Red Ensign (1934): Cast & Plot

In 1933, David Barr, Leslie Banks, is the manager and chief designer of the Glasgow shipyard Burns, McKinnon & Co. He unveils a radical new ship design that can carry 25% more cargo for the same tonnage while using less fuel, a breakthrough that could lift the firm out of a grinding recession. Rather than building just one vessel, as Lord Dean Frank Vosper suggests, Barr decides to scale up and aims to construct twenty ships to drive down costs and create a viable program. The plan draws the attention—and the ire—of Manning, a rival shipbuilder whom Barr fiercely despises, who sends two undercover operatives to uncover the truth behind the design.