In Which We Serve (1942) - Coward and Lean's marvelous Royal Navy war picture

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A beautifully crafted poster for Noël Coward and David Lean's In Which We Serve

We follow the crew of the destroyer Torrin, which fights the Germans in 1941 as part of WWII but unfortunately suffers shipwreck. This calamity takes place in the film's beginning. After this flashbacks illuminate the captain and navy-men, their families and the time leading up to the battle. 

 

In Which We Serve is written, produced, co-directed and co-composed by debuting great English filmmaker Noël Coward (Brief Encounter (1945, writer)), who also stars in it as the captain. He co-directed it with debuting English master filmmaker David Lean (Great Expectations (1946)). The film was made with the full support of the Ministry of Information as a propaganda effort in support of the ongoing British involvement in the war.

Technically astute, In Which We Serve is a fast-paced and handsomely photographed (by Ronald Neame (The Secret Four (1939))) war drama with striking incorporation of real war images as well as of real sailors as extras. Coward acts with impressive dignity and calm, and John Mills (Deadly Advice (1994)) is also eminent. A young Richard Attenborough (Hamlet (1996)) does fine as a panic-stricken sailor. None of the other men seem to have any faults at all, which may be the only flaw to this great picture.

 

Related posts:

 

Noël Coward: The Italian Job (1969) - Braindead boilerplate heist action-comedy regurgitated by swinging London (co-star) 

David Lean: Top 10: Best epic movies reviewed by Film Excess to date

Top 10: Best UK movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) - One of the greats 

Great Expectations (1946) - Lean's first Dickens adaptation is pure cinema magic 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 240k £, approximately 967k $

Box office: In excess of 3.2 mil. $

= Big hit (projected return of 3.61 times its cost)

[In Which We Serve was released 17 September (UK) and runs 115 minutes. Shooting took place from February - June 1942 in England. Different sources dupe the film the year's most popular at the UK box office, or the second most popular. It reportedly grossed 300k £ in the Commonwealth, approximately 1.212 mil. $, and 2 mil. $ in rentals in North America, where it was also a big hit. With a cautious projected final gross of 3.5 mil. $, the film would rank as a big hit. It was nominated for 2 Oscars: Best Picture, lost to Casablanca, and Original Screenplay, lost to Norman Krasna for Princess O'Rourke. Coward won an honorary Oscar for the film, which also won 4 National Board of Review awards. Coward did not direct a feature again but instead racked in credits as a producer, composer, writer and actor. Lean returned with This Happy Breed (1944). As an actor Coward returned with uncredited voice performances in Blithe Spirit (1945) and Brief Encounter (1945) and finally with a physical performance in The Astonished Heart (1950). In Which We Serve is fresh at 90 % with a 7.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of In Which We Serve? 

Hamlet (1948) - Olivier's overrated drama prince

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Laurence Olivier's name almost looms larger than the title on this old-fashioned, classical poster for Laurence Olivier's Hamlet

The prince of Denmark sees the ghost of his late father and is obsessed with the urge to find the one guilty of his murder in order to exact revenge.

 

Hamlet is written, produced and directed by English master filmmaker Laurence Olivier (Henry V (1944)), who also stars as the title character and whose 2nd film it was as a filmmaker. It is, of course, an adaptation of William Shakespeare's (Othello (1603)) same-titled 1599/1601 play.

Though widely celebrated, I find Olivier stiff and affected in Hamlet in a theatrical and dated version of the great play, which also has a problematic Gertrud, the queen and Hamlet's mother, as Eileen Herlie (Freud (1962)) was 11 years younger than Olivier. Though often criticized for its omissions, the film is still long, and I think overlong - and too wordy. 

Still, Olivier's Hamlet is without reservations a handsomely produced and pictorially well composed picture, (cinematography by Desmond Dickinson (Cairo (1963))). As a film, however, Franco Zeffirelli's 1990 version with Mel Gibson is far superior.

 

Related posts:

 

Laurence Olivier: Dracula (1979) - Badham's sensuous, exceptional adaptation (actor)

The Boys From Brazil (1978) or, The Last Nazi Command (co-star)

 

Watch a 2-minute clip from the film here

 

Cost: 527k £, approximately 662k $

Box office: 3.25 mil. $ (North American rentals alone); projected gross of 8-10 mil. $

= Uncertain, but likely a mega-hit (projected return between 12.08-15.1 times the cost)

[Hamlet premiered 6 May (London) and runs 155 minutes. Olivier was paid 50k £ for his work on the film. Shooting took place from April - November 1947 in England. The film's gross details are regrettably not found online; only small snippets such as that it reportedly made 779k £ in profits in the UK alone, which would mean that it was a tremendous hit there, and 3.25 mil. $ in North American rentals, which is also very impressive. The global final gross seems likely to have gone as high as 8-10 mil. $. The film was nominated for 7 Oscars, winning 4: Best Picture (the first non-American film to do so), Actor (Olivier), Art Direction-Set Decoration B/W and Costumes B/W. It lost Best Supporting Actress (Jean Simmons (The Dawning (1988))) to Claire Trevor for Key Largo, Director to John Huston for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and Score - Drama/Comedy (William Walton (As You Like It (1936))) to Brian Easdale for The Red Shoes. It also won 1/2 BAFTA nominations, 2 Golden Globes, a National Board of Review award and many other honors. Olivier returned with Richard III (1955) as a filmmaker and in The Magic Box (1951) as an actor. Hamlet is certified fresh at 95 % with an 8.50/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Hamlet?