100 BEST WAR MOVIES: #56. In Which We Serve (1942)

 

“In Which We Serve” is a British war movies set in WWII.  It is set in WWII during the Battle of the Atlantic and follow the exploits of an escort warship.  The main character is a ship commander, but the crew also gets screen time.  It is proudly British in a stiff upper lip sort of way. “In Which We Serve” was released in 1942.  The movie is dominated by Noel Coward who stars as Capt. Kinross and also wrote the screenplay, wrote the score, and directed. He had to convince the studio that he was right for the Kinross role. The executives were skeptical because the public perceived Coward as an effete intellectual. He based his screenplay on the sinking of the HMS Kelly which was commanded by Louis Mountbatten. Mountbatten insisted the movie not be about him.  Coward acquiesced, but he did use Mountbatten’s speech to his crew after the sinking. The sinking was frowned on by the censors who worried about the effect on public morale. Coward insisted it was integral to the story. Coward had directed plays, but this was his first movie. He recognized the challenge ahead and hired seasoned professionals to help with the cinematography and lighting. Most importantly, he swallowed his pride and brought in David Lean to film the combat scenes. The royal family visited the set during production. The premiere was a big event and the movie was a success at the box office. It finished second in box office in 1943. It was one of the most popular British films in America. It was nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay by the Academy Awards. Coward was awarded a special Oscar for “outstanding production achievement.”  It is #92 on BFI’s 100 Best British Films of the 20^th Century..

 In what might be the shortest opening narration the movie opens with “This is the story of a ship.”  The ship is the HMS Torrin.  A montage covers the building of the ship, followed by a montage of the ship being prepared for its first cruise. She is attacking a German convoy at the seven-minute mark. She sinks a cacque and German soldiers take to the water. A cacque was a wooden sailing ship! Pretty sure this is a unique scene. At the 10 minute mark, the ship comes under air attack and is sunk during the Battle of Crete.  Some of the crew, including Kinross, take refuge in a lifeboat.  The film then settles into a series of flashbacks relating the stories of Kinross,  Chief Petty Officer Hardy (Bernard Miles), and Ordinary Seaman Blake (John Mills).

 The various flashbacks contrast the lower, middle, and upper class strata on a ship.  The scenes of family life are authentic and emotionally real.  One highlight of the film is X-Mas dinners of trio showing how the classes dealt with the war.  It is apparent in each family gathering that the sailors love their ships more than their women and the women accept it. One theme of the movie is ships before hos. Mrs. Kinross warns a friend who is engaged to one of the crew that she will always be second best to the ship. Just accept it. Hardy gives a toast that sounds like he is honoring his wife, but he is actually talking about the Torrin. No one at the table is surprised and Mrs. Hardy is not upset. British women can have stiff upper lips, too. Later, Hardy lauds the Torrin: “Beautiful ship – well-mannered and does what she’s told.”  Wink, wink. Eventually, the ship-wrecked sailors are rescued and they are ready for their next ship because the war must go on.

ACTING:                      A

ACTION:                      A  6/10 in quantity

ACCURACY:               N/A

PLOT:                           A

REALISM:                   B

CINEMATOGRAPHY:   B 

SCORE:                       B

QUOTE:  Mrs. Kinross:  It is extraordinary that anyone could be so fond and so proud of their most implacable enemy – this ship.

 

BEST SCENE: the sinking of the HMS Torrin 

                All the characters are proper British.  A sailor who cowardly flees his post (Richard Attenborough) is forgiven by the Captain and later redeems himself before dying from a dastardly German strafing while in the life-boat.  When one of the officers is informed that his wife and mother are killed in the Blitz, he takes it stoically. The film has some heart-tugging moments and there must have been tears in the theaters as the viewers could relate to what happened to the families of the crew.  The cast is a good one and the acting stands out, but the real strength of the movie is the dialogue. Coward was a playwright and a good one. It is very well-written, not surprising from Coward.  The conversations ring true.  The people talk like real people, not characters in a movie.  The action scenes, filmed by David Lean, are well done. The effects are what you would expect from a 1942 war movie, but the movie is not about naval combat, it is about a ship and its crew. It is informative about how a British destroyer fights. This is especially true of the firing procedure. Americans will be surprised to find out that the British used “shoot” instead of “fire”.  There is an interesting and instructive blend of sailor’s lives and the lives of their women.  It is not overly propagandistic which is amazing considering the timing of its release and the fact that the Ministry of Information was supportive of it. It definitely was meant to be a morale booster and certainly succeeds in that. There is no dysfunction in the crew and Kinross runs a happy ship. He is no martinet, nor are any of his officers. Kinross is a father-figure. The Germans are not demonized, but they do strafe the life raft several times. The movie is not about how evil the Nazis were, it is about how great the Royal Navy was. It was a representation of the British public.

            “In Which We Serve” usually comes up short when compared to the other good British film about escort ships in the Battle of the Atlantic. However, I feel it is superior to “The Cruel Sea.” It is one of the best war movies made during the war. It balances the home front with combat and balances the men with the women. Few war movies have done this and done it this well. Noel Coward deserves a lot of credit for his labor of love.         

            These two movies make a great double feature if you want to learn about the British naval experience in WWII.  They accurately reflect the dangers of convoy duty.  They are realistic in their depiction of the class structure on board a small warship.  “In Which We Serve” concentrates more on the home front and the women in the men’s lives and “The Cruel Sea” concentrates more on shipboard life and tactics.  They are both realistic in their combat scenes, but “In Which We Serve” is the superior film because of its unique blend of the sailors and their women.