It Happened Here – 1966 | 97 mins | Drama, War | B&W

Plot Synopsis

An impression of what would have happened had the Germans succeeded in invading Britain. It was started in 1956 as a 16mm amateur project when apprentice film editor Kevin Brownlow was 18 and finished in partnership with the even younger assistant director Andrew Mollo vetting every scene for authenticity, and with £3,000 from Tony Richardson. The film shows brutality on both sides and lets the Fascists speak for themselves while presenting the moral dilemmas of getting on with life after conquest in practical, personal terms. The quasi-documentary gains integrity from its use of amateur actors; except that one of them, Pauline Murray, as the leading character, grabs the camera and puts in a truly professional performance.

The action takes place in 1944, four years into Nazi occupation following the retreat from Dunkirk in1940. The storyline centres on the experiences of an Irish-born district nurse (Pauline Murray) from Salisbury who, wishing to help restore order, ventures to London and joins the Fascist-controlled Immediate Organization. She soon finds out that her uniform alienates those around her. She eventually tries to help a wounded partisan. Her action is discovered and she’s punished for associating with ‘the other side’ by being transferred to a country hospital dealing with tuberculosis patients. After three years of occupation the American-supported resistance fighters finally manages to begin staging retaliatory action.