"Le Crabe Tambour" ("Drummer Crab") is the nickname for the mysterious central character, Willsdorff (Jacques Perrin), an Alsatian, whose doomed, out-of-date career is recalled through the tales of three naval officers currently serving aboard a French supply ship in the North Atlantic.
Captain, commander of the escort ship
Pierre, medical officer
Lieutenant Willsdorff, 'Le Crabe-Tambour'
Aurore, nurse in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon
The wife at the bistro of the former gendarme
Babourg, former sailor
Chief mechanic
Former gendarme, boss of the bistro
Admiral Dönitz's admirer at the bistro
Rector
Acting
Acting
Captain, commander of the escort ship
Pierre, medical officer
Lieutenant Willsdorff, 'Le Crabe-Tambour'
Aurore, nurse in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon
The wife at the bistro of the former gendarme
Babourg, former sailor
Chief mechanic
Former gendarme, boss of the bistro
Admiral Dönitz's admirer at the bistro
Rector
Acting
Acting