Went the Day Well? (1942) User Reviews

Propaganda classic

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 15 January 2012]

An ahead-of-its-time film if ever there was one, WENT THE DAY WELL? is still a chilling wartime thriller even watched today. It begins deceptively genteel, with Mervyn Johns talking to the camera (a great device) and leading us into a story which times out to be both hard hitting and inspirational.

Like the later film, THE EAGLE HAS LANDED, this fictional movie poses the 'what if?' question - what if the much-mooted Nazi invasion of England had really taken place? The answer is limited to a single rural village in the English countryside which soon finds itself taken over by ruthless German soldiers.

What follows is expertly paced and supremely directed, with the villagers harried, hassled and murdered and eventually fighting back against their oppressors. It's still a violent and grim film, with axe murders, knifings and all manner of shootings put on the screen, although in my mind a scene involving a hand grenade marks the most shocking moment. An excellent cast, topped by THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME's Leslie Banks as a sinister collaborater, help make this a British classic.

A Nation Mobilized

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 9 November 2011]

Watching Went The Day Well? put me in mind of American propaganda films about fifth columnists in the USA. Some like Alfred Hitchcock's Sabotage were well made. The majority of them were so bad that even in those patriotic days of World War II, I'm betting a lot of the audience must have laughed uproariously even then, let alone seeing them now. I can recall the Nazis being involved in black market cattle rustling in a Three Mesquiteers film, the East Side Kids discovering a spy ring in one of their films, and in a Judy Canova film Joan Of Ozark she's targeted by Hitler himself for finding and destroying a wireless transmitter in Arkansas. These films are hysterically funny today even the concept of them.

But for the folks in the United Kingdom this was a real threat. Hitler and his legions were all along the coast of Europe ready to spring into action, threat of an invasion was real. The Germans occupied a few of the English Channel Islands which are part of the United Kingdom proper. To this day historians debate why he shifted his attentions from Great Britain to the Soviet Union. Because of that a film about German troops being brought in stealthily to the United Kingdom and assigned to take a certain village for its geographic location and relative inaccessibility, the better to defend if found out holds up even today.

That's what happens some elite German troops in the uniforms of British sappers are sent to occupy the village of Bramley End. Basil Sydney and David Farrar command the troops and they convince the townspeople at first they're real. A really stupid error on Sydney's part gives them away, so the village is occupied for real. An invasion is coming within a few days and the villagers make many attempts to get help from the outside.

The local squire is played by Leslie Banks and he's a Cliveden set type, a Nazi sympathizer. Banks has the best role in the film as he sabotages a few efforts at resistance.

I do love this film so, it shows that the people who united to save the British army to get them off the beaches at Dunkirk are still doing what they have to in order to save civilization itself. Leading the resistance is a sailor played by Frank Lawton who happens to be on leave visiting his family in Bramley's End.

Went The Day Well? is the best kind of wartime propaganda film and the people's resistance even in an event that never occurred will still inspire audiences today.

Its Unexpected Violence Causes It to Project with Particular Prominence

[jzappa · 8/10 · 15 January 2009]

In WWII England a troop of surveyors are dispatched into a characteristically happy-go-lucky and scenic village, though really they are a select assemblage of German officers with orders to seize control of the township on the horizon of a covert German attack in a few days. Director Alberto Cavalcani is smart. Rather than this information creeping up on us like a twist, we grasp this from the start. When one of the villagers grows suspicious, we are in an enhanced state of tension. The Germans hijack the parish, a handful among which refuse to lose hope of alerting the unsuspecting free world around them.

Do not make the mistake of presuming that it is an insincere propaganda yarn, considering its era. This is in fact quite an electrifying tale of survival. If so many can overlook the propaganda of obsolete films like Battleship Potemkin, there is certainly room for this picture. It stands out, owing much to its unexpected flashes of violence that are sincerely exhilarating and often frank and uncompromising in terms of the drama. It is not gritty like most modern war films. The quaintly timeless English ambiance, and the consistent theme of it maintaining its spry morale, is a clever and natural juxtaposition to the taut aggression of the conflict, which is thus more well-defined. The relatively unfamiliar cast is plainly high- quality.

