The Bedford Incident

THE BEDFORD INCIDENT (PG)
D: James B. Harris
Columbia/Bedford (James B. Harris)
UK/USA 🇬🇧 🇺🇸 1965
102 mins

War/Drama/Thriller

W: James Poe [based on the novel by Mark Rascovich]
DP: Gilbert Taylor
Ed: John Jympson
Mus: Gerard Schurmann

Richard Widmark (Capt. Eric Finlander), Sidney Poitier (Ben Munceford), Martin Balsam (Lt. Cmdr. Chester Potter), James MacArthur (Ensign Ralston), Eric Portman (Commodore Wolfgang Schrepke)

Though produced in Britain, the political tension of this Cold War drama would have been magnified on the other side of the pond.
Set on-board a Naval destroyer, a belligerent and ruthless captain gives chase to a soviet submarine and considers using nuclear arms, much against the recommendations of his advisors.
The two central performances of Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier are excellent and all the production values are incredibly well done considering the age of the movie. 
The film has shades of Dr. Strangelove, though without the satirical humour. Crimson Tide and The Hunt For Red October also touched on very similar themes.
7/10

Sidney Poitier & Richard Widmark in The Bedford Incident
Sidney Poitier & Richard Widmark in The Bedford Incident
Did You Know:
At the time of filming, though Sidney Poitier had been acting in films for approximately 15 years, this was the first film he made in which his race was neither mentioned nor relevant to the plot.