In Which We Serve
Encyclopedia
In Which We Serve is a 1942
British
patriotic war film
directed by David Lean
and Noël Coward
. It was made during the Second World War with the assistance of the Ministry of Information (MOI).
The screenplay by Coward was inspired by the exploits of Captain Lord Louis Mountbatten
, who was in command of the destroyer HMS Kelly
when it was sunk during the Battle of Crete
.
Coward composed the film's music as well as starring in the film as the ship's captain. The film also starred John Mills
, Bernard Miles
, Celia Johnson
and in his first screen role, Richard Attenborough
.
In Which We Serve received the full backing of the Ministry of Information which offered advice on what would make good propaganda
and facilitated the release of military personnel. The film remains a classic example of wartime British cinema through its patriotic imagery of national unity and social cohesion within the context of the war.
in 1941. However when dawn breaks, the destroyer comes under aerial attack from German bombers.
Eventually the little ship receives a critical hit following a low-level pass. The crew's company abandon ship as it rapidly capsizes. Some of the officers and ratings
manage to find a life raft as the survivors are intermittently strafed by passing planes. From here, the story is told in flashback using the memories of the men on the raft. The first person to reveal his thoughts is Captain Kinross (Coward), who thinks back to the summer of 1939 when the Royal Naval
destroyer
HMS
Torrin is being rushed into commission as the possibility of war becomes a near-certainty.
The ship's company spends a relatively quiet Christmas in the north of Scotland during the Phoney War. But by 1940, the Torrin is taking part in a naval battle off the coast of Norway
. However during the action, a young terrified sailor (Attenborough) leaves his station, while another rating (Mills) returns to work his gun after its crew is knocked unconscious by a torpedo
strike on the ship. With the Torrin damaged it is towed back to port, all the time being harried by fighter-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; however one man didn't. But he tells everyone present they may be surprised to know that he let him off with a caution as he feels as Captain he failed to make the young man understand his duty.
The film then returns to the present as the survivors watch the capsized Torrin slowly take on water. It becomes clear that the badly-damaged ship will sink. Once again, the raft is strafed
by German planes. Some men are killed, and "Shorty" Blake (Mills) is wounded. This leads to a flashback in which Mills remembers how he met his wife-to-be, Freda, on a train while on leave. It is also revealed, she is related to the Torrins affable Chief Petty Officer Hardy (Miles). When the men return to sea, Freda moves in with CPO Hardy's wife and mother-in-law.
The Torrin participates in the Dunkirk evacuation
of the British Expeditionary Force
, (portrayed in the film by the 5th Battalion of the Coldstream Guards
). Meanwhile the nightly Blitz
is taking its toll on British towns. Blake gets a letter from home to say that Freda has given birth to his son during a raid. However the letter goes onto tell him that Hardy's wife and her mother were killed in the same attack. Stoically he goes up to the Petty Officers Mess and tells Hardy the bad news.
The flashback ends as the survivors on the life raft watch the capsized Torrin finally sink. Captain Kinross leads a final "three cheers" for the Torrin when suddenly another passing German plane rakes the raft with machine gun fire killing and wounding more men. Soon after, a British destroyer appears and begins to rescue the men. On board, Captain Kinross talks to the survivors and collects addresses from the dying. He tells the young man who once left his post that he will write and tell the boy's parents that he did his duty; the critically injured young man smiles and passes away peacefully.
From here, the stories run concurrently until the end of the film. Telegrams are sent to relatives informing them about the fate of their husbands, sons and fathers.
Captain Kinross and the 90 surviving members of the crew are taken to Alexandria
in Egypt. Wearing a mixture of odd clothing and standing in a military depot, Captain Kinross tells them that although they lost their ship and many friends, who now "lie together in 1500 fathoms", he notes that these losses should inspire them to fight even harder in the battles to come. The ship's company is then told they are to be broken up and sent as replacements to other ships that have lost men. Captain Kinross then shakes hands with all the ratings as they leave the depot. When the last man goes, the emotionally-tired captain turns to his remaining officers, silently acknowledges them and walks away.
