Best Brit WWII Film?

[brianl]

"The Bells go Down" which was about life in the London Fire Service just prior to and during the Blitz. Tommy Trinder plays a nearly straight role as an Auxiliary Fireman who loses his life whilst fighting a fire. A good portayal of how things were in London at that time.
brianl

[Steve Crook]

Originally Posted by brianl "The Bells go Down" which was about life in the London Fire Service just prior to and during the Blitz. Tommy Trinder plays a nearly straight role as an Auxiliary Fireman who loses his life whilst fighting a fire. A good portayal of how things were in London at that time. brianl

A great drama. Especially note the way they treat the only person with any military experience - and refuse to let him join the army
William "Billy" Hartnell (the first Dr Who) as the veteran of the Spanish Civil War.

It's good to watch it in conjunction with the more documentary style "Fires Were Started"

Steve

[howard 65]

I can't believe that nobody has mentioned my favourite war film THE WAY TO THE STARS

[CaptainWaggett]

Originally Posted by Steve Crook A great drama. Especially note the way they treat the only person with any military experience - and refuse to let him join the army William "Billy" Hartnell (the first Dr Who) as the veteran of the Spanish Civil War. It's good to watch it in conjunction with the more documentary style "Fires Were Started" Steve

It's rather confusing seeing Hartnell playing a Leftie while James Mason is the tough sergeant!

[billy bentley]

Paul E, posted regarding Nigel Balchin, who wrote the novel "The Small Back Room" was based on. Evidently Mr Balchin also worked for Rowntrees and came up with the concept for Aero (bubbles in the chocolate) and the name for KitKat !

[CaptainWaggett]

Originally Posted by howard 65 I can't believe that nobody has mentioned my favourite war film THE WAY TO THE STARS

I love the Way to the Stars but the second half is rather let down by the producers not being able to get American actors of the calibre of the Brits. It might have been a better film if they'd gone ahead with the idea (seriously considered) of getting Redgrave to shave his 'tache and play the leading Yank flier himself.

[wotno]

San Demetrio London - one of Ealing Studios' finest.

[vic pitcher]

Originally Posted by dylan In his autobiography, Balcon said he wanted to make a good, honest and truthful film which would be good propaganda for the war effort and (modestly)that San Dimetrio London amply fulfilled all those requirements. Its subversive as only Ealing could be with its stock cast of proletarian actors (Fredrick Piper, Gordon Jackson, Mervyn Johns et al) completing the voyage with a democratic allocation of tasks instead of the officer (read *class*)elite, who have all been metaphorically thrown overboard, giving the orders.

No Officers!?
What about 2nd mate A.Hawkins i/c lifeboat, who successfully navigated the "Demetrio" to Ireland; and Chief Engineer Charles Pollard who got the engine room operational again, also 3rd Engineer George Willey, all represented in the film with C/E Pollard shown as the driving force behind the successful salving of the ship, as was the real case.

[Steve Crook]

Originally Posted by vic pitcher No Officers!? What about 2nd mate A.Hawkins i/c lifeboat, who successfully navigated the "Demetrio" to Ireland; and Chief Engineer Charles Pollard who got the engine room operational again, also 3rd Engineer George Willey, all represented in the film with C/E Pollard shown as the driving force behind the successful salving of the ship, as was the real case.

And if the skipper had got back on board then they wouldn't have got the salvage reward.

Remember that one of the most iniquitous things about the war as fought by the Merchant Navy was that as soon as they were torpedoed - their pay was stopped!

The exact Merchant Navy casualty figures are hard to find because if a crewman was on a ship that was torpedoed and was then rescued by another ship in the convoy - and that ship was then torpedoed and he was killed on the second ship, he would be counted as a passenger on that second ship, not as a crew member of the first ship.

But however you count them, their casualty figures as a percentage of those that served are a lot higher than for any other branch of the services. And they did fight the longest war, being continually fighting from 1939-45.

There are only a few films, like San Demetrio, London, that give much of an idea of what they went through

Steve

[Keechelus]

Thanks for the references to SAN DEMETRIO, LONDON - a movie that is completely new to to me. Amazon UK has it, though the price is a bit steep. I'll keep a lookout.

A CANTERBURY TALE is the most poetic WW2 propaganda film I have ever seen. The early "glue-man" sequences are a bit distracting, but when ACT settles into its celebration of Kentish life, the movie hits a stride that easily slips from 1380 to 1944 and back.

Powell's visual essay on his own county is pure magic. If there were ever a more sincere demonstration of loving one's home, I have yet to see it.

