Classic piece of wartime propaganda which despite being made in 1942 starts with a prologue set after the end of the war. The film tells of an idyllic English village invaded by Nazi paratroopers disguised as British soldiers and has many similarities to the much later THE EAGLE HAS LANDED. Count Zaroff himself, Leslie Banks, is up to no good at the Manor House and the excellent cast includes David Farrar, Basil Sidney, Mervyn Johns, Harry Fowler, Patricia Hayes and Thora Hird. The film remains quite shocking in the way the villagers begin to despatch the Germans with anything at hand - one kindly old lady doesn't think twice about taking an axe to a German she has been feeding moments before while others stab, shoot and club the enemy. It must have had them cheering in the local cinemas back in 1942 and it still pretty gripping drama today - a dark companion piece to Powell and Pressburger's A CANTERBURY TALE. Rating **** Sunday 2 May 2010
WENT THE DAY WELL (1942)
Classic piece of wartime propaganda which despite being made in 1942 starts with a prologue set after the end of the war. The film tells of an idyllic English village invaded by Nazi paratroopers disguised as British soldiers and has many similarities to the much later THE EAGLE HAS LANDED. Count Zaroff himself, Leslie Banks, is up to no good at the Manor House and the excellent cast includes David Farrar, Basil Sidney, Mervyn Johns, Harry Fowler, Patricia Hayes and Thora Hird. The film remains quite shocking in the way the villagers begin to despatch the Germans with anything at hand - one kindly old lady doesn't think twice about taking an axe to a German she has been feeding moments before while others stab, shoot and club the enemy. It must have had them cheering in the local cinemas back in 1942 and it still pretty gripping drama today - a dark companion piece to Powell and Pressburger's A CANTERBURY TALE. Rating **** 
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2 comments:
It's in my queue! It's on its way!
In more ways than you think.
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