The Bedford Incident Reviews

Widmark is the captain of a newly launched destroyer, and his mission is to root out hostile subs in the North Atlantic. Along for the ride (in a role that never once refers to his color) is Poitier, a newspaperman documenting the ship's travels. MacArthur is a young ensign who is ridden mercilessly by Widmark. Contact with a Russian sub is made, and the hunt begins. Widmark stalks relentlessly until an atomic weapon is accidentally fired by MacArthur. Taut and suspenseful, THE BEDFORD INCIDENT marked Harris' first directorial assignment after a host of memorable producing efforts (THE KILLING, PATHS OF GLORY, LOLITA), and he did well in sustaining the mood of Poe's Cold War script. Widmark coproduced, but never let that get in the way of his totally believable portrait of a man obsessed with his work and his devotion to his country.