I hadn't seen this movie for many years, and when I watched it again recently I was amazed at the surprising realism for a 1942 era war propaganda movie. Veteran skipper Randolph Scott is forced to put to sea in a new corvette (a very small ship) with almost no other experienced crew members, and virtually no time to train the new crew. The horrid living conditions aboard ship are realistically portrayed: the tiny ship tosses about on the ocean while water cascades over and through every part of the ship. On top of this there are also German U-boats to contend with. Of course all of this was done on sound stages and model sets, but they are amazingly realistic for the period. I am ready to watch it again!

This may be the best of the World War II era submarine warfare movies made during the war. The captain, played by the always wonderful Randolph Scott (see him in "Gung Ho") has just lost an officer on a booby-trapped German sub - and then he comes across the always beautiful and luminous Ella Raines on shore who is the resentful sister of the dead officer. Scott meanwhile has to handle her somewhat irresponsible younger brother who is a new officer on Scott's Corvette. This may not be likely in reality, but it makes for a good dramatic situation.

Some romance simmers with Scott and Raines (not too much!) before the Corvette sails. The convoy it protects and its captains from Allies all over the world is handled very well. Scott is masterful as the captain, and the battle scenes with the German U-boats are realistic and vicious. This is a gritty movie that gives a good depiction of the absolutely vital Battle of the Atlantic and the crucial role convoy escorts played in winning the war against Hitler.

The unsung contribution of the Royal Canadian Navy in providing escort service for Atlantic convoys gets its tribute in Corvette K-225. The film is very similar to the Humphrey Bogart classic Action In the North Atlantic.

I checked with a military buff friend of mine to be sure, but the Corvette was the Canadian name for a ship that would be classified as a destroyer escort and that's what their function was, escorting American and Canadian supplies to the European theater.

Randolph Scott stars as the stalwart captain who as the film opens has just lost a ship, but is anxious to get back in the fight. And of course those of the crew who survived want to return to action with him.

But Scott has a lot of newbies on board including mostly new officers among them James Brown whose brother was lost on Scott's previous ship. Scott also has taken an interest in Ella Raines who is Brown's sister.

That's the romantic portion which is strictly second fiddle to the war action. Though we get a good amount of flag waving here, the film given its time is surprisingly free of overblown heroics. For that reason it holds up well today.

Such familiar people as Barry Fitzgerald, Andy Devine, and Fuzzy Knight are in the crew filling out their stereotypical roles. Don't blink or you will miss Robert Mitchum in a very small role as one of the crew.

Corvette K-225 is a fine tribute to our Canadian allies whose contributions to Allied victory in World War II is often overlooked.