In Which We Serve (1942)

Directors:

Noel Coward
David Lean

Writer:

Noel Coward (writer)

Release Date:

23 December 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

IT STANDS ALONE - The Greatest Of All Motion Pictures! [Australia theatrical]

Plot:

This "story of a ship," the British destroyer HMS Torrin, is told in flash backs by survivors as they cling to a life raft. |

Plot Keywords:

Destroyer | WWII | British Navy | Ship Sinking | Produced By Director

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Noel Coward	...	Captain E. V. Kinross R.N. / Captain 'D'
Derek Elphinstone	...	No. 1
Michael Wilding	...	Flags
Robert Sansom	...	Guns
Philip Friend	...	Torps
Ballard Berkeley	...	Engineer Commander
Hubert Gregg	...	Pilot
James Donald	...	Doc
Michael Whittaker	...	Sub
Kenneth Carten	...	Sub-Lieutenant R.N.V.R.
John Varley	...	Secco
Bernard Miles	...	Chief Petty Officer Hardy / Walter Hardy
Caven Watson	...	Brodie
John Mills	...	Ordinary Seaman Blake / Shorty Blake
Geoffrey Hibbert	...	Joey Mackeridge
Frederick Piper	...	Edgecombe
Lionel Grose	...	Reynolds
Leslie Dwyer	...	Parkinson
Charles Russell	...	Fisher
John Singer	...	Moran
Robert Moreton	...	Coombe
John Boxer	...	Hollett
Kenneth Evans	...	Posty
Johnnie Schofield	...	Coxswain
Franklyn Bennett	...	Commander Spencer (as Franklin Bennett)
Charles Compton	...	No. 1. 'Tremoyne'
Walter Fitzgerald	...	Colonel Lumsden
Gerald Case	...	Jasper
Celia Johnson	...	Mrs. Kinross / Alix
Daniel Massey	...	Bobby
Ann Stephens	...	Lavinia
Joyce Carey	...	Mrs.Hardy / Kath
Kay Walsh	...	Freda Lewis / Freda
Kathleen Harrison	...	Mrs. Blake
Dora Gregory	...	Mrs. Lemmon
Penelope Dudley-Ward	...	Maureen (as Penelope Dudley Ward)
Barbara Waring	...	Mrs. Macadoo
Eileen Peel	...	Mrs. Farrell
Lesley Osmond	...	Nell Fosdick
Josie Welford	...	Emily
Kay Young	...	Barmaid
Trixy Scales	...	Mona Duke (as Trixie Scales)
George Carney	...	Mr. Blake
Wally Patch	...	Uncle Fred
Michael Anderson	...	Albert Fosdick (as Mickey Anderson)
Jill Stephens	...	May Blake
Everley Gregg	...	Nurse
Roddy Hughes	...	Photographer
Norman Pierce	...	Mr. Satterthwaite
Juliet Mills	...	Freda's baby
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Richard Attenborough	...	Young Stoker (uncredited)
John Brabourne	...	Soldier in the Dunkirk sequence (uncredited)
Leslie Howard	...	Voice (uncredited)

Directed by
Noel Coward
David Lean

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Noel Coward		writer

Produced by
Noel Coward	....	producer
Anthony Havelock-Allan	....	associate producer
Herbert Smith	....	executive producer in charge of production (uncredited)

Original Music by
Noel Coward		(musical score)
Clifton Parker		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Ronald Neame		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Thelma Connell		(as Thelma Myers)
David Lean		(uncredited)

Casting by
Irene Howard		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
David Rawnsley

Makeup Department
Tony Sforzini	....	makeup artist (as Toni Sforzini)

