Oh! What a Lovely War is a
musical filmThe musical film is a film genre in which several songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative. The songs are usually used to advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but some musical films simply plop the songs in as unrelated "specialties" - as with Carmen Miranda's...
based on the
stage musicalMusical theatre is a form of theatre combining music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
Oh, What a Lovely War!Oh, What a Lovely War! is an epic musical that Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop created in 1963. It is based on The Donkeys by military historian Alan Clark, with some scenes adapted from The Good Soldier Švejk by Czech humorist Jaroslav Hašek; it was also inspired by Charles Chilton's BBC...
that
Joan LittlewoodJoan Maud Littlewood was a British theatre director, noted for her work in developing the left-wing Theatre Workshop...
and her
Theatre WorkshopTheatre Workshop is a theatre group noted for their director, Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company...
created in
1963The year 1963 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*First United States printing of John Cleland's 1749 novel, Fanny Hill . The book is banned for obscenity, triggering a court case by its publisher.*Leslie Charteris publishes his final collection of stories...
. The title is derived from the
music hallMusic hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
song
Oh! It's a Lovely War, which is one of the major numbers in the productions. In
1969The year 1969 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue
source: http://www.boxofficereport.com/database/1969.shtml- Awards :Academy Awards:*Anne of the Thousand Days...
Richard AttenboroughRichard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, CBE is an English actor, director, producer, and entrepreneur. Attenborough has won two Academy Awards, four BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes...
directed a cinematic adaptation of the musical. His cast included
Dirk BogardeSir Dirk Bogarde was a British actor and novelist. Initially a matinee star in such films as Doctor in the House and other Rank Organisation pictures, Bogarde later acted in art house films like Death in Venice...
,
John GielgudSir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor/director/producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
,
John MillsSir John Mills, CBE was an English actor, who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
,
Kenneth MoreKenneth Gilbert More CBE was an English actor.-Early life:More was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the only son of Charles Gilbert More, a Royal Naval Air Service pilot, and Edith Winifred Watkins, the daughter of a Cardiff solicitor. He was educated at Victoria College, Jersey...
,
Laurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century, along with his contemporaries John Gielgud, Peggy Ashcroft, Alec Guinness and Ralph Richardson...
,
Jack HawkinsJohn Edward "Jack" Hawkins was an English film actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman...
,
Corin RedgraveCorin William Redgrave is an English actor and political activist.-Family:Redgrave was born in Marylebone, London, the son of actors Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson...
,
Michael RedgraveSir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.He twice won Best Actor trophies in the Evening Standard Awards and twice received the Variety Club of Great Britain 'Actor of the Year' Award...
,
Vanessa RedgraveVanessa Redgrave CBE is an Oscar winning English actress of stage, film and television. She is a member of the Redgrave family, the world-renowned theatrical dynasty. A former Trotskyist and leading member of the Workers' Revolutionary Party, She is also a social activist for human rights and has...
,
Ralph RichardsonSir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
,
Maggie SmithDame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE , better known as Maggie Smith, is an English film, stage, and television actress who made her stage debut in 1952 and is still performing after 57 years...
,
Ian HolmSir Ian Holm, CBE is an English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles, including the hobbit Bilbo Baggins in the first and third films of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, the athletics trainer Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire, Father Vito Cornelius in The Fifth Element and the...
, Paul Shelley,Malcolm McFee,
Jean-Pierre CasselJean-Pierre Cassel was a French actor.Cassel was born Jean-Pierre Crochon in Paris, the son of Louise-Marguerite , an opera singer, and Georges Crochon, a doctor. Cassel was discovered by Gene Kelly as he tap danced on stage, and later cast in the 1957 film The Happy Road...
,
Nanette Newman-Early life and career:Born in Northampton, England, she was educated at Sternhold College, the Italia Conti Academy stage school and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London....
,
Edward FoxEdward Charles Morrice Fox, OBE is an English stage, film and television actor. He is generally associated with the role of an upper-class Englishman...
,
Susannah YorkSusannah York is an English film, stage and television actress.-Early life:York was born as Susannah Yolande Fletcher in Chelsea, London in 1939. The daughter of businessman Simon William Peel Vickers Fletcher and his wife Joan Nita Mary Bowrig, York was raised in Scotland where she attended Marr...
,
John ClementsSir John Selby Clements, CBE was an English actor and producer who worked in theatre, television and film....
,
Phyllis CalvertPhyllis Calvert was an English film, stage and television actress.Born Phyllis Hannah Bickle in Chelsea, she had her first film role at the age of 12, in The Arcadians .She trained at the Margaret Morris School of Dancing and performed from the age of ten...
and
Maurice RoëvesMaurice Roëves pronunciation? is an English-born actor raised in Glasgow, Scotland.Some of his many television roles include Danger UXB , The Nightmare Man , the 1984 Doctor Who serial The Caves of Androzani, Days of our Lives , Tutti Frutti , Rab C...
. The film has been released on DVD.
Oh! What A Lovely War summarizes and comments on the story of
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
using popular songs of the time.
