman 2nd Class - Bridge
Gary Cockrell - Lieutenant Bascombe
U.S.N. - C.I.C.
Roy Stephens - Seaman 2nd Class - C.I.C.
George Roubicek
- Lieutenant Berger U.S.N. - C.I.C.
John McCarthy - Seaman 1st Class - C.I.C.
Shane Rimmer - Seaman 1st Class - C.I.C.
Glenn Beck
- Seaman 2nd Class - C.I.C. (as Glen Beck)
Brian Davies - Lieutenant Beckman
U.S.N. - Communications
Ed Bishop - Lieutenant Hacker U.S.N. - Communications
(as Edward Bishop)
Paul Carson - Seaman 1st Class - Communications
Laurence
Herder - Petty Officer - Communications
Phil Brown - Chief Hospitalman Mckinley
- Sick Bay
Donald Sutherland - Hospitalman Nerney - Sick
Bay
Warren Stanhope - Hospitalman Strauss - Sick Bay
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