An epilogue then concludes: bigger and stronger ships are being launched to avenge the Torrin; Britain is an island nation with a proud, indefatigable people; Captain Kinross is now in command of a battleship
. It fires its massive main guns against the enemy.
opened in the West End
in July 1941, Noël Coward was approached by Anthony Havelock-Allan
, who was working with the production company Two Cities Films
. Its founder, Filippo Del Giudice
, was interested in making a propaganda film and wanted someone well known to write the screenplay.
and he was given complete control.
The 23 May sinking of the Kelly was still on Coward's mind, and 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 did not closely follow his own experiences. In order to do research, Coward departed for the naval base in Plymouth
, where Michael Redgrave
, with whom he was involved in a romantic relationship at the time, was stationed. He also visited the fleet at Scapa Flow
, where he cruised on the HMS Nigeria
, and spent considerable time in Portsmouth
.
When Coward submitted his first draft, Havelock-Allan advised him the film would run between eight and nine hours if it was made as written. The original screenplay included lengthy scenes in Paris, China and the West Indies, and Coward needed to trim his plot to the basics. He eliminated everything not related to the Torrin, started his story with the laying of the ship's keel in 1939 and ended it soon after it sinks off the coast of Crete.
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 admired Ronald Neame
's work, and he hired him as cinematographer
and chief lighting technician
. Knowing he could handle the direction of the actors but would be at a loss with the action scenes, he asked David 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.
(credited as "Mickey Anderson"), who plays Albert Fosdike, was the First Assistant Director, but took over the part when the original actor cast, William Hartnell
, turned up late for his first day of shooting. Coward berated Hartnell in front of cast and crew for his unprofessionalism, made him personally apologise to everyone and then fired him.
Coward was happy to let production crew members take charge in their individual areas of expertise, while he concentrated on directing the actors and creating his own portrayal of Kinross. 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. At one point he invited the royal family to the set and newsreel
footage of their visit proved to be good publicity for the film.
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.
, Buckinghamshire
. The Kinross family picnic scene, set during the Battle of Britain
in 1940, was filmed on location on the Dunstable Downs
in Bedfordshire
.
Although the film makers took great care to conceal locations, some of the final scenes were shot at Plymouth
's naval dockyard
in Devon
and the naval station on the Isle of Portland
. Likewise, although never mentioned, Smeaton's Tower
on the seafront at Plymouth Hoe
, was used for the honeymoon of "Shorty" Blake (Mills) and his wife Freda (Kay Walsh
).
The destroyer was used to represent HMS Torrin.
of The 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 as In 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."
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."
, the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures
honoured the film as the Best English Language Film of the Year
citing Bernard Miles
and John Mills
for their performances.
The film was nominated in the 1943 Academy Awards
for Best Picture
and Best Original Screenplay (losing out to Casablanca
and Princess O'Rourke
respectively). However Coward was presented with an Academy Honorary Award
for "his outstanding production achievement."
In Which We Serve also won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film and the Argentine Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Film in 1943.
DVD with a running time of only 96 minutes was released by Carlton
on 11 October 1999. A Region 1 DVD was released as part of the David Lean Collection by MGM
on 7 September 2004. It features subtitles in English, Spanish and French and an English audio track in Dolby Digital 1.0.
1942 in film
The year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...
British
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
patriotic war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
directed by David Lean
David Lean
Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
and Noël Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
. It was made during the Second World War with the assistance of the Ministry of Information (MOI).
The screenplay by Coward was inspired by the exploits of Captain Lord Louis Mountbatten
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas George Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS , was a British statesman and naval officer, and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
, who was in command of the destroyer HMS Kelly
HMS Kelly (F01)
HMS Kelly was a K-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy, and flotilla leader of her class. She served through the early years of the Second World War; in Home Waters, off Norway and in the Mediterranean. Throughout her service, Kelly was commanded by Lord Louis Mountbatten. She was lost in...
when it was sunk during the Battle of Crete
Battle of Crete
The Battle of Crete was a battle during World War II on the Greek island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany launched an airborne invasion of Crete under the code-name Unternehmen Merkur...
.