At its hub, yes, it's a work of propaganda exploiting a thriller story to enrapture its WWII-era British spectators. But mind you, it is based on a story by English writer and WWII MI6 spy Graham Greene. Nevertheless, the English were righteous in that war, remaining the only European country the Germans intended to occupy but never could. This piece grows to be as riveting as any other good movie, and what's more, its unexpected violence causes it to project with particular prominence.

A credible representation of what could well have happened.

[JBall75487 · 10 September 2001]

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.

A brief review of "Went the Day Well"

[Nick007-2 · 10/10 · 25 September 1999]

For a film made in 1942 this film is fairly hard hitting as it does not shy away from the realities and emotions of warfare. The plot gradually gains pace and the atmosphere is tense as the ordinary English folk rally round to face the professional soldiers of Nazi Germany. The quality of acting is superb throughout and although there are signs of propaganda, it is kept to a minimum and is not overly biased. Highly recommended and very cheap to buy (at least in England it is).

Surprisingly dark

[MOscarbradley · 9/10 · 9 September 2008]

Alberto Cavalcanti's outstanding piece of wartime propaganda is worthy of Hitchcock at his best. It's a surprisingly bleak and sometimes vicious study of British resilience, light years away from the dull Hollywood sentimentality of "Mrs Miniver". It's about a group of Fifth Columnists who take over a small British village in 1942 in preparation for the German invasion and of how the villagers fight back.

It has all the usual stereotypical villagers, (the post-mistress, the squire etc), but these clichéd parts are turned on their heads with surprisingly suspenseful results. Good performances, too, from everybody in a film that is largely undervalued, certainly in this country where we are inclined to acknowledge our 'heroism' but draw the line at going beyond that, as this film does, somewhat uncomfortably.

"Went The Day Well" vs "The Eagle Has Landed"

[reindeer2uk · 6/10 · 6 December 2005]

I can't help but think of the similarities between this film and the later production "The Eagle Has Landed" based on the novel by Jack Higgins. Both films concern the capture of a sleepy English village by crack German paratroopers disguised as members of an allied force. In both stories the villagers are herded into the church and held captive, although the duration of captivity in the latter production is relatively short. Also, in the Higgins story, the objective of the German troops is the capture of Winston Churchill, not acting as an advance party probing weaknesses prior to the conquest of Britain.

The beauty of "Went The Day Well" is that is of its time, and the product of a country that was still at war, and reflects the concerns of the British wartime population. If you have an interest in World War Two and like black and white films, then by all means see this film.

Superb British Propaganda Film

[glennwalsh44 · 10/10 · 11 December 2002]

I have only managed to see 'Went The Day Well' twice and it is an absolute gem, but one that probably wouldn't appeal to many people nowadays. The events are believable and I am sure this film was very effective as wartime propaganda. Superior to 'The Eagle Has Landed,' which definitely shares many elements, starting with the soldiers graves at the beginning of the films. Excellent stuff.

Good English Wartime Movie

[sddavis63 · 7/10 · 25 March 2008]

This is a pretty well done piece of English wartime film, made in 1942 and clearly intended to buck up the English as they faced the possibility of a German invasion. In the story, the small village of Bramley End is occupied by German paratroopers, who infiltrate the village disguised as English troops, along with the help of a local "Quisling" named Oliver Wilsford, played by Mervyn Johns. Seen with the benefit of hindsight, the story is rather far-fetched, since there really was no serious threat of a German invasion after 1940, but of course those making the movie (and those watching it) didn't have the benefit of hindsight, and so it has to be seen for what it is: a well done bit of movie-making encouraging the English to fight back in case it did happen.

