The Return of the Soldier (film)
Encyclopedia
The Return of the Soldier is a 1982
British film starring Alan Bates
as Baldry and co-starring Julie Christie
, Ian Holm
, Glenda Jackson
, and Ann-Margret
about a shell-shocked officer's return from the First World War.
It was directed by Alan Bridges
and written by Hugh Whitemore
based on the book The Return of the Soldier
by British novelist Rebecca West
. The film was entered into the 1982 Cannes Film Festival
.
led by Captain Chris Baldry (Bates
). He appears at one final farewell party thrown by his wife, Kitty (Christie
) - yet throughout he seems withdrawn and distant.
The story moves on to 1916, Kitty and her companion, Jenny Baldry (Ann-Margaret) are living in England
. Jenny is concerned because they have heard nothing from Chris' regiment
, but Kitty dismisses her fears - more concerned by the rising prices of commodities in wartime Britain.
Their quiet war is shattered by the unexpected visit of a Margaret Grey (Jackson
). A former acquaintance of Chris Baldry who has been written to by him from his hospital bed. He is ill and has been brought back to England. She cannot say any more. Kitty refuses to believe the visitor, and has her thrown out. It is only when she consults the telegram carefully, that she realises it is genuine and that her husband is in fact in a London
Hospital
.
When they visit him, they see he is being treated for shell-shock, contracted on the Western Front
. He doesn't remember his own wife, Kitty, and instead shouts that he wants to see Margaret Grey. Humiliated his wife departs, not entirely convinced he isn't shamming his illness.
After a few days, Captain Baldry returns home, into a house that seems alien to him. His former friends are strangers, despite their efforts to reach out to him. He is more amused by simple pursuits, such as walking and staring into the river. He shows little interest in his wife Kitty, and they sleep in separate rooms.
He sends for Maragaret, and the family car is sent to pick her up. She comes to visit him, several times - and both recall their past together. He had been in love with her despite the opposition of his parents to her working-class roots. Following a quarrel, they had been forcibly parted, and had both ended up marrying other people. Kitty is hurt and furious that he shows more interest in the plain Margaret than in herself.
An expert in such matters, Doctor Anderson (Holm
) is summoned and examines the patient. He advises that they allow Chris and Margaret to see each other more - something agreed to by a reluctant Kitty and Margaret's understanding husband (Finlay
). As their relationship blossoms, it becomes apparent that his attachment to her is one of a childlike nature.
Kitty desperately wants him to be cured, and to return to the authoritative pre-war man she had known. Anderson is less keen to cure the Captain, noting how happy he is now - carelessly happy like a child. To return him to the present, the horrors of the war and the memory of a young son he had lost to illness, would be cruel. He doesn't even remember the child.
Finally they resolve to tell him about the child, seeing that as a spur that will "cure him". As Kitty watches from a window, Margaret tells him. His body demeanor changes visibly and he starts striding towards the house looking as his cousin Jenny remarks "every inch a soldier".
Realizing that her husband has come back to her, even though he will likely now be sent back to the war, Kitty smiles.
1982 in film
-Events:* March 26 = I Ought to Be in Pictures, starring Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret and Dinah Manoff is released. Manoff would not appear in another movie until 1987's Backfire.* June = PG-rated film E.T...
British film starring Alan Bates
Alan Bates
Sir Alan Arthur Bates CBE was an English actor, who came to prominence in the 1960s, a time of high creativity in British cinema, when he demonstrated his versatility in films ranging from the popular children’s story Whistle Down the Wind to the "kitchen sink" drama A Kind of Loving...
as Baldry and co-starring Julie Christie
Julie Christie
Julie Frances Christie is a British actress. Born in British India to English parents, at the age of six Christie moved to England, where she attended boarding school....
, Ian Holm
Ian Holm
Sir Ian Holm, CBE is an English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles. He received the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in The Homecoming and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of King Lear...
, Glenda Jackson
Glenda Jackson
Glenda May Jackson, CBE is a British Labour Party politician and former actress. She has been a Member of Parliament since 1992, and currently represents Hampstead and Kilburn. She previously served as MP for Hampstead and Highgate...
, and Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret Olsson is a Swedish-American actress, singer and dancer whose professional name is Ann-Margret. She became famous for her starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie, Viva Las Vegas, The Cincinnati Kid, Carnal Knowledge, and Tommy...
about a shell-shocked officer's return from the First World War.
It was directed by Alan Bridges
Alan Bridges
Alan Bridges is an English film and television director. He directed 40 films and television programmes between 1961 and 1991. He won the Grand Prix at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival for his film The Hireling...
and written by Hugh Whitemore
Hugh Whitemore
Hugh Whitemore is an English playwright and screenwriter.Whitemore studied for the stage at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he is now a Member of the Council. He began his writing career in British television with both original teleplays and adaptations of classic works by Charles...
based on the book The Return of the Soldier
The Return of the Soldier
The Return of the Soldier is the debut novel of English novelist Rebecca West first published in 1918. The novel recounts the return of the shell shocked Captain Chris Baldry from the trenches of The First World War from the perspective of his female cousin Jenny...
by British novelist Rebecca West
Rebecca West
Cicely Isabel Fairfield , known by her pen name Rebecca West, or Dame Rebecca West, DBE was an English author, journalist, literary critic and travel writer. A prolific, protean author who wrote in many genres, West was committed to feminist and liberal principles and was one of the foremost public...
