'Greyhound': Is Tom Hanks's World War II drama based on a true story?
Tom Hanks is back as Lieutenant Commander Ernest Krause in Aaron Schneider's World War II drama 'Greyhound' and one of the first points of discussion is if the film is based on a true story. In a word, the answer is no. The film is more of an "inspired by" tale rather than a look at the actual event that unfolded in the freezing winter of 1942. The 90-minute drama is based on CS Forester’s 1955 novel 'The Good Shepherd', which is a fictional but thoroughly researched story that illustrates the Atlantic War.
The Smithsonian magazine quotes Frank Blazich, lead curator of military history at Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, saying "It's (The Battle of Atlantic) not the most glamorous campaign." In the film, Hanks as Krause must navigate the treacherous 'Black Pit', an area of the Atlantic Ocean, for five days, fending off and destroying Nazi U-boats in the absence of air cover. The drama comes in the form of Krause's personal battles where he has to overcome self-doubt.
According to historian James Holland, 'Greyhound' comes with some major expectations. In his exploration of the real story that saw the creation of the film, he says in HistoryExtra that the Battle of Atlantic, a term coined by Winston Churchill, was a subject that finally received its due. In his opinion, it was "a great subject for a movie and one that has been ignored for far too long by Hollywood, because the Battle of the Atlantic was an epic of drama and of strategic importance".
There's a bit of a character twist as well with Hanks playing Ernest Krause, while the character in Forester's novel was actually called George Krause. He also added the battle as the most vital of all World War II campaigns.
The official synopsis of the film reads: "In a thrilling story inspired by actual events from the Battle of the Atlantic, Tom Hanks stars as a first-time captain who leads a convoy of allied ships carrying thousands of soldiers across the treacherous waters of the 'Black Pit' to the front lines of WW2. With no air cover protection for 5 days, the captain and his convoy must battle the surrounding enemy Nazi U-boats in order to give the allies a chance to win the war. The film is directed by Aaron Schneider from a screenplay by Hanks."
'Greyhound' releases July 10 on Apple TV+.