In Bramley End, a pretty good (and ultimately successful) fight was put up once the locals got over their shock, and the fight involved men, women and children; soldiers and civilians alike. The Germans (as expected) are portrayed as ruthless (although, given the context, I thought they might have been portrayed even worse than they were.) Although it clearly was propaganda to an extent, the movie didn't have what I would consider to be a typical "propaganda" feel to it, which I appreciated, and which makes it interesting rather than dated even today. Speaking from a North American perspective, I confess that at times I had a bit of trouble following the accents, but the flow of the story was clear enough in spite of this, and I thought Oliver's ultimate fate at the hands of Nora (Valerie Taylor) represented poetic justice.

The movie opens and closes with a narration which is set in the post-war era, and is perhaps the only thing that seems really out of place today, with references to Hitler getting what was coming to him (I don't think he really did) and speaking of the invasion that finally came (which it didn't.) Aside from that, though, I found this movie quite enjoyable. 7/10

Suspenseful and inspiring.

[jennyp-2 · 10/10 · 3 April 2003]

The picture begins with a narrator telling how it came to be that a number of Germans are buried here in the graveyard in the quiet English village of Bramley Green. The events that occurred there in the spring of 1942 are then shown in flashback: A platoon of British soldiers arrive who are to be billeted in the village for a few days. Residents are cooperative and gracious, providing lodging and food from their already rationed supply. Before long, suspicions arise. Why do the soldiers write the figure seven with a cross stroke? Why does one of them have a bar of Viennese chocolate? Slowly the community realizes that the enemy is in their midst: the British soldiers are actually German paratroopers. The villagers are rounded up and locked in the church and several attempts to get word to the outside world are thwarted. Then it is discovered that the village squire (Leslie Banks) is a traitor aiding the Nazis. The vicar's daughter (Valerie Taylor) boldly shoots him, the postmistress (Muriel George) whacks her captor over the head with an ax, and the rest of the town joins suit until reinforcements finally arrive. Based on a story by Graham Greene. This film was shown at Cinefest in Syracuse NY in March 2003 and was the hit of the festival. I hope it will be released on home video soon.

Village Voices

[writers_reign · 6/10 · 21 April 2008]

Before watching even one frame of this film it is as well to remind ourselves that it was made in 1942, more or less the exact middle of the war, a war for which no one at the time could predict an outcome and one that could certainly have gone either way. It brings together a mixture of established Stage - Leslie Banks, Marie Lohr, Elizabeth Allan - and Screen actors and those at the start of their careers - Thora Hird, Patricia Hayes, Harry Fowler etc, drops them in a picture postcard village and imagines what might happen should the Germans invade. Perhaps wisely it doesn't examine too closely just how SIXTY of the enemy were able to parachute into England undetected to find both English Army uniforms and transport awaiting them plus a leader, Basil Sydney whose flawless English extends even to native speech-patterns (I say, that's extremely nice of you). After three reels or so they are inevitably rumbled and equally inevitably the villagers find they have become hostages and Cavalcanti has a little fun in showing how each successive attempt to alert the outside world comes to naught. Eventually, of course, Good triumphs over Evil and everyone lives to fight another day. Invaluable as a period piece which captures an England that might as well HAVE been lost to the Germans as to Tony Blain and his ilk.

Tense wartime drama.

[kevin_crighton · 10/10 · 29 August 2010]

When a group of soldiers arrive in a small village in England during WW2, it's soon revealed that they are in fact German soldiers in disguise, and soon the villagers have to fight back to save themselves....

Made in 1942 as a British propaganda film, Went The Day Well? is not your typical war movie. Until the climax of the film, there isn't a lot of action in it. And when the action does start, it's not soldiers versus soldiers, but villagers versus soldiers.

The cleverness of the tale, is in the way it is little details that give away the fact the soldiers are German (including a line through the number seven - which I do!).

While the script does show its age in some of the language, and some of the performances come over a bit wooden looking at it now, the film still has a lot of power, thanks to the direction of Alberto Cavalcanti. And while the action may not be as dramatic of other films of its type, it still builds to a tense and gripping climax.

Bookended by a couple of scenes that are supposed to be after the war, it works well as the propaganda film it was always meant to be. Taken as a war-set film, it is still one of my favourites, and I think a classic.

