When my father was approached to help sail the two sailing ships which were to be used in the making of HMS Defiant (or 'Damn the Defiant' as the Americans have it) I was at school in Kent, grappling with 'A 'Levels. Luckily the bulk of the filming was due to take place in the summer holidays, and my brother, sister and I were able to join our parents for a month on location in Denia, at that time a small, rather poor fishing village on the Mediterranean coast of Franco's Spain, where the crew - both ship's and film - were gathering.
HMS Defiant was a frigate in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic wars, and the story takes place in 1798, culminating in the Nore Mutiny. My brother and I were signed on as ordinary seamen, but as we were bound to appear on screen along with the extras, we were both made up as late 18th century naval ratings, with wigs and somewhat baggy trousers. Even my 16 year old sister got a part: as a 'loose woman of the town', she and a few other lovelies got rowed ashore in Portsmouth (actually Denia) just before we set sail to join the fleet.
Denia is on a promontory and sticks out into the western Mediterranean. This was ideal for the film company as they were able to shoot what were supposed to be deep-sea scenes quite close to shore. Time was money, though and we had to be on board before 7am in order to use all daylight hours. That didn't apply to the three stars: Alec Guinness (in command), Dirk Bogarde (No 2) and Anthony Quayle (seaman, the leader of the mutiny) were whisked aboard by fast launch only when they were needed. The food on board was pretty good as I recall, but to drink we had the choice only between cold beer and coke. I've disliked coke ever since, having poured it down under the hot Spanish sun to keep cool.
I appear a few times. When the film first came out, a careful perusal disclosed about 6 rather fleeting appearances, but in recent viewings I've managed to see myself only twice. Once I'm coming down the rigging following the order "All hands on deck to witness punishment", and the second is where I am steering the 'Defiant' when a mutineer taps me on the shoulder and whispers "All set for 6 bells" (or something on those lines). Not being in Equity (the actors' union) I don't speak but merely nod in reply. Actually all dialogue had to added in the studio as the noise of the generators driving the floodlights drowned out most speech on board.
Was it thrilling being near the stars? For me, not particularly. Alec and Dirk behaved like the officers they were portraying, and rarely strayed from the quarterdeck. Quayle was a little more approachable, perhaps because he played an ordinary sailor like us, but even he, although an active man who sometimes canoed out to the ship, was not allowed to go aloft in case he fell (shades of 'The Guns of Navarone'). I did once play chess with the young man playing the midshipman, but I can't even remember the actor's name - I don't think he ever became famous.
But if you asked me if I'd do it again, I would say, despite the heat and the constant hanging about, definitely a maybe; after all, all these years later people still ask me about what it was like just being there.
If you want to see 'HMS Defiant' just wait for the Christmas TV schedule. It's surprising how often it gets reshown.
by Kit Villiers