Coward composed the film's music as well as starring in the film as the ship's captain. The film also starred John Mills
John Mills
Sir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
, Bernard Miles
Bernard Miles
Bernard James Miles, Baron Miles, CBE was an English character actor, writer and director. He opened the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1959, the first new theatre opened in the City of London since the 17th century....
, Celia Johnson
Celia Johnson
Dame Celia Elizabeth Johnson DBE was an English actress.She began her stage acting career in 1928, and subsequently achieved success in West End and Broadway productions. She also appeared in several films, including the romantic drama Brief Encounter , for which she received a nomination for the...
and in his first screen role, Richard Attenborough
Richard Attenborough
Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi...
.
In Which We Serve received the full backing of the Ministry of Information which offered advice on what would make good propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
and facilitated the release of military personnel. The film remains a classic example of wartime British cinema through its patriotic imagery of national unity and social cohesion within the context of the war.
Plot
The film opens with the narration: "This is the story of a ship" and the images of shipbuilding in a British dockyard. The action then moves forward in time showing the ship, HMS Torrin, engaging German transports in a night-time engagement during the Battle of CreteBattle of Crete
The Battle of Crete was a battle during World War II on the Greek island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany launched an airborne invasion of Crete under the code-name Unternehmen Merkur...
in 1941. However when dawn breaks, the destroyer comes under aerial attack from German bombers.
Eventually the little ship receives a critical hit following a low-level pass. The crew's company abandon ship as it rapidly capsizes. Some of the officers and ratings
Naval rating
A Naval Rating is an enlisted member of a country's Navy, subordinate to Warrant Officers and Officers hence not conferred by commission or warrant...
manage to find a life raft as the survivors are intermittently strafed by passing planes. From here, the story is told in flashback using the memories of the men on the raft. The first person to reveal his thoughts is Captain Kinross (Coward), who thinks back to the summer of 1939 when the Royal Naval
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
HMS
HMS
- Data formalisation :* Numerical representation of time using a 24-hour clock, hh:mm:ss for hours, minutes, seconds- Ship names :* Her Majesty's Ship , the prefix of Royal Navy ship names since 1789...
Torrin is being rushed into commission as the possibility of war becomes a near-certainty.
The ship's company spends a relatively quiet Christmas in the north of Scotland during the Phoney War. But by 1940, the Torrin is taking part in a naval battle off the coast of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. However during the action, a young terrified sailor (Attenborough) leaves his station, while another rating (Mills) returns to work his gun after its crew is knocked unconscious by a torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
strike on the ship. With the Torrin damaged it is towed back to port, all the time being harried by fighter-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; however one man didn't. But he tells everyone present they may be surprised to know that he let him off with a caution as he feels as Captain he failed to make the young man understand his duty.
The film then returns to the present as the survivors watch the capsized Torrin slowly take on water. It becomes clear that the badly-damaged ship will sink. Once again, the raft is strafed
Strafing
Strafing is the practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. This means, that although ground attack using automatic weapons fire is very often accompanied with bombing or rocket fire, the term "strafing" does not specifically include the...
by German planes. Some men are killed, and "Shorty" Blake (Mills) is wounded. This leads to a flashback in which Mills remembers how he met his wife-to-be, Freda, on a train while on leave. It is also revealed, she is related to the Torrins affable Chief Petty Officer Hardy (Miles). When the men return to sea, Freda moves in with CPO Hardy's wife and mother-in-law.
The Torrin participates in the Dunkirk evacuation
Operation Dynamo
The Dunkirk evacuation, commonly known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, code-named Operation Dynamo by the British, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, France, between 26 May and the early hours of 3 June 1940, because the British, French and Belgian troops were...
of the British Expeditionary Force
British Expeditionary Force (World War II)
The British Expeditionary Force was the British force in Europe from 1939–1940 during the Second World War. Commanded by General Lord Gort, the BEF constituted one-tenth of the defending Allied force....
, (portrayed in the film by the 5th Battalion of the Coldstream Guards
Coldstream Guards
Her Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, also known officially as the Coldstream Guards , is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division or Household Division....
