In Which We Serve (1942)

In Which We Serve
Directed by Noel Coward and David Lean
Written by Noel Coward
1942/UK
Two Cities Films
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] (last line) Voiceover: God bless our ships… and all who sail in them.[/box]

This has been the best yet in my mini-festival of 1942 British films made to prepare the populace for hard times to come.

In Which We Serve is a tribute to a ship, the HMS Torrin, the men who love her, and the women who love them.  Noel Coward plays the captain of the ship E.V. Kinross, a character closely modeled on his friend Lord Mountbatten.  Cecilia Johnson, in her film debut, plays his wife.

The story begins with the dive bombing of the ship and is told in flashback as some of the survivors cling to a life raft and ponder the past.

We follow the fate of the ship from its construction in the run-up to Britain’s entry into the war through various engagements, its evacuation of soldiers from Dunkirk, and its eventual sinking.  We witness the wives and sweethearts of the sailors saying goodbye repeatedly to their men and displaying their own heroism during the Battle of Britain.

Noel Coward brought in seasoned editor David Lean to direct the action sequences. as his directorial debut.  Coward soon tired of his directing duties leaving Lean at the helm for most of the shooting.  He did a really superb job on a very complicated project.  The acting is uniformly top-notch.

As I mentioned before many of the films of this period seem designed to teach the British how they were expected to deal with adversity – i.e. with a stiff upper lip, good humor, and courage.  There are many touching moments in the story whose pathos was only heightened with the bravery with which the men and women carried on in spite of everything.  Warmly recommended.

The film is apparently in the public domain and is widely available online.

Noel Coward won an honorary award at the 1943 Academy Awards ceremony for “his outstanding production achievement in In Which We Serve“.  The film was nominated for Best Picture and Best Writing, Original Screenplay the following year.

In Which We Serve marked the screen debut of Richard Attenborough who died on August 24, 2014.  May he rest in peace.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5nhVwf3Ng4

Trailer