(Basil Dearden, 1955, 90 mins)
Release date: 24 June 2025
Limited Edition Blu-ray (US premiere)
Richard Attenborough (10 Rillington Place), George Baker (The Dam Busters), and Bill Owen (The Rainbow Jacket) head an all-star cast in The Ship That Died of Shame, a dark and powerful British drama directed by one of Ealing Studios’ leading lights, Basil Dearden (Saraband for Dead Lovers).
At the end of WWII, three crew members of His Majesty’s gun boat 1087 – Bill (Baker), George (Attenborough), and Birdie (Owen) – are brought together again through circumstance and start a business, refitting their trusty wartime ship to make regular Channel crossings. Before long, however, Bill learns that the ruthless George has been getting them involved in more and more depraved activities and is repulsed. But it’s the 1087 who refuses to accept her part in the gang’s amoral ventures...
Based on a short story by Nicholas Monsarrat (The Cruel Sea), and featuring appearances by such greats as Virginia McKenna (A Town Like Alice) and Bernard Lee (Out of the Clouds), this unsentimental tale of courage, conflict, camaraderie, and conscience combines scenes of hard-hitting drama with elements of the fantastical to extraordinary, devastating effect.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES
- 4K restoration
- Two presentations of the film: in its original 1.37:1 shooting ratio; and matted to 1.66:1
- Original mono audio
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Coming to Terms (2025): director and screenwriter James Dearden introduces his father’s work
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The BEHP interview with Richard Attenborough (2001): archival video recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring the much-loved actor and director in conversation with Sydney Samuelson
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An Uneasy Alliance (2023): author and film historian Neil Sinyard delves into the world of Ealing Studios, and explores the themes and reception of The Ship that Died of Shame
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Now You’re Talking (1940): short film produced by Ealing Studios for the ‘Careless Talk Costs Lives’ campaign, co-written by Basil Dearden
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Limited edition exclusive booklet with new essay by Robert Murphy, a comic-strip adaptation of the film, archival production reports on the making of the film, an overview of contemporary critical responses, new writing by Fiona Kelly on Now You’re Talking, and full film credits
- US premiere on Blu-ray
- Limited edition of 5,000 individually numbered units (3,000 4K UHDs and 2,000 Blu-rays) for the US
All features subject to change