. The film was entered into the 1982 Cannes Film Festival
1982 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Giorgio Strehler *Jean-Jacques Annaud *Suso Cecchi d'Amico *Geraldine Chaplin *Gabriel García Márquez *Florian Hopf *Sidney Lumet *Mrinal Sen...
.
Plot
In 1914, a group of British soldiers are preparing to leave to fight in The Great War in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
led by Captain Chris Baldry (Bates
Alan Bates
Sir Alan Arthur Bates CBE was an English actor, who came to prominence in the 1960s, a time of high creativity in British cinema, when he demonstrated his versatility in films ranging from the popular children’s story Whistle Down the Wind to the "kitchen sink" drama A Kind of Loving...
). He appears at one final farewell party thrown by his wife, Kitty (Christie
Julie Christie
Julie Frances Christie is a British actress. Born in British India to English parents, at the age of six Christie moved to England, where she attended boarding school....
) - yet throughout he seems withdrawn and distant.
The story moves on to 1916, Kitty and her companion, Jenny Baldry (Ann-Margaret) are living in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Jenny is concerned because they have heard nothing from Chris' regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
, but Kitty dismisses her fears - more concerned by the rising prices of commodities in wartime Britain.
Their quiet war is shattered by the unexpected visit of a Margaret Grey (Jackson
Glenda Jackson
Glenda May Jackson, CBE is a British Labour Party politician and former actress. She has been a Member of Parliament since 1992, and currently represents Hampstead and Kilburn. She previously served as MP for Hampstead and Highgate...
). A former acquaintance of Chris Baldry who has been written to by him from his hospital bed. He is ill and has been brought back to England. She cannot say any more. Kitty refuses to believe the visitor, and has her thrown out. It is only when she consults the telegram carefully, that she realises it is genuine and that her husband is in fact in a London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
.
When they visit him, they see he is being treated for shell-shock, contracted on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
. He doesn't remember his own wife, Kitty, and instead shouts that he wants to see Margaret Grey. Humiliated his wife departs, not entirely convinced he isn't shamming his illness.
After a few days, Captain Baldry returns home, into a house that seems alien to him. His former friends are strangers, despite their efforts to reach out to him. He is more amused by simple pursuits, such as walking and staring into the river. He shows little interest in his wife Kitty, and they sleep in separate rooms.
He sends for Maragaret, and the family car is sent to pick her up. She comes to visit him, several times - and both recall their past together. He had been in love with her despite the opposition of his parents to her working-class roots. Following a quarrel, they had been forcibly parted, and had both ended up marrying other people. Kitty is hurt and furious that he shows more interest in the plain Margaret than in herself.
An expert in such matters, Doctor Anderson (Holm
Ian Holm
Sir Ian Holm, CBE is an English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles. He received the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in The Homecoming and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of King Lear...
) is summoned and examines the patient. He advises that they allow Chris and Margaret to see each other more - something agreed to by a reluctant Kitty and Margaret's understanding husband (Finlay
Frank Finlay
Francis Finlay, CBE is an English stage, film and television actor.-Personal life:Finlay was born in Farnworth, Lancashire, the son of Margaret and Josiah Finlay, a butcher. A devout Catholic, he belongs to the British Catholic Stage Guild. He was educated at St...
). As their relationship blossoms, it becomes apparent that his attachment to her is one of a childlike nature.
Kitty desperately wants him to be cured, and to return to the authoritative pre-war man she had known. Anderson is less keen to cure the Captain, noting how happy he is now - carelessly happy like a child. To return him to the present, the horrors of the war and the memory of a young son he had lost to illness, would be cruel. He doesn't even remember the child.
Finally they resolve to tell him about the child, seeing that as a spur that will "cure him". As Kitty watches from a window, Margaret tells him. His body demeanor changes visibly and he starts striding towards the house looking as his cousin Jenny remarks "every inch a soldier".
Realizing that her husband has come back to her, even though he will likely now be sent back to the war, Kitty smiles.
Cast
- Alan BatesAlan BatesSir Alan Arthur Bates CBE was an English actor, who came to prominence in the 1960s, a time of high creativity in British cinema, when he demonstrated his versatility in films ranging from the popular children’s story Whistle Down the Wind to the "kitchen sink" drama A Kind of Loving...
- Captain Chris Baldry - Julie ChristieJulie ChristieJulie Frances Christie is a British actress. Born in British India to English parents, at the age of six Christie moved to England, where she attended boarding school....
- Kitty Baldry - Glenda JacksonGlenda JacksonGlenda May Jackson, CBE is a British Labour Party politician and former actress. She has been a Member of Parliament since 1992, and currently represents Hampstead and Kilburn. She previously served as MP for Hampstead and Highgate...
- Margaret Grey - Ann-Margaret - Jenny Baldry
- Ian HolmIan HolmSir Ian Holm, CBE is an English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles. He received the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in The Homecoming and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of King Lear...
- Doctor Anderson - Frank FinlayFrank FinlayFrancis Finlay, CBE is an English stage, film and television actor.-Personal life:Finlay was born in Farnworth, Lancashire, the son of Margaret and Josiah Finlay, a butcher. A devout Catholic, he belongs to the British Catholic Stage Guild. He was educated at St...
- William Grey - Hilary MasonHilary MasonHilary Mason was an English character actress who appeared in a wide variety of roles, mainly on UK television....
- Ward, the servant