Went the Day Well? (1942)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Alberto Cavalcanti

Writers:

John Dighton (writer)
Graham Greene (short story "The Lieutenant Died Last")
(more)

Release Date:

28 June 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | War

Plot:

An English village is occupied by disguised German paratroopers as an advance post for a planned invasion.

Plot Keywords:

Village | WWII | Invasion | Billet | Punctuation In Title

Cast

Leslie Banks	...	Oliver Wilsford
C.V. France	...	The Vicar
Valerie Taylor	...	Nora Ashton
Marie Lohr	...	Mrs Fraser
Basil Sydney	...	Kommandant Orlter, alias Major Hammond
David Farrar	...	Lt. Jung, alias Lt. Maxwell
Harry Fowler	...	George Truscott, boy
Frank Lawton	...	Tom Sturry
Edward Rigby	...	Bill Purvis, the poacher
Elizabeth Allan	...	Peggy Pryde, [a Land Army Girl]
Thora Hird	...	Ivy Dawking, [a Land Army Girl]
Norman Pierce	...	Jim Sturry
Mervyn Johns	...	Charles Sims, the church warder
Johnnie Schofield	...	Joe Garbett, the policeman
Patricia Hayes	...	Daisy, the shop clerk
Muriel George	...	Mrs Collins, the shopkeeper
Ellis Irving	...	Harry Drew
Philippa Hiatt	...	Mrs. Bates
Grace Arnold	...	Mrs Owen
John Slater	...	German Sgt
Eric Micklewood	...	Soldier Klotz
Hilda Bayley	...	Cousin Maude
James Donald	...	German corporal
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Irene Arnold	...	Mrs. Drew (uncredited)
Robert Bradford	...	German soldier (uncredited)
Dean Braine	...	German soldier (uncredited)
Lillian Ellias	...	Mrs. Sturry (uncredited)
Leslie Gorman	...	German soldier (uncredited)
Gerard Heinz	...	Schmidt (uncredited)
Christopher Lee	...	(uncredited)
Josephine Middleton	...	Mrs. Carter (uncredited)
Wyndham Milligan	...	German soldier (uncredited)
Gerald Moore	...	Johnnie Wade (uncredited)
Charles Paton	...	Harry Brown (uncredited)
Anthony Pilbeam	...	Ted Garbett (uncredited)
Arthur Ridley	...	Father Owen (uncredited)
Janette Scott	...	Child (uncredited)
Norman Shelley	...	Bob Owen (uncredited)
Tommy Trinder	...	Dance band announcer on radio (uncredited)
Mavis Villiers	...	Violet (uncredited)
Jack Vyvian	...	Postman (uncredited)
Josie Welford	...	June (uncredited)
H Victor Weske	...	Axed German Soldier (uncredited)

Directed by
Alberto Cavalcanti		(as Cavalcanti)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
John Dighton		writer
Graham Greene		short story "The Lieutenant Died Last"
Angus MacPhail		writer
Diana Morgan		writer

Produced by
Michael Balcon	....	producer
S.C. Balcon	....	associate producer

Original Music by
William Walton

Cinematography by
Wilkie Cooper

Film Editing by
Sidney Cole

Art Direction by
Thomas N. Morahan		(as Tom Morahan)

Production Management
John Croydon	....	production supervisor
Hal Mason	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Muriel Cole	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Cyril Pope	....	third assistant director (uncredited)
Norman Priggen	....	third assistant director (uncredited)
Billy Russell	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Michael Relph	....	assistant art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Len Page	....	sound recordist (as L. Page)
Eric Williams	....	sound supervisor
Peter Davies	....	dubbing sound camera (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Roy Kellino	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Hal Britten	....	assistant camera
Desmond Crowley	....	assistant camera
J. Dean	....	assistant camera
Gerald Gibbs	....	camera operator (as G. Gibbs)
Wilfrid Newton	....	still photographer
Eddie Orton	....	still photographer
Douglas Slocombe	....	reporter camera (as D. Slocombe)

Music Department
Ernest Irving	....	musical director
Roy Douglas	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Ronald Brantford	....	location manager
Daphne Heathcote	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Ealing Studios

Distributors

• Associated British Film Distributors (ABFD) (1942) (UK) (theatrical)
• A.F.E. Corporation (1944) (USA) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Leisureview (1994) (UK) (VHS)
• Nostalgia Family Video (1996) (USA) (video)
• Warner Home Video (1989) (UK) (VHS)

Also Known As:

48 Hours (USA)
They Came in Khaki (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:A

Filming Locations:

Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Company:

Ealing Studios

Trivia:

Basil Sydney refused to re-record some dialogue, saying that he was a member of a religious sect whose members were forbidden to look upon their own image.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: As George tries to get away, a soldier follows in the rain, which is visibly organized from the overhead sprinklers.

Quotes:

Cousin Maude: [after witnessing one of the "Royal Engineers" abuse an inquisitive boy] Oh, you great beast! You great bullying brute you, knocking a child about! You're a disgrace to your uniform! Why, you're no better than a German, - that's what you are!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005) (TV)

A credible representation of what could well have happened.

I saw 'Went the Day Well' in 1943, as a 12 year old in war-time England.What I remember most about the film is that it was utterly convincing, both in the authenticity of the setting and the quality of the acting,My friends and I were, of course, perhaps less sophisticated and streetwise than the 12 year olds of today, nevertheless, the film left a lasting impression and I, at least, can remember it in a fair amount of detail, even after the passage of nearly sixty years. The least convincing part to us was the fight between the soldiers,English and German, towards the end of the film,located in and around the church - perhaps this was because we had watched too many carefully staged propanganda epics belittling the ability of the Germans ! All in all,though, a film which brought home the fact that the freedom we take for granted can so easily be lost unless we are eternally vigilant.