Good use of unknown actors -suspense, revenge, and innocence

[gftv · 6/10 · 2 November 1999]

Part propaganda film of 1942 that has a fresh feel to it with unknown actors playing key roles. The danger amongst us works very well, as in The Eagle has Landed (1980's) and the idylic country locations extends the sense of isolation and danger.

Retaliation sequences are well handled. Top notch stuff for the time and still works well 60 years on.

A very enjoyable watch

[TimelessFlight · 5/10 · 20 April 2023]

Please don't think my rating of 5 stars means I didn't enjoy this film. I did.

It's a classic case of the plucky underdog brits fighting back against those nasty Germans during the war, the Brits in question being the residents of an idillic rural village suddenly at the mercy of the enemy - and very much the enemy from within in this case.

However my enjoyment was based more on the fun of watching a good story unfolding at pace in a very dated and stereotypical low budget manner. There was nothing remarkable in the story telling or the characters, and some of the fight scenes were truly laughable - I've witnessed more convincing confrontations in school plays.

The thing is none of the flaws really mattered much; it was a decent watch, in the way many older British black and white movies often are - but nothing more.

Rare propaganda film which ages well

[ianginge · 23 March 2004]

1942. That is the important date to bear in mind when watching this film. That was when the film was made, and when the UK cinema auidences watching it knew that all that separated them from invasion was a few miles of sea. Imagine the impact it must have had!! Plucky Brits, living in the rural English idyll, threatened by the Hun. Having witnessed their brave fight, the auidences must have come out of the flicks wanting to take on the German army on their own. The comparisons with 'The Eagle Has Landed' are easy to make, but just remember that date of 1942. The threat was real to the people watching it, unlike those watching 'The Eagle' for the very first time. Cracking afternoon entertainment, with a message of its time.

It went very well

[AndrewPhillips · 9/10 · 1 June 2006]

Now I am a sucker for "what if" stories, and what better to have Germans occupying an English village during the war.

What we have in this gem of a film is a great story, we see the villagers pull together and overcome the foe in heroic fashion. We are not spared the horrors of war, I think particularly of the scene when the telephone operator having summoned the courage to kill her German captor is killed trying to contact someone for help, you don't see anything but because of that it is all the more powerful. You are on the edge of your seat hoping the eggs with the message on will get through. We see a lady driving in her car, singing to herself, we then cut to the home guard being mown down on the road, their bodies cleared just as the woman drives round the corner. The two scenes together make for a powerful contrast. Bloody good stuff.

The pace continues through the film at such a rate that you do find yourself on the edge of the seat, the acting is great, though some may find the clipped English accent a little annoying, I liked the fact that there are a number of different accents from cockney to Yorkshire all making the "in it together" message more powerful. When the villagers start to fight back we get to see some hero's, none more so than the lady at the manor house who to save the children throws herself onto a grenade, I remember seeing this scene for the first time and being very moved by it, and every time I watch it again it has the same effect.

As a piece of propaganda it must have worked like a dream as a film it is well made and acted, what more could you want. Even more impressive is that it has aged very little.

Well made propaganda piece with a surprisingly meaty story

[MrGeorgeKaplan · 8/10 · 22 March 2006]

Despite its rather tortuous title this is a great piece of British WWII propaganda with a simple message: The Nazis are a bunch of child-murdering blackguards, and we Brits will see through their dastardly plans and overcome them using our doughty pluck and the intelligence of our womenfolk and children.

The film begins with the arrival of a sizeable detachment of British troops arriving in a sleepy village which is coping admirably with the rigours of rationing and getting by without their menfolk, who are away fighting. However, it soon transpires that the British troops are, in fact a crack team of German paratroopers who have come to jam British radar in preparation for the invasion. Not only that but the local lord of the manor is a dastardly fifth columnist. The women of the village become suspicious of the newcomers due to the funny way they write numerals and the fact that they have German chocolate with them. This is all to no avail though as everyone takes their worries to the traitorous squire.

