1956 - THE BATTLE OF THE RIVER PLATE aka The Pursuit of the Graf Spee.

Powell and Pressburger towards the end of their run as a production team known as, The Archers.  The Battle of the River Plate may not be as good as their 1940's masterpieces but it is still a very good war film

During the beginning of World War II the German battle ship, "Admiral Graf Spee" is sinking British merchant ships in the southern hemisphere.  The British Navy sends out a task force to stop the Graf Spee and the film consists of a large scale battle followed by some clever intelligence tricks on the part of the British that eventually stops the run of Graf Spee.

The film as always has a strong focus on characterization particularly adding some depth and complexity to the German captain of the Graf Spee,  Captain Hans Langsdorff a rather sympathetic character.

Powell and Pressburger had real battleships to play with while filming.  Obviously models were used in the actual battles but the battle scenes are exciting.

The film is in many ways in the great tradition of "stiff upper lip" British War films.  But Powell and Pressburger are smart enough to tweak the troupes.

As with every film by The Archers, Powell and Pressburger share screenplay and directing credits.  The film runs 119 minutes.