). Meanwhile the nightly Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
is taking its toll on British towns. Blake gets a letter from home to say that Freda has given birth to his son during a raid. However the letter goes onto tell him that Hardy's wife and her mother were killed in the same attack. Stoically he goes up to the Petty Officers Mess and tells Hardy the bad news.
The flashback ends as the survivors on the life raft watch the capsized Torrin finally sink. Captain Kinross leads a final "three cheers" for the Torrin when suddenly another passing German plane rakes the raft with machine gun fire killing and wounding more men. Soon after, a British destroyer appears and begins to rescue the men. On board, Captain Kinross talks to the survivors and collects addresses from the dying. He tells the young man who once left his post that he will write and tell the boy's parents that he did his duty; the critically injured young man smiles and passes away peacefully.
From here, the stories run concurrently until the end of the film. Telegrams are sent to relatives informing them about the fate of their husbands, sons and fathers.
Captain Kinross and the 90 surviving members of the crew are taken to Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
in Egypt. Wearing a mixture of odd clothing and standing in a military depot, Captain Kinross tells them that although they lost their ship and many friends, who now "lie together in 1500 fathoms", he notes that these losses should inspire them to fight even harder in the battles to come. The ship's company is then told they are to be broken up and sent as replacements to other ships that have lost men. Captain Kinross then shakes hands with all the ratings as they leave the depot. When the last man goes, the emotionally-tired captain turns to his remaining officers, silently acknowledges them and walks away.
An epilogue then concludes: bigger and stronger ships are being launched to avenge the Torrin; Britain is an island nation with a proud, indefatigable people; Captain Kinross is now in command of a battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
. It fires its massive main guns against the enemy.
Cast
- Noël CowardNoël CowardSir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
as Captain E.V. Kinross - Bernard MilesBernard MilesBernard James Miles, Baron Miles, CBE was an English character actor, writer and director. He opened the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1959, the first new theatre opened in the City of London since the 17th century....
as Chief Petty Officer Walter Hardy - John MillsJohn MillsSir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
as Ordinary Seaman Shorty Blake - Celia JohnsonCelia JohnsonDame Celia Elizabeth Johnson DBE was an English actress.She began her stage acting career in 1928, and subsequently achieved success in West End and Broadway productions. She also appeared in several films, including the romantic drama Brief Encounter , for which she received a nomination for the...
as Alix Kinross - Michael WildingMichael Wilding (actor)-Early life:Born in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England, Wilding was a successful commercial artist when he joined the art department of a London film studio in 1933. He soon embarked on an acting career.-Career:...
as Flags - Leslie DwyerLeslie DwyerLeslie Dwyer was an English character actor of film and television. He was born in Catford, the son of the popular music hall comedian Johnny Dwyer and acted from the age of ten and appeared in his first film in 1921...
as Parkinson - James DonaldJames DonaldJames Donald was a Scottish actor. Tall and thin, he usually specialised in playing authority figures.Donald was born in Aberdeen, and made his first professional stage appearance sometime in the late-1930s, having been educated at Rossall School on Lancashire's Fylde coast...
as Doc - Richard AttenboroughRichard AttenboroughRichard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi...
as Young Stoker - Joyce CareyJoyce CareyJoyce Carey, OBE was a British actress, best known for her long professional and personal relationship with Noël Coward. Her stage career lasted from 1916 until 1984, and she was performing on television in her nineties. Though never a star, she was a familiar face both on stage and screen...
as Kath Hardy - Kay WalshKay WalshKay Walsh was an English actress and dancer. She grew up in Pimlico, raised by her grandmother....
as Freda Lewis - Kathleen HarrisonKathleen HarrisonKathleen Harrison was a prolific English character actress best remembered for her role as Mrs. Huggett in a trio of British post-war comedies about a working class family's misadventures. To modern viewers she is better remembered as Mrs...
as Mrs. Blake - Daniel MasseyDaniel Massey (actor)Daniel Raymond Massey was an English actor and performer. He is possibly best known for his starring role in the British TV drama The Roads to Freedom, as Daniel, alongside Michael Bryant...
