The Red Beret
Encyclopedia
The Red Beret is a 1953 British made Technicolor
war film
starring Alan Ladd
, Leo Genn
and Susan Stephen
. It deals with the Parachute Regiment during the Second World War
. It is notable as the first film made by Warwick Films
with many of the crew working on various Warwick Films and Albert R. Broccoli
's Eon Productions
. It is based on the 1950 non-fiction book of the same title by Hilary Saint George Saunders
. It was retitled Paratrooper for American release.
After completing parachute school, Canada's unit goes on a raid (based on real-life Operation Biting
) on the German radar station at Bruneval. An RAF radar expert, Sergeant Box, accompanies the raiders to retrieve a key component to take back to England. The mission is a success.
Back in England, Canada is recognised by an American airman. He tells Penny that he resigned his commission from the USAAF after ordering his best friend and co-pilot to parachute out their bomber when an experimental rocket got stuck. When his friend's parachute does not open properly and he is killed, Canada blames himself and refuses any responsibility that might endanger anyone's life. When Snow confronts Canada with what he has learned (from a security investigation he ordered), Canada wrongly assumes Penny told what she learned, and breaks up with her.
The unit's next operation involves taking and destroying an airfield at Bône
during the invasion of North Africa
. With Major Snow wounded and the men trapped in a minefield, Canada must risk others to extricate the unit. Afterward, Canada and Penny reconcile.
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
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...
starring Alan Ladd
Alan Ladd
-Early life:Ladd was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was the only child of Ina Raleigh Ladd and Alan Ladd, Sr. He was of English ancestry. His father died when he was four, and his mother relocated to Oklahoma City where she married Jim Beavers, a housepainter...
, Leo Genn
Leo Genn
- Early life :He was born at 144 Kyverdale Road, Stamford Hill, Hackney, London, England to a Jewish family. His father, Woolfe Genn, was a jewellery salesman and the maiden name of his mother, Rachel, was Asserson....
and Susan Stephen
Susan Stephen
Susan Stephen was an English film actress.Born in London, as Susan Rennie Stephen, she was known in the 1950s for appearing in a number of B-movies...
. It deals with the Parachute Regiment during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It is notable as the first film made by Warwick Films
Warwick Films
Warwick Films was the name of a film company founded by film producers Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli in London in 1951. The name was taken from the Warwick Hotel in London...
with many of the crew working on various Warwick Films and Albert R. Broccoli
Albert R. Broccoli
Albert Romolo Broccoli, CBE , nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer, who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career, most of them in the United Kingdom, and often filmed at Pinewood Studios. Co-founder of Danjaq, LLC and EON Productions, Broccoli is most notable as the...
's Eon Productions
EON Productions
Eon Productions is a film production company known for producing the James Bond film series. The company is based in London's Piccadilly and also operates from Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom...
. It is based on the 1950 non-fiction book of the same title by Hilary Saint George Saunders
Hilary Saint George Saunders
Hilary Aidan Saint George Saunders was a British author. Saunders was born in Clifton, near Bristol. During World War I he served with the Welsh Guards....
. It was retitled Paratrooper for American release.
Plot
Steve MacKendrick (Alan Ladd), nicknamed "Canada" because that is where he claims he is from, volunteers in 1940 for the British Army's paratroop school. He obviously has a good deal more background and leadership skills than he lets on. Canada tries to become better acquainted with a pretty parachute rigger named Penny Gardner (Susan Stephen). She is initially put off by his attitude, but they eventually start dating. Both Penny and his new commander, Major Snow (Leo Genn), see potential (and a mystery that does not add up) in him, despite his strong efforts to avoid assuming any responsibility. Canada turns down Snow's offer to send him to officer school.After completing parachute school, Canada's unit goes on a raid (based on real-life Operation Biting
Operation Biting
Operation Biting, also known as the Bruneval Raid, was the codename given to a British Combined Operations raid on a German radar installation in Bruneval, France that occurred between 27–28 February 1942 during World War II...
) on the German radar station at Bruneval. An RAF radar expert, Sergeant Box, accompanies the raiders to retrieve a key component to take back to England. The mission is a success.