PnP were surprising: they managed to slip spiritualism into many of their movies without choking us. Modest ACT is one of their best.

[Steve Crook]

Originally Posted by Keechelus Thanks for the references to SAN DEMETRIO, LONDON - a movie that is completely new to to me. Amazon UK has it, though the price is a bit steep. I'll keep a lookout.

For those in the UK, San Demitrio, London, is being shown on Channel 4 at 14:25 on Tue 20 May

A CANTERBURY TALE is the most poetic WW2 propaganda film I have ever seen. The early "glue-man" sequences are a bit distracting, but when ACT settles into its celebration of Kentish life, the movie hits a stride that easily slips from 1380 to 1944 and back. Powell's visual essay on his own county is pure magic. If there were ever a more sincere demonstration of loving one's home, I have yet to see it. PnP were surprising: they managed to slip spiritualism into many of their movies without choking us. Modest ACT is one of their best.

A Canterbury Tale wasn't all that popular when it was first released. It was never exactly unpopular, although the glue man did get a few puzzled questions asked about it. But most people had other things to do in 1944, like finish off the war and prepare for life after the war.

It's only in the years since then, when we have more leisure and time to look at things like the subjects being considered in that film.

And the important thing to do when watching the film is to slow down to its pace. It is a slow film but there are rewards for viewing it at that pace.

As well as being a beautiful poem to Kent and Canterbury it also tells us that we should be aware of our history - but that we don't have to live locked in the past. We can look to the future, but should know how we got here

And it does inspire a load of us to do an Annual Location Walk every August bank holiday Sunday. As well as celebrating the film it's a good excuse for a nice walk in some beautiful English countryside.

This year we'll be going to Fordwich so that will include a tour around the Town Hall. We'll also visit St Mary's parish church, where Chillingbourne's parishioners were filmed arriving for matins.

The entrance to the Colpeper Institute, and nearby streets and cottages that represented Chillingbourne village. Many of the boys in the river battle came from Fordwich. And there's also The George and Dragon - where Michael Powell stayed while making the film, and whose exterior was, momentarily, The Hand of Glory.

Steve

[Keechelus]

We all have home neighbourhoods. For those of us with happy childhoods, Powell's tribute to Kent rings very clear.

I am lucky. I still live close to my ancestral corner of Vancouver, and especially to the nearby mountains and rivers. Lynn Valley is quite unlike Kent, but the steep canyons I explored as a 9-yr boy are still there, misty cedar forests and all.

50 years on, Jeannie and I still ramble in the wilderness at Vancouver's edge. I understand Powell's love of his Kentish landscape. A dark winter day with ravens and drizzling rain, raging creek, dripping trees and brooding mountains says "home" to me, as the smiling Kent downs did to Michael Powell.

But he pictured it so well that hundreds of thousands who've never been to Kent see it through his eyes.

[ringsider]

What great lists of films on this thread.

Can I stretch the subject just a bit by suggesting that Mrs Minniver deserves a mention - I believe it was at least written by an Englishman.

Totally corny story, but brilliant film making, and (don't tell my friends), I cannot watch the Flower Show scene without choking up.

Great propaganda for the war effort when, like it or lump it, propaganda was very important at a time when the Nazis were in their pomp (Stalingrad aside), and bombs were raining down on London and elsewhere. As my old Mum always reminds me, the Second World War was fought by (and suffered by) more civilians than by the armed forces.


Regards - Bernie

[Lady Skelton]

I love all of the above (what wonderful films), but I also have a soft spot for the early 60s Dirk Bogarde film, The Password is Courage - saw it at a tender age and fell in love with him!
Also like Danger Within - the campest of POW escape films (and that's saying something)

[Rob Compton]

Originally Posted by ringsider What great lists of films on this thread. Can I stretch the subject just a bit by suggesting that Mrs Minniver deserves a mention - I believe it was at least written by an Englishman. Totally corny story, but brilliant film making, and (don't tell my friends), I cannot watch the Flower Show scene without choking up. Great propaganda for the war effort when, like it or lump it, propaganda was very important at a time when the Nazis were in their pomp (Stalingrad aside), and bombs were raining down on London and elsewhere. As my old Mum always reminds me, the Second World War was fought by (and suffered by) more civilians than by the armed forces. Regards - Bernie

Good call, Bernie - it's a wonderful piece of film-making, with a luminous star in Greer Garson and good support from Walter Pidgeon and other such as Dame May Whitty and Henry Travers. All in all, a terrific film - and you rightly point out the supreme propaganda value...

rgds
Rob