As it is a propaganda piece, the ending comes as no surprise. What is interesting though is the subversion of the class system: the dodgy poacher and his little scamp of a sidekick who are the true heroes, where the 'officer class' of the village are portrayed as either incompetent or downright villainous. The film was based on a Graham Greene story, and his perfect observation of the British way of life is superbly translated to the screen.

Compared to the other, more famous propaganda films (I'm thinking here of Humphrey Jennings), the quality of production (film stock, sound, lighting etc.) is very high, and it is hard to imagine that this was made in a time of war.

Faded But Worthy.

[screenman · 7/10 · 19 April 2008]

Although clearly made on a low budget (there was a war on, you know), this movie still has the power to shock, albeit mildly.

At the time of its release in 1942, Britain still stood alone. In fact, the immediate threat of invasion had, by now, abated. German attempts to gain air superiority over British skies as a prelude to conquest had already failed during the summer of 1940, in the 'Battle of Britain'. The Luftwaffe got such a drubbing that Hitler's proposed 'Operation Sea-lion' had to be deferred indefinitely. In the meantime, his own appetite for slaughter remained undiminished. So, in 1941, he launched 'Operation Barbarossa' against the East, and effectively sealed his and Germany's doom. By 1942, there were simply insufficient resources available to invade Britain as well.

Nevertheless, it was evidently deemed needful that the public be reminded of its possibility, and this faded little propaganda piece does things very well.

The credits roll with a drive down one of England's 'country lanes' (of which we are later reminded in song during a radio broadcast) as a reaffirmation of the homely way of life that stands in peril. And this leads us to the quiet rural hamlet of 'Bramley End'.

A company of German paratroopers turn up disguised as British soldiers on manoeuvres. That scenario itself seems plausible enough. Indeed, the idea was reprised in a later movie 'The Eagle Has Landed'. But what is highly unlikely is the matter of their arrival in British vehicles. Where, pray, could these have come from? Parachuted in as well? Or did the Germans just wander into the nearest army camp and requisition them, using all of the right forms, all of the appropriate authority, and knowing just who to address? And were the vehicles likewise handed over without a check on their validity? This is a gaping hole in the plot.

But it's the only one there is, and if you can get your head around it, what follows is a drama of progressively spiralling intensity.

Movie censorship in Britain was pretty strict right up until the 1970's, and as I say: there was a war on. Yet there are some surprisingly barbaric events following plot discovery in which - it has to be said - the English women are depicted as the most drastic. Not the least of which is a member of the fairer sex of this 'sceptered isle' burying a hatchet in the back of a Teutonic head, whilst another coldbloodedly guns-down a quisling with whom she had a love interest. Hell hath no fury. This is definitely an item to motivate the ladies, and must have had a powerful effect when it was shown at the height of WW2.

Everyone mucks in (as you were expected to do). A schoolboy hero is shot in the leg whilst running for help, and all the men engage in a running battle that sees no German prisoners taken. There's little or no 'gentlemanly' conduct; it's kill or be killed and our civilians are depicted as no less ferocious than enemy soldiers. That must have sailed pretty close to the wind in its day, especially as, at other times, the krauts were invariably (and correctly) depicted as the most cruel. If anything, the moral of the story seemed to be that if they got across here it was freedom or slavery, and you did whatever you had to do. I know of no other movie in which Germans are offered no quarter.

The relationships and acting are sometimes just a little stagy at times, but still mostly quite believable. There are some nice lighting effects too; I particularly liked the 'morning mist' events, when the citizens of Bramley End begin to turn the tables.

I mentioned above that the British trucks were the only plausibility glitch, but that's not quite true. Most of the English-speaking Germans don't just speak English; they speak the mother-tongue, with a fluency that could only have been derived from being British. There's not so much as a hint of Guttural Teutonic expression. Also, there's no explanation as to how the traitor came to be, what his motives were, and so on.

My DVD is a little faded now. There's some slight vignetting and the sound isn't quite up to snuff in parts. Yet this is a movie that can still entertain well. Definitely one for the daughters of Boudicca.

A masterpiece of the genre!

