A British b-pic heist thriller from ACT Productions, a company founded by the film technicians union with the aim of countering unemployment in the industry and it specialised in low budget programmers such as this. It went out on the Gaumont-British circuit supporting the Rita Hayworth picture, Miss Sadie Thompson in 1954. Trivia buffs will like to know that the storyline was provided by none other than Percy Hoskins who was chief crime reporter for the Daily Express newspaper. After considering, but dismissing, thatching as a career, Stirling turned to boat-building. Learning his craft in Lowestoft, he lived aboard a dinghy. ‘It was the biggest adventure,’ he says. ‘I began to sail around the harbour, which was littered with dead ships like in a Mad Max movie. I was hopeless. But when I got the boat moving, I thought, this is absolutely brilliant.’ Sara grew up on an island off Donegal. After reading psychology, she did an MA in maritime history, set up a boat-building business with her ex, and then did a course in child psychology, while bringing up five children: Oona, now 33, Harry 31, Esme, 23, Alfie, 15 and Grace, 13. (‘Will produced the last two.’) There are geopolitical sensitivities too. Canada regards the Passage as its own; the US sees it as an international strait. ‘The US and Canada agree to disagree,’ says Oliver. ‘There is big oil and gas, especially off Alaska. Russia and America are making moves. You might think the locals want to keep it pristine. But oh no! The indigenous populations can get huge rewards from mineral and hydrocarbon rights.’

Director Vernon Sewell’s yacht Gelert was used in this film having also appeared in his Ghost Ship in 1952.

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Meanwhile, Stirling’s boat-building business was growing. ‘Stirling & Son has 12 employees,’ he says. ‘A welder, engineer, finisher, two apprentices – we fund our own apprenticeship scheme – and the rest are shipwrights. It is entirely commercial. We new-build and restore wooden and steel vessels from dinghy up to 200 tonnes.’ Needless to say the bookie is willing to overlook the debt for a bit of info on gold cargo deliveries. Watling is less than happy with this idea and tells the gang to get stuffed. He soon changes his mind after a sound beating and being told that the gang has kidnapped his young son. Newlyweds Ruth and John Bowman embark on a wondrous cruise, however soon after they set off, John vanishes, and leaves behind no trace, Ruth knows full well he's on board, but people question her very sanity. While 'Dangerous Crossing' didn't strike me as a great film and could have been better than it was, especially considering that its potential was hardly small in the first place, a lot works in its favour and far outweighs the not so good. And if asked as to whether to recommend 'Dangerous Crossing', my answer would be a solid if not quite enthusiastic yes. There are a lot better films of this type and there are also worse, if this is the sort of film that appeals to you there should be plenty to like even if it doesn't reach masterpiece level.

COMMENT: An excellent example of the worst in British B- picture=making. With the exception of the engaging Susan Stephen, the players are both unattractive and uninteresting. This time, Ms. Crane is a woman who has been married for only a few hours. Her and her new husband are taking an ocean voyage for their honeymoon. But, the husband goes to see the purser, telling his wife that he will meet her in the ships' dining room. Since this is a Carr story the husband, naturally, disappears and most of the rest of the movie finds Ms. Crane trying to convince the ships' crew that her husband did indeed board the ship with her and has vanished. Of course, everyone claims to have not seen her husband board with her and she is thought of as a mental case. But, as the movie unfolds, the ships' doctor, played by Michael Rennie, begins to think that there may be truth to her story. From the start, it's obvious that at least one crew member is part of a nefarious plot and that Ms. Crane is in grave danger. But, which crew member, or members, are part of the plot? The movie is well paced and comes to a satisfying conclusion. Beneath his affable, friendly, unassuming manner, Stirling is a driven and determined idealist with a curious innocence that can seem eccentric. After Eton, he read languages at Edinburgh but left after two years. In 1999 he cycled to Morocco then in 2000 sailed the Atlantic. An attempt at crossing France by canoe failed when a canal ran dry. ‘I wanted to be an explorer but wasn’t brave enough,’ he says. To maintain esprit de corps, Stirling will change crew twice mid-passage, meaning tortuous logistics and costly flights. Crew members include high-latitude sailors, cold-climate specialists, shipwrights, a former submarine commander and a chef. This low budget mystery thriller is intriguing right from the start and becomes incredibly tense following the unexplained disappearance of one of its main characters. The atmosphere steadily becomes more threatening and the presence of a number of rather suspicious-looking individuals soon fuels a profound sense of paranoia that continues to grow until the story's denouement finally provides some important explanations for what's transpired.Ruth (Jeanne Crain) and John (Carl Betz) board a ship for their honeymoon. However, within 15 minutes of sailing, John has disappeared. Not only has he disappeared but there has never been any trace of him and there are no witnesses that have seen the couple together. The room that they originally booked into is now empty and only Ruth's suitcases seem to be located on board - in a different room! So begins the mystery. The film follows Ruth's attempts to locate her husband while we are introduced to a suspicious cast of characters. No-one believes her story and even the confidante that she finds in Dr Paul Manning (Michael Rennie) has his doubts. She receives a phone call in her cabin from John saying that they are both in danger....... In 2018, Stirling sailed her to Iceland and based her there for four years. Stirling and his crew explored Svalbard, Norway, and then Jan Mayen island on which stands Beerenberg, the world’s most northerly volcano, which they climbed. He then took on eastern Greenland which is even more remote than the Northwest Passage. ‘East Greenland is fantastic!’ he cries. Newman (1909-) had a steady Hollywood career being an assistant director on 17 mostly mainstream musicals and dramas whilst in his twenties. Men in particular need to challenge themselves to feel alive,’ continues Sara. ‘The Arctic gives them that. They can’t resist that feeling of an incredible environment greater than anything else. They can never conquer it, but it conquers them.’ Sara turns to me and, with a hint of portent, says, ‘Will wants us to take Integrity into the Arctic and become iced-in for the winter.’