Tawny Pipit (film)
Encyclopedia
Tawny Pipit is a British
war film
produced by Prestige Productions in 1944. It tells of how a sleepy English village becomes the centre of attention when a rare bird's nest
is discovered there.
), a fighter pilot just released from hospital, and his nurse (now his girlfriend) Hazel Broome (Rosamund John
) are on a walking tour through the countryside. They arrive at the fictional village of Lipsbury Lea and being keen birdwatchers, discover that a pair of tawny pipit
s, which are rarely seen in England, are nesting nearby.
Staying in the village, they enlist the locals to protect the nesting site until the eggs hatch. The villagers do so with great enthusiasm, led by the fiery retired Colonel Barton-Barrington (Bernard Miles
) and the Reverend Mr. Kingsley.
Unfortunately, the field where the nest is located (known locally as the pinfold) is due to be ploughed up by order of the county agricultural committee, and a delegation to the Ministry of Agriculture
in London fails to get the order rescinded. Fortunately, the Minister was Barton-Barrington's junior at school, and personally intervenes to save the field from being ploughed.
The eggs duly hatch, but not before a plot to steal the eggs on behalf of an unscrupulous dealer is foiled by an alert army corporal (an amateur ornithologist) who is serving nearby.
and Julian Huxley
were credited as ornithological advisers for the film. Nevertheless, the birds shown in the film are not actually Tawny Pipits
but Meadow Pipits
.
in the Cotswolds
, but the fictional location is left unclear. A sign on a pub advertises ales brewed in Oxford
, so it may be assumed that the location is Gloucestershire or Oxfordshire.
. It showed the love of the English for their country and all echelons of society uniting for the common good. A subplot
shows Barton-Barrington presenting his Browning Automatic Rifle
to Corporal Bokolova (Lucie Mannheim
), a Russian soldier on a goodwill tour, whilst giving a fiery speech about some foreigners being 'jolly good chaps'.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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...
produced by Prestige Productions in 1944. It tells of how a sleepy English village becomes the centre of attention when a rare bird's nest
Bird nest
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...
is discovered there.
Plot
During the Second World War Jimmy Bancroft (Niall MacGinnisNiall MacGinnis
Niall MacGinnis was an Irish actor who made 80 screen appearances.-Early life:MacGinnis was born in Dublin in 1913. He was educated at Stonyhurst College in England, and studied medicine at Dublin University. He qualified as a house surgeon...
), a fighter pilot just released from hospital, and his nurse (now his girlfriend) Hazel Broome (Rosamund John
Rosamund John
Rosamund John , born Nora Rosamund Jones, was an English film and stage actress.She was brought up in Tottenham and became a popular film and stage actress who was known for playing gentle mannered women. John was twice married, first to film editor Russell Lloyd, from 1943–1949, and then to the...
) are on a walking tour through the countryside. They arrive at the fictional village of Lipsbury Lea and being keen birdwatchers, discover that a pair of tawny pipit
Tawny Pipit
The Tawny Pipit, Anthus campestris, is a medium-large passerine bird which breeds in much of temperate Europe and Asia, and northwest Africa. It is a migrant moving in winter to tropical Africa and the Indian subcontinent....
s, which are rarely seen in England, are nesting nearby.
Staying in the village, they enlist the locals to protect the nesting site until the eggs hatch. The villagers do so with great enthusiasm, led by the fiery retired Colonel Barton-Barrington (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 the Reverend Mr. Kingsley.
Unfortunately, the field where the nest is located (known locally as the pinfold) is due to be ploughed up by order of the county agricultural committee, and a delegation to the Ministry of Agriculture
Ministry of Agriculture
An agriculture ministry or department of agriculture is a ministry or other government agency charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister for agriculture....
in London fails to get the order rescinded. Fortunately, the Minister was Barton-Barrington's junior at school, and personally intervenes to save the field from being ploughed.
The eggs duly hatch, but not before a plot to steal the eggs on behalf of an unscrupulous dealer is foiled by an alert army corporal (an amateur ornithologist) who is serving nearby.
Authenticity
James FisherJames Fisher
James Maxwell McConnell Fisher was a British author, editor, broadcaster, naturalist and ornithologist...
and Julian Huxley
Julian Huxley
Sir Julian Sorell Huxley FRS was an English evolutionary biologist, humanist and internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentieth century evolutionary synthesis...
were credited as ornithological advisers for the film. Nevertheless, the birds shown in the film are not actually Tawny Pipits
Tawny Pipit
The Tawny Pipit, Anthus campestris, is a medium-large passerine bird which breeds in much of temperate Europe and Asia, and northwest Africa. It is a migrant moving in winter to tropical Africa and the Indian subcontinent....
but Meadow Pipits
Meadow Pipit
The Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis, is a small passerine bird which breeds in much of the northern half of Europe and also northwestern Asia, from southeastern Greenland and Iceland east to just east of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and south to central France and Romania; there is also an isolated...
.
