A wonderful 1950s British war film, and in colour too! Superficial people have criticised the studio based battle sequences (a budgetary necessity) yet those of us with some knowledge of naval warfare are qualified to heap praise on the production. The attention to detail is immense, and contrasts sharply with the later, better known "Sink The Bismark". Battle of The River Plate actually features the Director Control Tower, it vividly illustrates the pre-radar horizon spotting. Note the blackened guns after the battle. Hear the bell ring before each salvo. Note in the credits the consultation with many of those involved.<br /><br />Unfortunately the choice of the American ship as Graf Spee is less than ideal - but we have to allow some margin for error in pre-CGI days.<br /><br />The conference of cruiser captains is pure fiction, a scene added to the film, but here again Powell and Pressburger show the correct naval procedure for the boats moving between the ships. Hilariously you can find accounts of the conference which never happened in history books written since this film was made!<br /><br />Other than this, the story is largely accurate. Unlike Lawrence Of Arabia, for example, the principle characters are real, as are the minor characters. Note the young Donald Moffat as Swanston, the lookout chief.<br /><br />Quayle is excellent as Harwood, and brings a wonderful gravitas to the role.<br /><br />The film would have benefited from a German perspective during the battle rather than just the experiences of the prisoners on Graf Spee, and of course did ignore Langsdorf's suicide a few days after the scuttling.