Before watching even one frame of this film it is as well to remind ourselves that it was made in 1942, more or less the exact middle of the war, a war for which no one at the time could predict an outcome and one that could certainly have gone either way. It brings together a mixture of established Stage - Leslie Banks, Marie Lohr, Elizabeth Allan - and Screen actors and those at the start of their careers - Thora Hird, Patricia Hayes, Harry Fowler etc, drops them in a picture postcard village and imagines what might happen should the Germans invade. Perhaps wisely it doesn't examine too closely just how SIXTY of the enemy were able to parachute into England undetected to find both English Army uniforms and transport awaiting them plus a leader, Basil Sydney whose flawless English extends even to native speech-patterns (I say, that's extremely nice of you). After three reels or so they are inevitably rumbled and equally inevitably the villagers find they have become hostages and Cavalcanti has a little fun in showing how each successive attempt to alert the outside world comes to naught. Eventually, of course, Good triumphs over Evil and everyone lives to fight another day. Invaluable as a period piece which captures an England that might as well HAVE been lost to the Germans as to Tony Blain and his ilk.
Review of Went the Day Well?
