The Powell & Pressburger Pages Dedicated to the work of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and all the other people, both actors and technicians who helped them make those wonderful films. A lot of the documents have been sent to me or have come from other web sites. The name of the web site is given where known. If I have unintentionally included an image or document that is copyrighted or that I shouldn't have done then please email me and I'll remove it. I make no money from this site, it's purely for the love of the films. [Any comments are by me (Steve Crook) and other members of the email list]

TV Guide review

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The Battle of the River Plate (1956)
aka Pursuit of the Graf Spee

The penultimate Powell-Pressburger collaboration, The Pursuit of the Graf Spee (as it is known to US audiences) is a workmanlike filmization of an actual WW II naval battle between Great Britain and Germany. Much feared by the Allies in the waters of the south Atlantic is the swift German raider the Admiral Graf Spee, the pride of the German naval forces, captained by the intelligent and humanistic Capt. Hans Langsdorff (Peter Finch). Having sunk a number of Allied ships, the Graf Spee is discovered near the eastern shore of the River Plate between Argentina and Uruguay. Although vastly outpowered, three British vessels -- the Ajax, the Exeter, and the Achilles -- pursue the raider into the neutral Uruguayan port of Montevideo, where, through trickery and diplomatic bluffing, British intelligence convinces Lansdorff that he is about to be attacked by a huge naval force. The film is adroitly directed by Powell and Pressburger, though the concentration is on the vessels, rather than the men aboard them.