Back in England, Canada is recognised by an American airman. He tells Penny that he resigned his commission from the USAAF after ordering his best friend and co-pilot to parachute out their bomber when an experimental rocket got stuck. When his friend's parachute does not open properly and he is killed, Canada blames himself and refuses any responsibility that might endanger anyone's life. When Snow confronts Canada with what he has learned (from a security investigation he ordered), Canada wrongly assumes Penny told what she learned, and breaks up with her.
The unit's next operation involves taking and destroying an airfield at Bône
Annaba
Annaba is a city in the northeastern corner of Algeria near the river Seybouse. It is located in Annaba Province. With a population of 257,359 , it is the fourth largest city in Algeria. It is a leading industrial centre in eastern Algeria....
during the invasion of North Africa
Operation Torch
Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
. With Major Snow wounded and the men trapped in a minefield, Canada must risk others to extricate the unit. Afterward, Canada and Penny reconcile.
Cast
- Alan LaddAlan Ladd-Early life:Ladd was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was the only child of Ina Raleigh Ladd and Alan Ladd, Sr. He was of English ancestry. His father died when he was four, and his mother relocated to Oklahoma City where she married Jim Beavers, a housepainter...
as Canada - Leo GennLeo Genn- Early life :He was born at 144 Kyverdale Road, Stamford Hill, Hackney, London, England to a Jewish family. His father, Woolfe Genn, was a jewellery salesman and the maiden name of his mother, Rachel, was Asserson....
as Major John Snow (based on Colonel (then-Major) John FrostJohn Dutton FrostMajor General John Dutton Frost CB, DSO & Bar, MC, DL was a British airborne officer best known for being the leader of the small group of airborne forces that actually got to Arnhem bridge during the Battle of Arnhem...
) - Susan StephenSusan StephenSusan Stephen was an English film actress.Born in London, as Susan Rennie Stephen, she was known in the 1950s for appearing in a number of B-movies...
as Penny Gardner - Harry AndrewsHarry AndrewsHarry Fleetwood Andrews, CBE was an English film actor known for his frequent portrayals of tough military officers. His performance as Sergeant Major Wilson in The Hill alongside Sean Connery earned Andrews the 1965 National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor and a nomination for the...
as R.S.M. - Donald HoustonDonald HoustonDonald Daniel Houston was a Welsh actor whose first two films – The Blue Lagoon with Jean Simmons, and A Run for Your Money with Sir Alec Guinness – were highly successful...
as Taffy - Anthony BushellAnthony BushellAnthony Bushell was an English film actor and director, who appeared in 56 films between 1929 and 1961. He also appeared on and directed various British TV series such as Danger Man.-Early life:...
as General Whiting (based on General BrowningFrederick BrowningLieutenant-General Sir Frederick Arthur Montague Browning GCVO, KBE, CB, DSO was a British Army officer who has been called the "father of the British airborne forces". He is best known as the commander of the I Airborne Corps and deputy commander of First Allied Airborne Army during Operation...
) - Patric DoonanPatric DoonanPatric Doonan was a British stage and screen actor. He featured in films of the time as The Blue Lamp, Train of Events and The Cockleshell Heroes but never played the leads...
as Flash - Stanley BakerStanley BakerSir Stanley Baker was a Welsh actor and film producer.-Early career:William Stanley Baker was born in Ferndale, Rhondda Valley, Wales. In the mid-1930s his parents moved to London, where Baker spent most of his formative years...
as Breton - Lana MorrisLana MorrisLana Morris, born Averil Maureen Anita Morris was a British film, stage and television actress during the 1950s and 1960s....
as Pinky - Tim TurnerTim TurnerNot to be confused with the TV character Timmy Turner of The Fairly OddParents.Tim Turner , was a British actor who performed in the 1950s and 1960s....
as Rupert - Michael KellyMichael Kelly-Politics:*Mike Kelly , Republican member of the Alaska House of Representatives*Mike Kelly , Australian lawyer, soldier and politician*Mike Kelly , politician and U.S...
as Dawes - Anton DiffringAnton DiffringAnton Diffring , born Alfred Pollack, was a German actor.-Biography:Diffring was born in Koblenz...
