Went the Day Well? (1942)

Went the Day Well? starts with a friendly chap addressing the camera and welcoming us to a small village cemetery. He tells us about some "past" events that happened here, specifically a German infiltration of a small British village.

Though not an account of any one specific event that happened during the war (the town in the film - "Bramley End" - is fictional), the film portrays what a German takeover could look like.

When you watch this movie - 70 years later -  keep in mind this movie was made in 1942. Not 1948 or 1952. 1942. The opening narration is set after the war when Hitler had been defeated, says the chap. The movie was quite ahead of its time.

The first half of the movie shows us how the Germans take over the town over a period of several days in May.  One of the title cards announces that one of the days is "Whit Sunday"; I had to look up what that meant because I didn't know Whit Sunday was a commemorative holiday for many in England.

There are some very emotional moments in the film. It's sad to see one of the trusted dignitaries of the village (Leslie Banks) aid the Germans, and shocking to see the town pastor get shot and killed in cold blood (in his own church on Whit Sunday, no less).

The suspense continues to build by the second half of the film when the villagers begin to fight back. Old folks, women, and children become heroes and in some cases, die fighting the enemy.

Went the Day Well?  had its premiere airing on the Turner Classic Movies channel a few months ago, and host Robert Osborne commented that he was amazed that more people had not seen this film.

Director: Albreto Cavalcanti.

More About This Film:

---

LA Times Film Review, 2011
The UK Guardian Film Review, 2010
Review from the blog, The Stalking Moon, 2010
Film Review from the blog Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule (2011)
Thrilling Days of Yesteryear, 2014 (review)

Another Year (2010)

I saw this movie the other night. It's great. About a London couple (Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen) and the various characters in their life.  Tom (Broadbent) is a geologist who has a few more years before retirement. He enjoys golfing with his friends and gardening with his wife (Sheen) in a communal garden (they are always bringing home vegetables) Both love to cook, so there are a number of scenes where they are cooking for friends and family. In fact, the movie is split into 4 acts divided by the seasons.  There's always a lunch or dinner scene in each act. It's pretty cool.

Ruth Sheen and Jim Broadbent are a
loving and devoted couple who make time for
family and friends

The couple have a 30-year old son. People are asking whether or not he has a girlfriend. Does he have a secret? Gerry (Sheen), a psychologist, has a co-worker (Leslie Manville) who doesn't have many friends or family, so she's always dropping by their house. She's single, lonely, and enjoys a few drinks. But does he have more serious problems? Director Mike Leigh doesn't let us know the full stories of these characters right away. We must watch the entire film. It's captivating. The characters in this movie are so real; they reminded me of my own family. And the acting seems so natural, even improvised, which is what I love about his movies Secrets and Lies, Vera Drake, and Happy Go Lucky.  Leslie Manville is just incredible in this; she won several awards for her amazing performance, including a BAFTA nomination.

Another Year is a quiet, serious adult drama, delightful and fun at times, and even heartbreaking at times.  I highly recommend it.

I saw this Monday night at the Tivoli Theater, an old-fashioned downtown movie house in Downer's Grove, IL

If you saw the movie Happy Go Lucky, do you remember the flamenco instructor?

Well the actress who plays her has a small role Another Year 

Here is a funny scene from Happy Go Lucky featuring the dance instructor.




Read another review from Mike's Movie Projector

Another blog post by Cliched Monologues

The Password is Courage (1962)

Charlie Coward on the set of
The Password Is Courage,
with Dirk Bogarde, who played him
in the film

I first heard about this movie from Kate's site devoted to Dirk Bogarde and thought I might like it, the story of a British soilder's numerous attempts to escape a German POW camp during WW2.  Watching Bogarde and his fellow offers outsmart the Nazis is just as fun as watching William Holden and the rest of the boys of Stalag 17 (1953). Like that film (one of my favorites ever), Courage has a similiar tone in that it is a partial comedy with some very suspenseful moments, including several train crashes and a prison camp set ablaze. However, this film is based on a true story of  Charlie Coward, who served as techinical advisor on the film. Reportedly much of the action was fictionalized for dramatic purposes, but he did recount many of his experiences in his book, which I have not read.

The ending of the film features an exciting escape sequence.  And I love the scene in the beginning of the film where Bogarde hides out in a barn and is mistaken for a wounded Nazi soilder. He's then awarded a medal by the Nazis - and this really happened! The poster for the film read: "The Only Man Ever Awarded the Iron Cross - by the Enemy!"

One thing that should be noted: the film leaves out some of the most heroic episodes of Charles' life. Towards the end of the war, he was actually shipped to the Monowitz concentration camp in Poland, and eventually saved the lives of hundreds of Jews (this alone would make for a great film).

Coward has a tree planted in his honour in the Avenue of Righteous Gentiles in Yad Vashem. I've been to Yad Vashem and have seen these trees, but I didn't know about all that Coward did, nor of his book/film. I did see the tree planted in honor of Oscar Schindler. And just last year, Coward was posthumously named a British Hero of the Holocaust by the British Government (read article).

The Password is Courage is an inspiring movie and great entertainment; I highly recommened it. You can occasionally catch it playing on the Turner Classics channel.

Thanks Kate for the copy of the DVD!

Susannah York (1939-2011)

Susannah York passed away over this weekend; she was 72 and was battling cancer. She was a great actress and appeared in some wonderful films in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Oscar-winning classics Tom Jones and A Man for All Seasons. I liked her in all the films I've seen her in, including the TV version of A Christmas Carol from 1984. Kate from Silents and Talkies made a lovely video tribute that I've watched twice so far. It features some of the best films of Ms. York's, and a very touching song. Rest in peace.

---

Selected Filmography (theatrical films)

Tom Jones

1960 There Was a Crooked Man

1960 Tunes of Glory

1961 Loss of Innocence

1962 Freud

1963 Tom Jones

1964 The 7th Dawn

1965 Sands of the Kalahari

1966 A Man for All Seasons

1966 Kaleidoscope

1968 Sebastian

A Man For All Seasons

1968 Duffy

1969 The Killing of Sister George

1969 Oh! What a Lovely War

1969 Lock Up Your Daughters!

1969 Battle of Britain

1969 They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

1970 Brotherly Love

Superman

1971 Happy Birthday Wanda June

1972 X, Y, and Zee

1972 Images

1974 The Great Gold Conspiracy

1975 The Maids

1975 That Lucky Touch

1975 Conduct Unbecoming

1976 Sky Riders

They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

1976 Eliza Fraser

1978 The Shout

1978 The Silent Partner

1978 Superman

1980 The Awakening

1980 Falling in Love Again

1980 Superman II

1981 Loophole

1982 Alicja

1983 Yellowbeard

1987 Mio in the Land of Faraway (Christian Bale's first film)

Source: IMDB: Susannah York | Mike's Movie Projector (Tribute)

Top 10 British movie stars of 1943

It has come to my attention that Kendra of Viv and Larry is moving to London this week. A perfect occasion to post the Top 10 box office stars from 1943 British made films, the results of a poll conducted among British exhibitors that year. The list was featured in the 1943 International Motion Picture Almanac; a hat tip goes out to Matthew of Movie Tone News for a fascinating post he did on the Almanac.

The rankings are as follows:

1. George Formby

2. Leslie Howard

3. Noel Coward

4. Eric Portman

5. Robert Donat

6. Arthur Lucan

7. Margaret Lockwood

8. Anton Wolbrook

9. Arthur Askey

10. John Mills