| In Which We Serve | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Noël Coward David Lean |
| Written by | Noël Coward |
| Produced by | Noël Coward |
| Starring | Noël Coward John Mills Bernard Miles Celia Johnson |
| Narrated by | Leslie Howard |
| Cinematography | Ronald Neame |
| Edited by | Thelma Connell David Lean |
| Music by | Noël Coward Clifton Parker |
| Distributed by | British Lion Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 115 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £240,000[1][2][3] |
| Box office | £300,000 (Commonwealth) $2 million (US rentals)[1][4][5] |
In Which We Serve is a 1942 British patrioticwar film directed byNoël Coward andDavid Lean, who made his debut as a director. It was made during theSecond World War with the assistance of theMinistry of Information.[6]
The screenplay by Coward was inspired by the exploits of CaptainLord Louis Mountbatten, who was in command of the destroyerHMS Kelly when it was sunk during theBattle of Crete.
Coward composed the music as well as starring in the film as the ship's captain. The film also starredJohn Mills,Bernard Miles,Celia Johnson andRichard Attenborough in his first screen role.
In Which We Serve received the full backing of the Ministry of Information,[6] which offered advice on what would make good propaganda and facilitated the release of military personnel. The film is a classic example of wartime British cinema through its patriotic imagery of national unity and social cohesion within the context of the war.[6]
The film opens with the narration: "This is the story of a ship". In 1941 HMSTorrin engages German transports in a night-time action during theBattle of Crete, but at dawn, the destroyer comes under attack from German bombers. A critical hit forces the crew to abandon the ship as it rapidly capsizes. Some of theofficers andratings manage to find alife raft while being intermittentlystrafed by German planes.
The story of the ship is told in flashbacks, using their memories. The first person to reveal his thoughts is Captain Kinross, who recalls the summer of 1939 when theTorrin is being rushed into commission as the possibility of war becomes a near certainty.
TheTorrin spends a quiet Christmas in the north of Scotland during thePhoney War, but in 1940 it fights its first engagement during theBattle of Narvik. During that action, the ship is struck by atorpedo. The damagedTorrin is towed back to port, all the time being harried by dive bombers.
Safely back in harbour, Captain Kinross tells the assembled ship's company that during the battle nearly all the crew performed as he would expect, but one man did not. However, he surprises everyone when he says that he let him off with caution as he feels that, as Captain, he failed to make him understand his duty.
Returning to the present, the float survivors watch the capsizedTorrin take on water and slowly sink. The raft is again strafed by German planes and some men are killed or wounded. Shorty Blake recalls in flashback how he met his wife-to-be, Freda, on a train while on leave. She is related to theTorrin's affable Chief Petty Officer Hardy. When both men return to sea, Freda moves in with Hardy's wife and mother-in-law.
TheTorrin participates in theDunkirk evacuation of theBritish Expeditionary Force (portrayed in the film by the 5th Battalion of theColdstream Guards). Blake gets a letter to say that Freda has given birth to his son during thePlymouth Blitz, but that Hardy's wife and mother-in-law were killed. He has to tell Hardy, who is writing a letter home, the bitter news.
The survivors on the life raft watch theTorrin finally sink. Captain Kinross leads a final "three cheers" for theTorrin. A British destroyer soon begins rescuing the men. Captain Kinross talks to the survivors and collects addresses from the dying.
Telegrams are sent to the crew's loved ones. Kinross addresses the ship's survivors in a military depot inAlexandria in Egypt. He tells them that although they lost their ship and many friends, who now "lie together in fifteen hundred fathoms", he notes that these losses should inspire them to fight even harder in the battles to come. Captain Kinross then shakes hands with all the ratings as they leave the depot. When the last man goes, the emotionally tired captain silently acknowledges his surviving officers before walking away.
An epilogue concludes: Bigger and stronger ships are being launched to avenge theTorrin; Britain is an island nation with a proud, indefatigable people; Captain Kinross is now in command of abattleship. Its massive main guns fire at the enemy.
Shortly after his playBlithe Spirit opened in the West End in July 1941, Noël Coward was approached byAnthony Havelock-Allan, who was working with the production companyTwo Cities Films. Its founder,Filippo Del Giudice, was interested in making a propaganda film and wanted someone well-known to write the screenplay.