as The Pole - Thomas HeathcoteThomas HeathcoteThomas Heathcote was a British character actor.He was educated at Bradfield College, near Reading in Berkshire, England. His films included A Night to Remember , Village of the Damned , Billy Budd , A Man for All Seasons , Night of the Big Heat and Quatermass and the Pit...
as Alf - Carl Duering as Rossi
- John BoxerJohn Boxer (British actor)John Boxer was a British film and television actor.Boxer's television appearances included Emergency – Ward 10, Dixon of Dock Green, The Saint, Randall and Hopkirk , The Onedin Line and The Life and Times of David Lloyd George.-Selected filmography:* There Ain't No Justice * Convoy *...
as Flight Sergeant Box - Harry LockeHarry LockeHarry Locke was a British character actor.He was born and died in London. He was a familiar face in three decades of British cinema, with appearances including Passport to Pimlico , Reach for the Sky , Carry On Nurse , The Devil-Ship Pirates and The Family Way .In 1969 he appeared in Randall...
as Medical Orderly - Michael Balfour as American Sergeant
- Guido LorraineGuido LorraineGuido Lorraine was a Polish-born actor, musician and singer, known primarily for his roles in war films. He was also sometimes known by the stage name Guy Borucki. Lorraine appeared in twenty-eight films during his career, as well as many theater productions.Lorraine was born Gwidon Borucki in...
as German Officer - Walter GotellWalter GotellWalter Gotell was a German actor, known for his role as General Gogol, head of the KGB, in the James Bond film series.Gotell was born in Bonn, Germany; his family emigrated to the United Kingdom after the Nazis came to power...
as German Sentry
Production
- The Parachute Regiment provided extras, facilities, and locations at the RAF AbingdonRAF AbingdonRAF Abingdon was a Royal Air Force station near Abingdon, Oxfordshire. It is now known as Dalton Barracks and is used by the Royal Logistic Corps....
Parachute School, Abingdon, OxfordshireAbingdon, OxfordshireAbingdon or archaically Abingdon-on-Thames is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places that claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town, with...
and at TrawsfynyddTrawsfynyddTrawsfynydd is a village in Gwynedd, North Wales, adjacent to the A470 north of Dolgellau near Blaenau Ffestiniog....
, North Wales. - Terence Young's original choice for the lead, former World War II Para Richard ToddRichard ToddRichard Todd OBE was an Irish-born British stage and film actor and soldier.-Early life:Richard Todd was born as Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd in Dublin, Ireland. His father, Andrew William Palethorpe Todd, was an Irish physician and an international Irish rugby player who gained three caps for...
turned the role down as being too "far fetched". - Former agent Albert R. Broccoli knew that Ladd was unhappy with Paramount due to a new contract at much less money. Broccoli met Ladd and his wife and agent Sue Carol who agreed to a three picture contract with Warwick provided Ladd's scriptwriter Richard Maibaum was allowed to rewrite the screenplay for Ladd.
- Ladd was paid US$200,000, first class travel and accommodation for himself, his wife, their four children and their nurse, and 10 per cent of the gross receipts over US$2,000,000 for his eleven weeks work filming The Red Beret.
- Ladd's most popular and critically acclaimed film Shane though filmed earlier was also released in 1953 making him a prime box office attraction.
- Though there was some public criticism of an American playing the lead in a British war film, British cinema owners responded that Hollywood stars filled their cinema seats, unlike most local actors. Ladd himself explained that his character had enlisted in the Parachute Regiment to learn from them.
- In addition to director Young and screenwriter Maibaum, camera operator Ted MooreTed MooreTed Moore, B.S.C. was a cinematographer and camera operator on nearly fifty films, and is probably most famous for his work on seven of the James Bond films in the 1960s and early 1970s.-Biography:...
and stuntman Bob SimmonsBob Simmons (stunt man)Bob Simmons was an English actor and stunt man, best known for his work in many British made films, most notably the James Bond series.-Biography:...
who worked on the film worked extensively on future Warwick and Eon Productions films as did actor Walter GotellWalter GotellWalter Gotell was a German actor, known for his role as General Gogol, head of the KGB, in the James Bond film series.Gotell was born in Bonn, Germany; his family emigrated to the United Kingdom after the Nazis came to power...
, who appeared as a German sentry. - The film cost US$700,000 to make and grossed US$8 million worldwide.