When the frigate HMS Amethyst set off up the Yangtse river to resupply the British embassy in Nanking nobody on board thought they would end up national heroes after the People's Liberation Army shell the ship killing several crew members, driving it onto a sandbar and demanding an apology from the crew before they can make a dramatic escape through what is now unfriendly territory.As the film opens the Amethyst is steaming up river with little to worry about, they know there is a civil war in China but don't know just how close the PLA are to taking the capital. When they come under heavy fire from communist artillery they are damaged and driven onto a sand bar. It appears they will be rescued when the destroyer HMS Consort arrives, unfortunately even with its superior fire power Consort can't silence the Chinese guns and after taking casualties is forced to retreat. The wounded personnel are evacuated to the river bank still in Nationalist hands and taken overland to Shanghai. The wounded include the captain who dies of his wounds. Lieutenant-Commander Kerans is sent to take over the command. As the Communists make further advances they are totally cut off from friendly forces and have to try to negotiate their safe passage unfortunately the Chinese demand that the crew confess that they were the aggressors. Refusing to do this Kerans decides they will make a run for the sea on night. To do this they must run the gauntlet of Chinese batteries and avoid a boom that has been placed across part of the river.This film is an exciting retelling of those events with a solid cast portraying the ships crew, the only weakness in the cast is having Akim Tamiroff, a Russian playing a Chinese officer, he just didn't look or sound Chinese. The fact that it was filmed aboard the real HMS Amethyst added authenticity; when they come under fire it looks like a real ship is coming under fire not just a model.

For the past 50 years the film Yangtze Incident, has demeaned the real and yet unrecognised heroes of the first major incident of conflict from the ending of the second world war. Also regardless of the titles that have been appended to this particular film, the real and original title that was intended for the production; i.e.,(The Sitting Duck)would have been more appropriate were the truth known.Shortly I hope to correct the overall situation on the website; http://www.thehmsconsort.co.uk Sincerely,William Leitch.

Excellent Black and White movie showing the courage and resourcefulness of the Royal Navy. Richard Todd's portrayal of Lieutenant Commander J.S. Kerans conveys the essence of what a British Naval Officer is, and has been since the time of Nelson. The only character who is poorly portrayed is the Chinese PLA Colonel, as this part was played by an obviously made up non-Chinese actor, weakening what is otherwise an outstanding film. The action scenes realistically convey the sense of uncertainty that occurs during a naval engagement in confined waters. The style is a good hybrid of documentary and typical 1950's WW2 movie, which works better than one might think. The use of the tattered "White Ensign" and the RN's song "Hearts of Oak", for the title music give the movie an old fashioned patriotic feel. Furthermore, the signals between the "Amethyst" and the Navy's C-in-C Far East Station, Hong Kong help avoid a tone of mawkishness or propaganda.

I recently got a copy of this film on VHS. I was expecting to be disappointed as I haven't seen this film in about 35-40 years! I often get a film I once enjoyed find it doesn't live up my memories. But, I was pleasantly surprised with this film.There are, of course, some period stereotypes, especially racial (Akim Tamiroff again plays the evil oriental....), but they are minor annoyances as the story unfolds.I had read that H.M.S. Amethyst had actually been used for the film and was so badly damaged during the filming due to underwater explosions that she was soon scrapped. I can now see why this might have happened. There are quite a few detonations in the water very close to the hull. While watching the film I felt it could just as well have been a good story from Hornblower, Aubrey etc. Take away the modern vessel and replace it with a wooden ship and you have a timeless (true) tale. Richard Todd (who served as a paratrooper on D-Day) plays with the authority he often gave to many similar roles (like the Dam Busters).It was fun to see that Bernard Cribbins and Ian Bannen were unlisted in the role list. They were novices, and were actually both quite good in this film. I highly recommend seeing this film!