Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)

Director:

Richard Attenborough

Writers:

Charles Chilton (play)
Len Deighton (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 October 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | War

Tagline:

The ever popular war game with songs battles & a few jokes

Plot:

A movie about the First World War based on a stage musical of the same name, portraying the "Game of...

Plot Keywords:

Son | WWI | Family | Army | 1910s

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 7 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Wendy Allnutt	...	Flo Smith
Colin Farrell	...	Harry Smith
Malcolm McFee	...	Freddie Smith
John Rae	...	Grandpa Smith
Corin Redgrave	...	Bertie Smith
Maurice Roëves	...	George Smith
Paul Shelley	...	Jack Smith
Kim Smith	...	Dickie Smith
Angela Thorne	...	Betty Smith
Mary Wimbush	...	Mary Smith
Vincent Ball	...	Australian Soldier
Pia Colombo	...	Estaminet Singer
Paul Daneman	...	Czar Nicholas II
Isabel Dean	...	Sir John French's Lady
Christian Doermer	...	Fritz

Runtime:

144 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG (video rating) | UK:A (original rating) | Australia:G | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:11 | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Bayham Abbey, Lamberhurst, Kent, England, UK

Company:

Accord Productions

Trivia:

The last film of Cecil Parker

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Sir John's car drives off after his conversation with Harry, a modern car can be seen reflected in the window.

Quotes:

Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig: Grant us victory, O Lord, before the Americans get here.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Welcome to World War One (2006) (V)

A Masterpiece

It is a mystery to me why this film isn't on everybody's top ten films listing. It is truly a masterpiece of acting and direction, and without doubt the best anti-war film I have ever seen. Yet it was never released on video, and it took over 20 years of waiting to see it repeated on television and tape it for my collection.

It is all the more telling for its simplicity - none of the many great actors taking part delivers a weighty pronouncement on the evils - or otherwise - of war; it is enough to see the awful toll posted on the cricket scoreboard that keeps the daily tally of dead. The ordinariness of the Smith family, who lose every last one of their young men to the conflict, the cheerful patriotism of the proud families waving their loved ones off to war, and the stupid banalities of the officers who daily send their men out to be killed only serve to highlight the absolute futility and waste of WWI and all the wars that followed.

Scenes of upper class twits at play while their servants are dying to preserve their privileges; the officers' ball where military leaders try to score points off each other, concerned only with protocol and promotion; and the brilliant black humor of the outdoor church service are juxtaposed with scenes from the trenches as we watch the young men die one by one, all the more harrowing for their cheeky humor and fatalism.

Why this brilliant film has been allowed to sink without trace is baffling; I first saw it in the early seventies, and today it still has the same impact. And sadly, it is just as relevant now as it was then - a testimony to our inability to learn from our mistakes.