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The Way Ahead
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The Way Ahead
The Way Ahead (also known as Immortal Battalion) (1944) is a British Second World War drama film directed by Carol Reed. The screenplay was written by Eric Ambler and Peter Ustinov. The film stars David Niven, Stanley Holloway and William Hartnell along with an ensemble cast of other British actors, including Ustinov in one of his earliest roles. The Way Ahead follows a group of civilians who are conscripted into the British Army and, after training, are shipped to North Africa where they are involved in a battle against the Afrika Korps.
In the days after the Dunkirk evacuation in the Second World War, recently commissioned Second Lieutenant Jim Perry, a pre-war Territorial private soldier, is posted to the Duke of Glendon's Light Infantry, known as the "Dogs", to train replacements to fill its depleted ranks. He is joined by Sergeant Ned Fletcher, a veteran of the British Expeditionary Force.
In contrast to Perry, the rest of the squad is shocked to have been conscripted to the army. We're introduced to phlegmatic rent collector Evan Lloyd, along with Lloyd's boastful friend Geoffrey Stainer, loquacious travel agent Sid Beck, heating engineer Ted Brewer working in the Houses of Parliament, department store manager Herbert Davenport, Davenport's young employee Bill Parsons, and Scottish farm labourer Luke.
A mild-mannered officer, Perry patiently does his best to turn the resentful conscripts into soldiers, despite their belief drill sergeant Fletcher is treating them harshly. Despite petty complaints by the men about him, Fletcher tells Perry he's pleased with their development and believes some could be future NCOs. Perry defends Parsons at a court martial for deserting his post, sympathetic to his wife being threatened by debt collectors. Oblivious to Perry's intervention, the other men sabotage a field exercise, deliberately making the battalion look bad to poorly reflect on Perry's command. The men's respect for both Fletcher and Perry grows by the time their training is complete, as they come to understand the reasons for many of the things they've experienced..
The battalion's troopship is torpedoed on the way to Operation Torch in North Africa. Sergeant Fletcher, trapped below deck, is saved by Perry and Private Luke and the survivors are rescued and taken to Gibraltar, where they miss the landings. After arrival in North Africa, the platoon is assigned to guard a small town and Perry appropriates a cafe as battalion headquarters, to the disgust of the pacifist owner, Rispoli. The men develop a fondness for Rispoli over games of darts.
When the Germans attack, Perry and his men fiercely defend their positions, aided by Rispoli. When the Germans approach under a white flag to demand Perry's surrender, he tells the Germans to "Go to Hell" and the British defenders launch a bayonet charge. The film ends with two veteran "Dogs" appreciatively reading about the men's bravery.
The Way Ahead was written by Eric Ambler and Peter Ustinov, and directed by Carol Reed. The three had originally produced the 1943 44-minute training film The New Lot, which was produced for the Army Kinematograph Service. The Way Ahead was an expanded remake of their earlier film, this time intended for a commercial audience. The two films featured some of the same actors, including Laurie and Huntley, and a 23-year-old Peter Ustinov played one of the recruits.
The driving force behind the film was David Niven, a 1930 graduate of Sandhurst, who at the time was a major in the British Army working with the Army Film Unit and later served in Normandy with GHQ Liaison Regiment. Niven was the executive producer on The Way Ahead.
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The Way Ahead
The Way Ahead (also known as Immortal Battalion) (1944) is a British Second World War drama film directed by Carol Reed. The screenplay was written by Eric Ambler and Peter Ustinov. The film stars David Niven, Stanley Holloway and William Hartnell along with an ensemble cast of other British actors, including Ustinov in one of his earliest roles. The Way Ahead follows a group of civilians who are conscripted into the British Army and, after training, are shipped to North Africa where they are involved in a battle against the Afrika Korps.
In the days after the Dunkirk evacuation in the Second World War, recently commissioned Second Lieutenant Jim Perry, a pre-war Territorial private soldier, is posted to the Duke of Glendon's Light Infantry, known as the "Dogs", to train replacements to fill its depleted ranks. He is joined by Sergeant Ned Fletcher, a veteran of the British Expeditionary Force.
In contrast to Perry, the rest of the squad is shocked to have been conscripted to the army. We're introduced to phlegmatic rent collector Evan Lloyd, along with Lloyd's boastful friend Geoffrey Stainer, loquacious travel agent Sid Beck, heating engineer Ted Brewer working in the Houses of Parliament, department store manager Herbert Davenport, Davenport's young employee Bill Parsons, and Scottish farm labourer Luke.
A mild-mannered officer, Perry patiently does his best to turn the resentful conscripts into soldiers, despite their belief drill sergeant Fletcher is treating them harshly. Despite petty complaints by the men about him, Fletcher tells Perry he's pleased with their development and believes some could be future NCOs. Perry defends Parsons at a court martial for deserting his post, sympathetic to his wife being threatened by debt collectors. Oblivious to Perry's intervention, the other men sabotage a field exercise, deliberately making the battalion look bad to poorly reflect on Perry's command. The men's respect for both Fletcher and Perry grows by the time their training is complete, as they come to understand the reasons for many of the things they've experienced..
The battalion's troopship is torpedoed on the way to Operation Torch in North Africa. Sergeant Fletcher, trapped below deck, is saved by Perry and Private Luke and the survivors are rescued and taken to Gibraltar, where they miss the landings. After arrival in North Africa, the platoon is assigned to guard a small town and Perry appropriates a cafe as battalion headquarters, to the disgust of the pacifist owner, Rispoli. The men develop a fondness for Rispoli over games of darts.
When the Germans attack, Perry and his men fiercely defend their positions, aided by Rispoli. When the Germans approach under a white flag to demand Perry's surrender, he tells the Germans to "Go to Hell" and the British defenders launch a bayonet charge. The film ends with two veteran "Dogs" appreciatively reading about the men's bravery.
The Way Ahead was written by Eric Ambler and Peter Ustinov, and directed by Carol Reed. The three had originally produced the 1943 44-minute training film The New Lot, which was produced for the Army Kinematograph Service. The Way Ahead was an expanded remake of their earlier film, this time intended for a commercial audience. The two films featured some of the same actors, including Laurie and Huntley, and a 23-year-old Peter Ustinov played one of the recruits.
The driving force behind the film was David Niven, a 1930 graduate of Sandhurst, who at the time was a major in the British Army working with the Army Film Unit and later served in Normandy with GHQ Liaison Regiment. Niven was the executive producer on The Way Ahead.