as Bobby Kinross - Juliet Mills as Shorty Blake's baby
Production
Shortly after his play Blithe SpiritBlithe Spirit (play)
Blithe Spirit is a comic play written by Noël Coward which takes its title from Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "To a Skylark" . The play concerns socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric medium and clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to...
opened in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
in July 1941, Noël Coward was approached by Anthony Havelock-Allan
Anthony Havelock-Allan
Sir Anthony James Allan Havelock-Allan, 4th Baronet was a prolific and successful British film producer and screenwriter whose credits included This Happy Breed, Blithe Spirit, the 1968 version of Romeo and Juliet and Ryan's Daughter.Havelock-Allan was born at the family home of Blackwell Grange...
, who was working with the production company Two Cities Films
Two Cities Films
Two Cities Films was a British film production company. Formed in 1937, it was originally envisaged as a production company operating in the two cities of London and Rome which gave the company its name....
. Its founder, Filippo Del Giudice
Filippo Del Giudice
Filippo Del Giudice, , born in Trani, Italy, was an Italian film producer.In 1933 he fled fascist Italy for England and entered films four years later when, with Mario Zampi, he founded Two Cities Films.-External links:...
, was interested in making a propaganda film and wanted someone well known to write the screenplay.
Screenplay development
Coward agreed to work on the project as long as the subject was the Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and he was given complete control.
The 23 May sinking of the Kelly was still on Coward's mind, and 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 did not closely follow his own experiences. In order to do research, Coward departed for the naval base in Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, where Michael Redgrave
Michael Redgrave
Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave, CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.-Youth and education:...
, with whom he was involved in a romantic relationship at the time, was stationed. He also visited the fleet at Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow
right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
, where he cruised on the HMS Nigeria
HMS Nigeria (60)
HMS Nigeria was a Crown Colony-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy completed early in World War II and served throughout that conflict. She was named for the British territory of Nigeria.-Home waters:...
, and spent considerable time in Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
.
When Coward submitted his first draft, Havelock-Allan advised him the film would run between eight and nine hours if it was made as written. The original screenplay included lengthy scenes in Paris, China and the West Indies, and Coward needed to trim his plot to the basics. He eliminated everything not related to the Torrin, started his story with the laying of the ship's keel in 1939 and ended it soon after it sinks off the coast of Crete.
Pre-production roles
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.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 admired Ronald Neame
Ronald Neame
Ronald Elwin Neame CBE, BSC was an English film cinematographer, producer, screenwriter and director.-Early career:...
's work, and he hired him as cinematographer
Cinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
and chief lighting technician
Lighting technician
Lighting technicians are involved with rigging and controlling electric lights for art and entertainment venues or in video, television, or film production. In a theater production, lighting technicians work under the lighting designer and master electrician...
. Knowing he could handle the direction of the actors but would be at a loss with the action scenes, he asked David Lean
David Lean
Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
to supervise the filming of those. In Which We Serve proved to be the first of several films on which the two would collaborate.
Filming
Work began on 5 February 1942. Michael AndersonMichael Anderson (director)
Michael Joseph Anderson, Sr. is an English film director, best known for directing The Dam Busters , Around the World in 80 Days and Logan's Run .-Early life:...
(credited as "Mickey Anderson"), who plays Albert Fosdike, was the First Assistant Director, but took over the part when the original actor cast, William Hartnell
William Hartnell
William Henry Hartnell was an English actor. During 1963-66, he was the first actor to play the Doctor in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Early life:...
, turned up late for his first day of shooting. Coward berated Hartnell in front of cast and crew for his unprofessionalism, made him personally apologise to everyone and then fired him.
Coward was happy to let production crew members take charge in their individual areas of expertise, while he concentrated on directing the actors and creating his own portrayal of Kinross. 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. At one point he invited the royal family to the set and newsreel
Newsreel
A newsreel was a form of short documentary film prevalent in the first half of the 20th century, regularly released in a public presentation place and containing filmed news stories and items of topical interest. It was a source of news, current affairs and entertainment for millions of moviegoers...
footage of their visit proved to be good publicity for the film.