[alexanderdavies-99382 · 10/10 · 27 March 2018]

"Went the Day Well" is the kind of War film which I hadn't heard of or seen until yesterday as it happens. My word, had I been missing out! The story is actually quite lowkey but a lot happens all the same. A group of undercover Nazi soldiers plan to infiltrate a sleepy English village with the intention of occupying it and all the residents. Initially, the Germans attempt to pass themselves off as Allied soldiers but their cover is soon blown. The tension is stretched to breaking point as the village residents are held in a deadly grip of fear during their occupation. With each failed attempt at liberating themselves, I found myself urging them on to win the day against their adversaries. This isn't the kind of film which is tailor-made for any one particular actor but that is to the film's advantage. The Italian director isn't one I've heard of before but he does a marvellous job with "Went the Day Well." The violence for a film of this period is quite brutal and unyielding but it serves a valid point to the storyline. Having a fairly brief running time is a considerable benefit as it helps to maintain the strong narrative. Leslie Banks and Basil Sydney give the better performances but no one comes off poorly.

Wooden acting, trite dialogue, gaping holes in the plot - brilliant movie.

[mikohills · 7/10 · 27 February 2009]

OK everyone else has given a good synopsis of this movie and you should realise you're not getting Citizen Kane here but a solid piece of propaganda produced on the cheap and quickly when such things mattered in Britain, ie a horde of Nazi stormtroopers were waiting to invade thirty miles across the Channel and the British people better be ready to deal with it when the time comes. The fact that we now know that the real threat of invasion had already passed by that stage no one knew for sure at the time that such was the case.

The acting is at times stiff and the dialogue can be a bit facile at times but when the acting and dialogue are good they are excellent. Look at the postmistress in the moments before she gives the German sergeant his comeuppance, watch her facial expression and wonder whether the Nazi was getting what she'd have liked to have given her late husband, all very edgy for 1942. The women and children do get the bravest roles and even if, like the lady of the manor or the daffy post office assistant, they are a bit hopeless at first they rally magnificently.

There are some very significant and subtle moments; the first active resister is the Christian minister, the British serviceman rallies the village defence is a sailor, the dreadful night ends and daylight breaks through just at the point when the villagers learn the outside world is on the way to help, the villagers are prepared to wreck their own beautiful and historic mansion house without a moment's hesitation in the fight to beat the Germans.

There are other enjoyably subtle moments too, "Oh Duck Madame!" when the shooting starts, "Not again" when the sailor shouts the same and surely I can't be the only one to pick up on the servant Bridget? The only named character without dialogue and who is told what to do by her fine bossy aristocratic English mistress but who seems as if she would rather have nothing to do with the whole affair.

Would I be wrong in guessing Bridget is from Ireland?

During WWII, the villagers of Bromley End do what they must to defend not just themselves, but England

[Terrell-4 · 8/10 · 8 March 2008]

Went the Day Well? is one of the British war movies made during WWII that were meant to strengthen morale and inspire steadfastness. The little English village of Bromley End welcomes a large number of Royal Engineers who are to work on a secret project. However, the Royal Engineers in reality are English-speaking German soldiers in British uniforms, parachuted into England to set up a counter radar apparatus which will disrupt England's radar network.

Gradually the villagers begin to suspect things aren't right, and then realize what they're dealing with. The Germans cordon off the village and show their true, ruthless nature. The villagers need to break through the cordon to alert authorities and get help. They also decide they must take action themselves to stop the Germans. This is complicated because the village houses a traitor. The climax is the Battle of Bromley End, with British Home Guard troops arriving while the Germans, attacking the manor house where they must set up their equipment, are held off by the brave men and women of the village.

If you're fond of older Brit movies you'll recognize some fine actors: Leslie Banks, David Farrar, Thora Hird, Basil Sydney, Mervyn Johns. The film is a well-constructed and effective bit of wartime home-front propaganda.

Went the Day Well?