Production Management
Michael Anderson	....	unit manager
Sydney Streeter	....	production manager (as Sydney S. Streeter)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kenneth Horne	....	first assistant director (uncredited)
Tom Payne	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Norman Spencer	....	third assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
William C. Andrews	....	associate art director (as W.C. Andrews)
G.E. Calthrop	....	art supervisor to Noel Coward
Norman Delaney	....	set dresser
John Elphick	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Gus Walker	....	assistant construction manager (uncredited)
Harry White	....	assistant art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
C.C. Stevens	....	sound recordist
John Aldred	....	sound assistant (uncredited)
Walter R. Day	....	assistant sound (uncredited)
Desmond Dew	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Douglas Woolsey	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Derick Williams	....	special effects cameraman
W. Percy Day	....	matte painter (uncredited)
Frank Gibson	....	visual effects production manager (uncredited)
Stanley Grant	....	special effects camera operator (uncredited)
P.G. Hemfrey	....	first assistant camera: visual effects unit (uncredited)
T. Pickett	....	model assistant (uncredited)
Charles Staffell	....	special effects camera assistant (uncredited)
Bill Warrington	....	model supervisor (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Guy Green	....	camera operator
Jack Atcheler	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Jim Body	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Jock Dymore	....	chief electrician (uncredited)
Norman Foley	....	focus puller (uncredited)
B. Francke	....	camera operator (uncredited)
J. Green	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Alan Hume	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Max Rosher	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Henry Slagter	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Ray Sturgess	....	focus puller (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Reginald Beck	....	supervising editor (uncredited)
Pat Danes	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Peter Taylor	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Norah Walsh	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Renee Woods	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Muir Mathieson	....	conductor
Roy Douglas	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Other crew
I.T. Clark	....	naval advisor (as Lt. Commander I.T. Clark, O.B.E., R.N.)
C.R.E. Compton	....	naval advisor (as Lieutenant C.R.E. Compton R.N.)
T.W.J. Lawlor	....	naval advisor (as Able Seaman T.W.J. Lawlor)
Betty Curtis	....	continuity (uncredited)
Irene Howard	....	rehearsal director (uncredited)
Gordon Parry	....	location manager (uncredited)
Maggie Unsworth	....	assistant continuity (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Two Cities Films (as A Two Cities Film)

Distributors

• British Lion Film Corporation (1942) (UK) (theatrical) (presents) (as British Lion Film Corpn.Ltd.)
• United Artists (1942) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Films (1945) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Belle & Blade Studios (video)
• Criterion Collection, The (laserdisc)
• F.J. Lucas (Brazil) (video)
• Future Film (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
• LW Editora (2006) (Brazil) (DVD)
• TV3 (1987) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Royal Navy  this film is dedicated to
• Forster & Son  officers uniforms
• London Symphony Orchestra, The (LSO)  music played by (as The London Symphony Orchestra)
• Royal Navy  this film would not have been possible without the help, guidance and co-operation of
• Royal Air Force (RAF)  this film would not have been possible without the help, guidance and co-operation of (as The Royal Air Force)
• 5th Battalion Coldstream Guards, The  this film would not have been possible without the help, guidance and co-operation of (as The 5th Battalion Coldstream Guards)

Runtime:

USA:115 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Sound System)

Certification:

UK:U | Australia:G | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

D and P Studios, Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Two Cities Films

Trivia:

There was a tragedy during the shooting of the film, during a relatively straightforward special effects scene of an explosion in a gun turret. After the first take, Lean (Coward wasn't present) was dissatisfied. Chief electrician Jock Dymore, keen to get the scene wrapped before lunch, climbed onto the set with a bottle full of the flash-powder used for the explosive effect. The containers they were using were still white hot from the first take, and the resulting blast killed Dymore and seriously injured two others.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When a scene is shown in the wardroom, the point of view changes to simulate the ship moving. However the sherry or wine in the glasses does not move at all showing that it is the camera that is moving rather than the 'ship' (or set).

Quotes:

[first lines]
Voice: [voiceover] This is the story of a ship...
[long sequence of ship-building and launch]

Movie Connections:

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

The HMS Torrin

The British destroyer HMS Torrin serves as the meeting place where men from all walks of life come together as they are called to do their duty for their country. The lives of the different men interconnect in amazing ways, in good times and during tragedy at sea.

David Lean and Noel Coward shared the directorial duty in a film that is one of the best ones of the genre. It would appear impossible by today's egotistical standards that two men, like Mr. Coward and Mr. Lean, would even consent to work in a film project. The unity shown in the making of the film must have come from those trying days during the war days in England.

The large ensemble cast put together for the film showcases some of the best talent of the British screen like no other of its kind. Noel Coward, who was a colossal figure in the East End stage, is seen as Capt. Kinross, the man at the helm of the Torrin. His wife is played by Celia Johnson, one of the best actresses of her generation, and who later would go to collaborate with Mr. Coward in what must be, perhaps, one of the best achievements in the English cinema, "Brief Encounter".

In supporting roles we see a young John Mills playing Shorty Blake. Bernard Miles is seen as the kind Walter Hardy. His wife Katherine is portrayed by Joyce Carey, another excellent character actress who was always a welcome presence in any film in which she appeared. Kay Walsh, Michael Wilding, Daniel Massey seen as a young boy, and the baby Juliet Mills also appear in the film.

"In Which We Serve" is still a pleasure to watch because it shows the valor of the men called to defend their country.