Watch In Which We Serve For Free

Wow! Such a good movie.

Thanks for the memories!

Must See Movie...

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

A Two Cities Film. A Noel Coward Production. Presented and released in the U.K. through United Artists. New York opening at the Capitol: 23 December 1942. U.S. release: 12 February 1943. Australian release through G-B-D: 24 June 1943. 12 reels. 10,496 feet. 116½ minutes.SYNOPSIS: "This is the story of a ship." A brief, documentary ship-building sequence is followed by an introduction to the crew, principally represented by the Captain, the Chief Petty Officer and an Able Seaman.NOTES: Nominated for the following Academy Awards: Best Picture (dipped out to Casablanca); Best Original Screenplay (lost to Norman Krasna's Princess O'Rourke, would you believe?). However Noel Coward was voted a Special Award "for his outstanding production achievement".In Which We Serve was selected by both the New York Film Critics and the National Board of Review as the Best Picture of 1942.COMMENT: In Which We Serve may seem dated and old-hat to those young enough to have no recollection of World War 2, but to we who survived, it remains a memorable experience. The plot is cleverly constructed and comes across with all its original impact thanks to the skilled playing of a most credible group of actors. Coward himself never gave a more forceful performance, and he is ably supported by Mills and Miles. The interwoven stories of these characters and their families are the principal concern of In Which We Serve, but the film is laid against such a broadly inspiring canvas that a whole host of lesser if equally realistic portraits are tellingly brought to life by players like Richard Attenborough (a deserter), James Donald (a disillusioned doctor) and Michael Wilding (who can be glimpsed now and again exchanging his usual pleasantries with the skipper).Their women, headed by Celia Johnson, are as remote from the synthetic glamour of Hollywood as newspaper headlines from the world of Mills & Boon. Who could forget determined Joyce Carey, complaining Dora Gregory and fidgeting Kay Walsh in the air raid scene?It is easy to appropriate the direction between Coward and Lean. No doubt both men were equally supportive: Coward concentrating on the players, while Lean handled camera placement and compositions. Lean occasionally uses an opportunity to show off his skill as a former editor with some fast cutting, but generally the directors try to be as unobtrusive as possible, letting the drama speak for itself. It's a story of heroism, of the irrepressible power of the human spirit, of ordinary people reacting heroically and rising above the most harrowing events. It's a story of conquest, of power, of strength, of unity. Fancy direction would lessen its effect. The camera only moves (as in the long, slow tracking shot along the line of weary faces at the wharf) when the moment positively demands it.Production values are first class. The sets loom appro¬priately large or realistically drab, peopled with hordes of scurrying extras or just two or three embattled players. The action scenes are powerful in detail, thanks to skilled special effects. And Coward's own music score provides a telling commentary (aided by the deft introduction of such popular songs as "Roll Out the Barrel" and "Good King Wenceslaus").OTHER VIEWS: A dated yarn, using a format that has been employed time and time again in similar war pictures. The plot is old-hat and the dialogue with its injunctions to "keep a stiff upper lip", its talk about "a spot of leave" and its numerous "jolly fine" shows is impossibly stilted and clichéd. What is worse, the characters are an uninteresting and inanimate lot of one-dimensional, pasteboard figures. There are few perform¬ances - Joyce Carey's is the most memorable exception - that fire the interest. Coward is his usual wooden, unemotional self and this type of underplaying - due no doubt to Coward's direction - has infected the rest of the cast; though Sir Noel has not quite succeeded in putting down the irrepressible John Mills who battles gamely to make his portrait of life in the lower ranks seem convincing. That Mills is not wholly successful in this laudable aim is not his fault (nor the fault of director Lean and photographer Neame who have conjured up some sparkling images) but Coward's. - JHR writing as George Addison.

Although clearly made as a home-front morale builder, "In Which We Serve" remains an outstanding naval action film. Written and co-directed (with David Lean) by Noel Coward, who also stars as Captain Kinross, the film grew out of Coward's desire to contribute to the war effort. "In Which We Serve" follows the exploits of the HMS Torrin, a fictional destroyer serving in the Atlantic and Mediterranean in the early years of the war. Shot with the cooperation of the navy, the on-board footage is highly detailed and realistic, and the integration of actual footage, miniatures and sets is extremely well done. As is typical of WW2 era films, there is an great emphasis on the camaraderie and willing sacrifice of the men serving on the ship but the boredom, danger, and terror of combat duty are also highlighted. Not surprisingly, the Germans are mostly seen machine-gunning lifeboats (extremely well done scenes) and Blitzing women. The home front scenes, featuring wives and girlfriends, are also quite well done and the film is pleasantly free of the dated 'comic relief' that mars many contemporary war movies. The cast is uniformly excellent as is the story (based on Lord Mountbatten's experiences as captain of the HMS Kelly), script, and direction

This film; made at the height of the war follows the crew of Royal Navy destroyer HMS Torrin from its commissioning to her sinking in the Eastern Mediterranean. We know her fate from the start as the story is told in flashback as her crew cling to life-rafts waiting rescue. The story concentrates on three main characters; Captain Kinross, Ordinary Seaman 'Shorty' Blake and his uncle in law Chief Petty Officer Hardy; we also see how their families cope while they are away. During their time at sea they experience both success and tragedy; we see the crew being brave under fire but we are also shown one man who cracks under the pressure; we also see that the horrors of war also directly affected the people back home.As this was made in 1942 when the war was far from won one might expect a blatant propaganda piece showing 'our brave boys' battling heroically against a dastardly foe rather than a surprisingly realistic depiction of war where the protagonists are shown in a moment of defeat and loved ones back home are in danger too... of course people watching this at the time wouldn't have believed it if it as they were living through the war and knew it didn't always go well. Noel Coward wrote a fine story and also did well as Capt. Kinross; not his typical role but one he was believable in; other notable performances came from Celia Johnson as his wife, John Mills as 'Shorty' Blake, Bernard Miles as CPO Hardy and an uncredited Richard Attenborough as the young sailor who left his post in a panic. The action scenes are well handled and very believable; there are also plenty of tense moments such as when the survivors get strafed by enemy aircraft while clinging to their raft and the scene were Shorty's wife and Hardy's wife and mother listen to the bombs getting closer during an air raid over Plymouth. It is no surprise that many of those involved in this film went on to become well known film stars and in the case of David Lean a famous director.

The purpose of this movie from 1942 was to raise the morale on the British home front during World War II and it achieves this objective in a superb piece of film-making that drew on the virtues that made Britain one of the toughest and most courageous countries in history. Loyalty, devotion to duty, the stiff upper lip in the face of tragedy, deference to authority, and the obligation of those in authority to their subordinates were considered the foundation of a stable country. In a series of flashbacks after a British naval ship is attacked, the movie reinforces the importance of these virtues and of each man and woman to the war effort.David Lean made his directorial debut under the guidance of Noel Coward, one of the deans of British stage and screen. The movie presents a number of young actors who went on to notable acting careers: John Mills, Bernard Miles, Richard Attenborough. Coward was the ship's captain and carries out his role, not only with the obligatory noblesse oblige, but with genuine affection for the men he leads. Celia Johnson, his wife, also rises to the occasion and in one memorable speech to a group of guests, makes known that she must share her husband's love with the ship he commands. Of course, she went on to several major roles, including Brief Encounter, another quintessential British movie in 1946. This movie is a textbook example of how the British expected their people to carry out their duty in the face of adversity. It is a pleasure to watch with its excellent dialogue and acting. It is definitely not the movie one would expect to be made in 2011 but it has style and grace, elements sadly lacking in many of today's movies.