[jboothmillard · 6/10 · 28 September 2022]

I originally had this film recorded on VHS for years without watching it, then I recorded it from TV on my Freeview recorder, and finally I got to watching it when I rented it from Cinema Paradiso, based on a short story by Graham Greene (Brighton Rock, The Third Man, The Quiet American), directed by Alberto Cavalcanti (Dead of Night). Basically, set during the Second World War, in the English village of Bramley End, a group of seemingly authentic British soldiers arrive and are welcomed by the villagers. Soon though, doubts about the true intentions and identities of the soldiers set in. They are revealed to be German soldiers at the forefront for an intended invasion of Britain, they round up the residents and hold them captive in the local church. The Vicar (C. V. France) is shot while ringing the church bell trying to get help. Many villagers make attempts to send help and reach the outside world. Someone writes a message on an egg and gives them to the local paper boy for his mother, but they are crushed when someone runs over them. Mrs. Fraser (Marie Lohr) puts a note in the pocket of Cousin Maud (Hilda Bayley), but she uses it to hold her car window open, then her dog Edward chews it to shreds after it blows onto the back seat. Mrs. Collins (Muriel George), the postmistress, manages to kill a German with an axe used for chopping firewood, she tries to call for help, but the girls on the telephone exchange keep her waiting. Mrs. Collins is killed by another German who walks in on her, and her telephone call is answered with no response. The captive civilians try to warn the local Home Guard, but are betrayed by Oliver Wilsford (Leslie Banks), the village squire, who is revealed to be in collaboration with the Germans. Members of the local Home Guard are ambushed and shot by the Germans. A young boy, George (Harry Fowler), escapes from the church. A German soldier shoots him in the leg, but he manages to alert the British Army. British soldiers arrive with some villagers, including some Women's Land Army girls who managed to escape. They arm themselves with various improvised weapons, barricade themselves in a house, a short battle ensues, and the Germans are defeated. Wilsford is shot dead by Nora Ashton (Valerie Taylor), the vicar's daughter, who discovers his treachery when trying to let the Germans into the barricaded house. During the battle, many of the villagers are wounded or killed. Mrs. Fraser sacrifices herself to save the children from a grenade explosion, and Jim Sturry (Norman Pierce), father of Tom Sturry (Frank Lawton), is shot in the arm and wrenches his ankle as he falls. The British troops then arrive at Bramley End. This story has been told by a villager, Charlie Sims (Mervyn Johns), in flashback, as he stands by the grave of a German, proudly saying "Yes, that's the only bit of England they got." Also starring Elizabeth Allan as Peggy, Basil Sydney as Major Ortler, Edward Rigby as Bill Purvis, David Farrar as Lieutenant Jung, Thora Hird as Ivy, and Patricia Hayes as Daisy. The cast are all quintessentially English, it is a most plausible story that would have chilled people at the time it was released during the real war, I will admit it was very chatty more than thrilling, but it gripped me at the right moments, especially the battle sequences, it is a worthwhile war drama. Good!

All chills on the Home Front

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 7 January 2019]

Had heard a lot of great things about 'Went the Day Well?', nothing but great things in fact, and it was highly recommended to me. Settled down to watch it with family friends who love the film, after expressing interest in seeing it. Even now, can remember and will never forget the surprise on their faces when they heard me say about not yet seeing the film and set about putting it right. Am so glad they did.

Found myself blown away by 'Went the Day Well?' after seeing it. It chilled me, it inspired me, it shocked me, it moved me, kept me riveted and had me provoking thought, during and long after. Not many films recently or in a long time have done all of that to such an extent and so brilliantly. Have heard people say that they consider 'Went the Day Well?' the best Home Front picture made during World War II. To me, it is an extremely strong contender for that high-praise distinction and wouldn't even hesitate recommending it to anybody else interested into seeing it, one of the best films seen recently and that is no joke. Deserves to be much better known, am a very subjective person but how it isn't is a mystery.

What stood out to me was how truly real and plausible it was. Really did feel the full impact of the drama and emotion, was really moved to tears and like many contemporary viewers are likely to be (and even more so viewers at the time) the film left me chilled to the bone. Not many World War II/Home Front films had me believing everything happening from start to finish, and never questioning its plausibility. Very on the nose, very real and very honest, with surprising viciousness and bleakness at times, which for back then must have been very daring.