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.
Locations
Interiors were filmed at Denham Studios, in DenhamDenham
- People :* Carl Denham, fictional character from King Kong* Daryl Denham, British radio DJ* Digby Denham, Australian politician* Dixon Denham, British explorer* Henry Denham, British printer* Henry Mangles Denham, , Royal navy...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
. The Kinross family picnic scene, set during the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
in 1940, was filmed on location on the Dunstable Downs
Dunstable Downs
Dunstable Downs are part of the Chiltern Hills, in southern Bedfordshire in England. They are a chalk escarpment forming the north-eastern reaches of the Chilterns...
in Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
.
Although the film makers took great care to conceal locations, some of the final scenes were shot at Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
's naval dockyard
HMNB Devonport
Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...
in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
and the naval station on the Isle of Portland
Isle of Portland
The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and...
. Likewise, although never mentioned, Smeaton's Tower
Smeaton's Tower
Smeaton's Tower is the third and most notable Eddystone Lighthouse. It marked a major step forward in the design of lighthouses. In use until 1877, it was largely dismantled and rebuilt on Plymouth Hoe in the city of Plymouth, Devon where it now stands as a memorial to its designer, John Smeaton,...
on the seafront at Plymouth Hoe
Plymouth Hoe
Plymouth Hoe, referred to locally as the Hoe, is a large south facing open public space in the English coastal city of Plymouth. The Hoe is adjacent to and above the low limestone cliffs that form the seafront and it commands views of Plymouth Sound, Drake's Island, and across the Hamoaze to Mount...
, was used for the honeymoon of "Shorty" Blake (Mills) and his wife Freda (Kay Walsh
Kay Walsh
Kay Walsh was an English actress and dancer. She grew up in Pimlico, raised by her grandmother....
).
The destroyer was used to represent HMS Torrin.
Critical response
Bosley CrowtherBosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
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 as In 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."
Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
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."
Awards and nominations
On Christmas Eve 1942 in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures
National Board of Review of Motion Pictures
The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures was founded in 1909 in New York City, just 13 years after the birth of cinema, to protest New York City Mayor George B. McClellan, Jr.'s revocation of moving-picture exhibition licenses on Christmas Eve 1908. The mayor believed that the new medium...
honoured the film as the Best English Language Film of the Year
National Board of Review Awards 1942
-Best English Language Films:#In Which We Serve#One of Our Aircraft Is Missing#Mrs. Miniver#Journey for Margaret#Wake Island#The Male Animal#The Major and the Minor#Sullivan's Travels#The Moon and Sixpence#The Pied Piper-Winners:...
citing Bernard Miles
Bernard Miles
Bernard James Miles, Baron Miles, CBE was an English character actor, writer and director. He opened the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1959, the first new theatre opened in the City of London since the 17th century....
and John Mills
John Mills
Sir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
for their performances.
The film was nominated in the 1943 Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
and Best Original Screenplay (losing out to Casablanca
Casablanca (film)
Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
and Princess O'Rourke
Princess O'Rourke
Princess O'Rourke is a 1943 romantic comedy film. It was directed and written by Norman Krasna and starring Olivia de Havilland, Robert Cummings and Charles Coburn...
respectively). However Coward was presented with an Academy Honorary Award
Academy Honorary Award
The Academy Honorary Award, instituted in 1948 for the 21st Academy Awards , is given by the discretion of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to celebrate motion picture achievements that are not covered by existing Academy Awards, although prior winners of...
for "his outstanding production achievement."
In Which We Serve also won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film and the Argentine Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Film in 1943.
Home media
A Region 2DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
DVD with a running time of only 96 minutes was released by Carlton
Carlton Communications
Carlton Communications was a British media company. It was led by Michael Green and listed on the London Stock Exchange from 1983 until 2 February 2004, when it taken over by Granada plc to form ITV plc with Carlton gaining 32% of the new company....
on 11 October 1999. A Region 1 DVD was released as part of the David Lean Collection by MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
on 7 September 2004. It features subtitles in English, Spanish and French and an English audio track in Dolby Digital 1.0.