Coward agreed to work on the project as long as the subject was theRoyal Navy, and he was given complete control.[7]
As the sinking ofHMS Kelly on 23 May 1941 was still on Coward's mind, he decided to use the ship's demise as the basis for his script. Mountbatten, aware that there was some public antipathy to his political ambitions, agreed to support the project as long as it was not a conspicuous biography of his own experiences. In order to do research, Coward visited thenaval base inPlymouth, whereMichael Redgrave, with whom he was in a relationship at the time, was stationed. He also visitedPortsmouth and theHome Fleet atScapa Flow, where he sailed onHMS Nigeria.[8]
Coward spent the final months of 1941 drafting a screenplay. However, when he submitted it to Havelock-Allan, the producer told him the film would run between eight and nine hours if it was made as written because it included lengthy scenes inParis,China, and theWest Indies. Havelock-Allan told Coward he needed to trim the plot down to the basics by eliminating everything that was not related to theTorrin or its crew. Heeding the advice, Coward started his story with the laying of the ship's keel in 1939 and concluded it soon after it sank off the coast of Crete.[9] For the speech at the end of the film, when Capt. Kinross addresses the survivors from theTorrin in Alexandria, Coward used the real speech that Mountbatten gave to the surviving crew of HMSKelly after they were rescued and taken to Egypt.[10][11]
Coward was determined to portray Captain Kinross in the film despite the studio's concern that his public "dressing gown and cigarette-holder" persona might make it difficult for audiences to accept him in the role of a tough navy man. Havelock-Allan supported him, although he later called his performance "always interesting, if not quite convincing." Coward also needed to convince the censors that the sinking of the ship was a crucial scene and not the threat to public morale they perceived it to be.[12]
Coward had experience directing plays, but he was a novice when it came to films, and he knew he needed to surround himself with professionals if the project was to succeed. He had seen and admiredRonald Neame's work and he hired him ascinematographer and chieflighting technician.[13] The Italian film directorFilippo Del Giudice was released from his internment as an enemy alien to work on the film at Coward's insistence. MI5 suppliedAnn Elwell as his secretary. She was translating for him as he took on the role of art director and she also did some scriptwriting.[14] Coward could handle the direction of the actors but would be at a loss with the action scenes, so he askedDavid Lean to supervise the filming of those.In Which We Serve proved to be the first of several films on which the two would collaborate.[13]
Shooting began atDenham Studios on 5 February 1942. From the start, Coward was happy to let production crew members take charge in their areas of expertise while he concentrated on directing the actors and creating his own portrayal of Kinross. However, he soon became bored with the mechanics of filmmaking and after six weeks he came to the studio only when scenes in which he appeared were being filmed.[15] At one point, he invited the royal family to the set andnewsreel footage of their visit proved to be good publicity for the film.[16]
During the filming, the character of Albert Fosdike, "Shorty" Blake's brother-in-law, was recast after actorWilliam Hartnell turned up late for his first day of shooting. Coward berated Hartnell in front of cast and crew for his unprofessionalism. He then made him personally apologise to everyone before sacking him.Michael Anderson, the film'sfirst-assistant director, took over the part (credited as "Mickey Anderson").[17]
Coward was anxious that it succeed, not only because it was his first film project, but because he felt it was his contribution to the war effort and he wanted it to be perceived as such by the public. The première was a gala event held as a benefit for several naval charities and Coward was pleased to see a large presence of military personnel.[15]
Richard Attenborough appeared as a sailor deserting his post under fire. His name and character were omitted from the original release-print credits but were subsequently added.[18]
Interiors were filmed atDenham Studios, inDenham,Buckinghamshire. The destroyerHMAS Nepal played HMSTorrin.[19] The Kinross family picnic scene, set during theBattle of Britain in 1940, was filmed on location on theDunstable Downs inBedfordshire.
Although the filmmakers took great care to conceal locations because of wartime censorship, scenes were shot atPlymouth'snaval dockyard in Devon and the naval station on theIsle of Portland. For example, the departure of Blake and Hardy was filmed in front of Devonport's original main entrance, the Keyham Dock Gate.Smeaton's Tower on the seafront atPlymouth Hoe was used for the shore-leave scenes between Shorty Blake (Mills) and his wife Freda (Kay Walsh).
The film was the second most popular movie at the British box office in 1943.[20] (According toKinematograph Weekly the film was the most popular.[21])
The film was one of the most successful British films ever released in the US, earning$1.8 million in rentals ($25.3 million in 2024 dollars[22]).[23]
Bosley Crowther ofThe New York Times observed, "There have been other pictures which have vividly and movingly conveyed in terms of human emotion the cruel realities of this present war. None has yet done it so sharply and so truly asIn Which We Serve... For the great thing which Mr. Coward has accomplished in this film is a full and complete expression of national fortitude ... Yes, this is truly a picture in which the British may take a wholesome pride and we may regard as an excellent expression of British strength."[24]
Variety called the film "a grim tale sincerely picturized and splendidly acted throughout" and added, "Only one important factor calls for criticism. It is that all the details are too prolonged. The author-producer-scriptwriter-composer and co-director gives a fine performance as the captain of the vessel, but acting honors also go to the entire company. Stark realism is the keynote of the writing and depiction, with no glossing of the sacrifices constantly being made by the sailors."[25]
Despite largely positive reviews by audiences and critics alike, the film was not well received by some within theAdmiralty who dubbed it "In Which We Sink".[10]
On Christmas Eve 1942 in New York theNational Board of Review of Motion Pictures honoured the film as theBest English Language Film of the Year, citingBernard Miles andJohn Mills for their performances.
The film was nominated in the 1943Academy Awards forBest Picture andBest Original Screenplay (losing out toCasablanca andPrincess O'Rourke respectively). However, Coward was presented with anAcademy Honorary Award for "his outstanding production achievement."
In Which We Serve also won theNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film (beatingCasablanca) and theArgentine Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Film in 1943.
ARegion 2 DVD with a running time of 96 minutes was released byCarlton on 11 October 1999. A Region 1 DVD was released as part of the David Lean Collection byMGM on 7 September 2004. It features subtitles in English, Spanish, and French and an English audio track in Dolby Digital 1.0. In March 2012 The Criterion Collection releasedIn Which We Serve on Blu-ray and DVD as part of the 'David Lean Directs Noël Coward' box set, which includes a short documentary on the making ofIn Which We Serve.[26]