Yet 'Went the Day Well?' doesn't make the mistake of being heavy-handed or preachy, having seen films (and cartoons) during the wartime that did do, was actually surprised at the restraint the subject is handled in numerous places which was not usually found in other similarly themed films. Another striking asset is the portrayal of the villagers and the very English atmosphere, there is charm but also a steely quality which wasn't expected by me. What the film had to say and what one gets out of it was inspiring.

Also, 'Went the Day Well?' is vividly filmed and lit, directed in a way that is restrained in some places and hard-hitting in others, stirringly scored by William Walton and thoughtfully and potently scripted. It is never dull and cannot fault the cast, with a particularly excellent performance from Leslie Banks.

Concluding, a fantastic film. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Exciting propaganda story in a run of the mill English 1942 village

[tonypeacock-1 · 6/10 · 12 April 2021]

Fascinating insight into how a Nazi German invasion of England could quite easily have become a reality using a sleepy village as a backdrop in a 1942 propaganda film.

How would the ordinary civilian population react to the situation? This film aims to act as a part educational vehicle to a war weary UK population living under the spectre of an invasion.

Several 'ordinary' village residents including Thora Hird (Last Of The Summer Wine, UK TV) as a character called Ivy react with a mixture of suspicion, a sense of teamwork and bravado.

What was also a sense of fascination with this film was that it was written by Graham Greene. A British novelist I was introduced to with Brighton Rock (2010) last week.

The film shows England's countryside as a Whitsuntide garden with tweeting birds hardly a location for German paratroopers scoffing Wien Chokalade!

A great insight into how glorious England used to be. Also interesting was that the film was produced by Ealing better known for their comedy films.

Uh-oh, to be in England....

[rmax304823 · 5/10 · 18 October 2009]

A peaceful, tiny, isolated English village is taken over by a few truck loads of Nazi paratroopers posing as British soldiers. Their plan: To disable a nearby tracking station in time for the imminent German invasion of the island. The villagers twig and the Nazis reveal themselves and herd the citizens into some of the houses with the help of the village squire, who is a fifth columnist. A few of the more defiant residents are shot or bayoneted. Attempts to inform the outside world fail repeatedly until a young boy finally escapes. Genuine British troops arrive. There is a shoot out. The Germans are killed.

This was, I suspect, the source for a recent resurrection, "The Day the Eagle Landed" or something like that, which was commercially minded enough to bring the Yanks to the rescue. The goal of the Germans in the remake was the assassination of Churchill.

It's based on a Graham Greene story and the film was released by Ealing in 1942, designed to be a morale booster. When Greene wrote the story, the threat of an invasion was real enough. The lesson that informs the plot is that class distinctions don't matter (the squire is a spy; the wealthy old lady gives her life, and so does the humble cook). Greene's reputation is that of a master of ambiguity and irony, of subtle inquiries into Big Question, but what we have here is an expression of a pulp sensibility.

The production gets the message across alright but in a way that today seems a bit crude. All -- and I mean ALL -- of the German soldiers are sausage-eating pigs, authoritarian sadists, and just plain rude. There is no hint of humanity, melancholy, or any other recognizable human emotion -- unless ruthless determination can somehow be defined as an emotion.

I mean, when they order a woman to go into another room, they SHOVE her from behind, even though she is already obeying the order. They sneer when they speak. They sneer even when they AREN'T speaking.

The distinction between good and evil is effectively drawn but crude too, as in a comic book. Not that there isn't some deliberate humor, but it's equally subfusc. Mother to young son: "It's all for the sake of morale. Do you know what morale is?" Son: "Yes, it's what the Wops ain't got."

The performances are professional enough and the director, without any razzle dazzle, gets the job done. It's just that it all seems to awfully retrograde from our current perspective. It has the rudimentary quality of a wartime wall poster -- "Loose Lips Sink Ships", "Keep 'em Flying", "Uncle Sam Wants You." Maybe such techniques worked then. Maybe they still work. They seem to be coming back into use, although they now take the form of bumper stickers.