Dunkirk (1958)

Director:

Leslie Norman

Writers:

J.S. Bradford (book)
Ewan Butler (book)
(more)

Release Date:

10 September 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | War

Tagline:

Days That Shook the World! Victory Snatched From Disaster!

Plot:

Two stories in one - an easygoing British Corporal in France finds himself responsible for the lives of his men when their officer is killed...

Plot Keywords:

Ealing | WWII | Based On Play | Based On Novel

Cast

John Mills	...	Cpl. 'Tubby' Bins
Robert Urquhart	...	Pvt. Mike
Ray Jackson	...	Pvt. Barlow
Meredith Edwards	...	Pvt. Dave Bellman
Anthony Nicholls	...	Military spokesman
Bernard Lee	...	Charles Foreman (British newspaper reporter)
Michael Shillo	...	Jouvet (French newspaper reporter)
Richard Attenborough	...	John Holden (Heron owner)
Sean Barrett	...	Frankie, (Holden employee)
Victor Maddern	...	Merchant seaman in pub
Maxine Audley	...	Diana Foreman
Bud Flanagan	...	Himself - Music Hall Performer
Chesney Allen	...	Himself - Music Hall Performer
Kenneth Cope	...	Lt. Lumpkin
Denys Graham	...	Pvt. Fraser
Barry Foster	...	Don R
Warwick Ashton	...	Battery sergeant major in France
Peter Halliday	...	Battery major in France
Ronald Hines	...	Pvt. Miles (battery crew)
Roland Curram	...	Pvt. Harper (battery crew)
John Welsh	...	Staff colonel
Lloyd Lamble	...	Staff colonel
Cyril Raymond	...	Gen. Viscount Gort, VC
Nicholas Hannen	...	Vice-Adm. Ramsey at Dover
Eddie Byrne	...	Commander (Tough's Yard)
Patricia Plunkett	...	Grace Holden
Michael Gwynn	...	Commander at Sheerness
Michael Bates	...	Froome
Rodney Diak	...	Pannet
Fred Griffiths	...	Old Sweet
Dan Gressy	...	Joe
Christopher Rhodes	...	Sergeant on the beaches
Lionel Jeffries	...	Medical colonel
Harry Landis	...	Dr. Lt. Levy
John Horsley	...	Padre
Patrick Allen	...	Sergeant on parade ground
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joss Ambler	...	Small boat owner (uncredited)
Neville Chamberlain	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Winston Churchill	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Bernard Cribbins	...	Thirsty sailor (uncredited)
Liz Fraser	...	Worker in Holden's factory. (uncredited)
Barry Keegan	...	Surgeon left behind (uncredited)
Sam Kydd	...	(uncredited)
Frederick Piper	...	Small boat owner (uncredited)
Michael Shepley	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Harold Siddons	...	Doctor (uncredited)
William Squire	...	Captain (uncredited)
Charles 'Bud' Tingwell	...	Sergeant in cookhouse beside battery in wood. (uncredited)
Tim Turner	...	Officer (line of men in sea) (uncredited)
Mona Washbourne	...	Worker who speaks to Holden in his factory. (uncredited)
Peter Williams	...	Officer at Ramsey's H.Q. (uncredited)

Directed by
Leslie Norman

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
J.S. Bradford		book (as Major J.S. Bradford MBE MC)
Ewan Butler		book (as Lt. Col. Ewan Butler)
David Divine		screenplay
W.P. Lipscomb		screenplay
Trevor Dudley Smith		novel "The Big Pickup"

Produced by
Michael Balcon	....	producer
Michael Forlong	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Malcolm Arnold

Cinematography by
Paul Beeson		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Gordon Stone

Casting by
Irene Howard		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Jim Morahan

Costume Design by
Ivy Baker

Makeup Department
Roy Ashton	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Hal Mason	....	production supervisor
Norman Priggen	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michael Birkett	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Stephen Dalby	....	sound supervisor
Norman King	....	sound recordist
Alastair McIntyre	....	sound editor
Lionel Selwyn	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Fred Hellenburgh	....	special effects

Stunts
Nosher Powell	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Hugh Wilson	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ivy Baker	....	wardrobe supervisor

Music Department
Dock Mathieson	....	musical director

Other crew
Ewan Butler	....	technical advisor (as Lt. Col. Ewan Butler)
Lt. Cdr. John Fidler	....	technical advisor
Lee Turner	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Ealing Studios

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1958) (UK) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1958) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1980) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Warner Home Video (1994) (UK) (VHS)

Runtime:

134 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #18714) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (video rating) (1994) | UK:U (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Camber Sands, Camber, East Sussex, England, UK

Company:

Ealing Studios

Trivia:

Last screen appearance of Joss Ambler.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: In the shot when the small boats leave the boatyard, they are actually heading away from London and towards Teddington Weir.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Forever Ealing (2002) (TV)

What a WWII movie should be

A simple film, two stories, soldiers and civilians who did what needed to be done. None of the romance of "Mrs Minnever," but moving nonetheless.

I appreciated this film all the more for having seen "Pearl Harbor" a few months ago. I gave "Dunkirk" 8/10, maybe a little generous, because of the attention to detail and accuracy. The acting was better than adequate, and it was wonderful to see a youngish Bernard Lee. He was 49 when this film was released in 1958 -- there is a gap in his filmography from 41 to 45, so he probably served in the war... as did many of the other actors.