Filming location
The location of the filming was Lower SlaughterLower Slaughter
Lower Slaughter is a village in the English county of Gloucestershire, located in the Cotswold district, south west of the town of Stow-on-the-Wold....
in the Cotswolds
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
, but the fictional location is left unclear. A sign on a pub advertises ales brewed in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, so it may be assumed that the location is Gloucestershire or Oxfordshire.
Propaganda value
By the time the film was released (not until 1947 in the USA), the threat of invasion had subsided, but it was still seen as an effective piece of propagandaPropaganda
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....
. It showed the love of the English for their country and all echelons of society uniting for the common good. A subplot
Subplot
A subplot is a secondary plot strand that is a supporting side story for any story or the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or in thematic significance...
shows Barton-Barrington presenting his Browning Automatic Rifle
Browning Automatic Rifle
The Browning Automatic Rifle was a family of United States automatic rifles and light machine guns used by the United States and numerous other countries during the 20th century. The primary variant of the BAR series was the M1918, chambered for the .30-06 Springfield rifle cartridge and designed...
to Corporal Bokolova (Lucie Mannheim
Lucie Mannheim
Lucie Mannheim was a German singer and actress.Mannheim was born in Berlin–Köpenick where she studied drama and quickly became a popular figure appearing on stage in plays and musicals. Among other roles, she played Nora in Ibsen's A Doll's House, Marie in Büchner's Woyzeck, and Juliet in...
), a Russian soldier on a goodwill tour, whilst giving a fiery speech about some foreigners being 'jolly good chaps'.
Cast
- 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 Colonel Barton-Barrington - Rosamund JohnRosamund JohnRosamund John , born Nora Rosamund Jones, was an English film and stage actress.She was brought up in Tottenham and became a popular film and stage actress who was known for playing gentle mannered women. John was twice married, first to film editor Russell Lloyd, from 1943–1949, and then to the...
as Hazel Broome - Niall MacGinnisNiall MacGinnisNiall MacGinnis was an Irish actor who made 80 screen appearances.-Early life:MacGinnis was born in Dublin in 1913. He was educated at Stonyhurst College in England, and studied medicine at Dublin University. He qualified as a house surgeon...
as Jimmy Bancroft - Jean GillieJean GillieJean Gillie was an English film actress of the 1930s and 1940s. Gillie appeared in 20 British and two American films before her career was cut short by her early death.-Career:...
as Nancy Forester - Lucie MannheimLucie MannheimLucie Mannheim was a German singer and actress.Mannheim was born in Berlin–Köpenick where she studied drama and quickly became a popular figure appearing on stage in plays and musicals. Among other roles, she played Nora in Ibsen's A Doll's House, Marie in Büchner's Woyzeck, and Juliet in...
as Russian Soldier - Christopher Steele as Rev. Mr. Kingsley
- Brefni O'RorkeBrefni O'Rorke-Filmography:* The Ghost of St. Michael's * Love on the Dole * This Man Is Dangerous * Jeannie * Cottage to Let * Hatter's Castle * The Black Sheep of Whitehall...
as Uncle Arthur - George CarneyGeorge CarneyGeorge Carney was a British film actor.He worked in the Liverpool Cotton Exchange, in a furniture business, then in the Belfast shipping yards...
as WhimbrelWhimbrelThe Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the mostwidespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic North America, Europe and Asia as far south as Scotland.... - Wylie WatsonWylie WatsonWylie Watson was a British actor. Among his best known roles were those of "Mr Memory", an amazing man who commits "50 new facts to his memory every day" in Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 film The 39 Steps, and wily storekeeper Joseph Macroon in the Ealing comedy Whisky Galore!...
as Crasker
- John SalewJohn Salew-Selected filmography:* The Silent Battle * Sailors Don't Care * Once a Crook * One of Our Aircraft Is Missing * The Day Will Dawn * Secret Mission * It Always Rains on Sunday...
as Pickering - Marjorie RhodesMarjorie RhodesMarjorie Rhodes was a British actress.One of her best-known roles was as Lucy Fitton, the mother of Bill Naughton's northern comedy All in Good Time. She played the role on Broadway, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award in 1965...
as Mrs. Pickering - John Rae as Mr. Dougall
- Ann Wilton as Miss Pennyman
- Ernest ButcherErnest Butcher-Selected filmography:* Stepping Toes * Me and My Pal * Black Eyes * Pack Up Your Troubles * Freedom Radio * Old Mother Riley in Business * Pimpernel' Smith * When We Are Married...
as Tommy Fairchild - Bill Wilson as Tank Driver
- Ian FlemingIan Fleming (actor)Ian Fleming was an Australian born character actor with credits in over 100 British movies.He is perhaps best known for playing Dr. Watson in a series of Sherlock Holmes movies of the 1930s opposite Arthur Wontner's Holmes...
as Schoolmaster - Katie JohnsonKatie JohnsonKatie Johnson , born Bessie Kate Johnson, was an English actress who appeared on stage from 1894 and on screen from the 1930s to the 1950s...
as Miss Pyman