The Cruel Sea 1953

A very good book by Nicholas Monserrat, adapted with care into a very fine British film about the Corvette service during World War two.

The Miniature effects are varied in quality, but for the most part depict the action well. The sinking of the Compass Rose, the main Corvette of the film is very effective though suffers from a shallow depth of field with the foreground water and miniature men bobbing about out of focus. Some of the background merchant ships are modeled with little detail which is becomes most apparent in the bright flashes of the explosions. The Compass Rose herself is extremely finely detailed.

Distant Ships are probably just plywood silhouette cutouts.

Painted Rock of Gibraltar

The Compass Rose going down fast.

Miniature sailors bobbing about out of focus in the foreground.

Fortunes of Captain Blood 1950

A B-movie with some of the best model ship effects of the period. Based on the book Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini and a remake of sorts of Captain Blood filmed in 1935 with Errol Flynn. Many of the miniature shots were re-used and appear in subsequent films as stock shots. The  ship models are very finely crafted and can be seen very close up sporting lavish detailing. The photography of the models is really well done the sail and water action is finely handled not to mention the scenes of destruction.

Matte painted huts and palm trees, miniature ship in tank, painted backdrop.

Miniature as rear projection plate for Live action shoot.

It looks like this is a Matte painted foreground ship.