Oh! What a Lovely War is a
musical filmThe musical film is a film genre in which several songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative. The songs are usually used to advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but some musical films simply plop the songs in as unrelated "specialties" - as with Carmen Miranda's...
based on the
stage musicalMusical theatre is a form of theatre combining music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
Oh, What a Lovely War!Oh, What a Lovely War! is an epic musical that Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop created in 1963. It is based on The Donkeys by military historian Alan Clark, with some scenes adapted from The Good Soldier Švejk by Czech humorist Jaroslav Hašek; it was also inspired by Charles Chilton's BBC...
that
Joan LittlewoodJoan Maud Littlewood was a British theatre director, noted for her work in developing the left-wing Theatre Workshop...
and her
Theatre WorkshopTheatre Workshop is a theatre group noted for their director, Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company...
created in
1963The year 1963 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*First United States printing of John Cleland's 1749 novel, Fanny Hill . The book is banned for obscenity, triggering a court case by its publisher.*Leslie Charteris publishes his final collection of stories...
. The title is derived from the
music hallMusic hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
song
Oh! It's a Lovely War, which is one of the major numbers in the productions. In
1969The year 1969 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue
source: http://www.boxofficereport.com/database/1969.shtml- Awards :Academy Awards:*Anne of the Thousand Days...
Richard AttenboroughRichard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, CBE is an English actor, director, producer, and entrepreneur. Attenborough has won two Academy Awards, four BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes...
directed a cinematic adaptation of the musical. His cast included
Dirk BogardeSir Dirk Bogarde was a British actor and novelist. Initially a matinee star in such films as Doctor in the House and other Rank Organisation pictures, Bogarde later acted in art house films like Death in Venice...
,
John GielgudSir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor/director/producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
,
John MillsSir John Mills, CBE was an English actor, who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
,
Kenneth MoreKenneth Gilbert More CBE was an English actor.-Early life:More was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the only son of Charles Gilbert More, a Royal Naval Air Service pilot, and Edith Winifred Watkins, the daughter of a Cardiff solicitor. He was educated at Victoria College, Jersey...
,
Laurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century, along with his contemporaries John Gielgud, Peggy Ashcroft, Alec Guinness and Ralph Richardson...
,
Jack HawkinsJohn Edward "Jack" Hawkins was an English film actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman...
,
Corin RedgraveCorin William Redgrave is an English actor and political activist.-Family:Redgrave was born in Marylebone, London, the son of actors Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson...
,
Michael RedgraveSir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.He twice won Best Actor trophies in the Evening Standard Awards and twice received the Variety Club of Great Britain 'Actor of the Year' Award...
,
Vanessa RedgraveVanessa Redgrave CBE is an Oscar winning English actress of stage, film and television. She is a member of the Redgrave family, the world-renowned theatrical dynasty. A former Trotskyist and leading member of the Workers' Revolutionary Party, She is also a social activist for human rights and has...
,
Ralph RichardsonSir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
,
Maggie SmithDame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE , better known as Maggie Smith, is an English film, stage, and television actress who made her stage debut in 1952 and is still performing after 57 years...
,
Ian HolmSir Ian Holm, CBE is an English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles, including the hobbit Bilbo Baggins in the first and third films of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, the athletics trainer Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire, Father Vito Cornelius in The Fifth Element and the...
, Paul Shelley,Malcolm McFee,
Jean-Pierre CasselJean-Pierre Cassel was a French actor.Cassel was born Jean-Pierre Crochon in Paris, the son of Louise-Marguerite , an opera singer, and Georges Crochon, a doctor. Cassel was discovered by Gene Kelly as he tap danced on stage, and later cast in the 1957 film The Happy Road...
,
Nanette Newman-Early life and career:Born in Northampton, England, she was educated at Sternhold College, the Italia Conti Academy stage school and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London....
,
Edward FoxEdward Charles Morrice Fox, OBE is an English stage, film and television actor. He is generally associated with the role of an upper-class Englishman...
,
Susannah YorkSusannah York is an English film, stage and television actress.-Early life:York was born as Susannah Yolande Fletcher in Chelsea, London in 1939. The daughter of businessman Simon William Peel Vickers Fletcher and his wife Joan Nita Mary Bowrig, York was raised in Scotland where she attended Marr...
,
John ClementsSir John Selby Clements, CBE was an English actor and producer who worked in theatre, television and film....
,
Phyllis CalvertPhyllis Calvert was an English film, stage and television actress.Born Phyllis Hannah Bickle in Chelsea, she had her first film role at the age of 12, in The Arcadians .She trained at the Margaret Morris School of Dancing and performed from the age of ten...
and
Maurice RoëvesMaurice Roëves pronunciation? is an English-born actor raised in Glasgow, Scotland.Some of his many television roles include Danger UXB , The Nightmare Man , the 1984 Doctor Who serial The Caves of Androzani, Days of our Lives , Tutti Frutti , Rab C...
. The film has been released on DVD.
Synopsis
Oh! What A Lovely War summarizes and comments on the story of
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
using popular songs of the time. Many of these songs are much older popular songs that have been sarcastically re-worded by the soldiers serving on the front lines.
The film uses a variety of symbolic settings to portray vast summations of historical and societal forces at work.
BrightonBrighton is a town in the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex on the south coast of Great Britain...
's West Pier, as a location, represents the First World War, with the British public entering at the turnstiles, and
General HaigField Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig,
KT,
GCB,
OM,
GCVO,
KCIE,
ADC was a British soldier and senior commander during World War I. He commanded the British Expeditionary Force from 1915 to the end of...
selling tickets. The protagonists are named as the Smith family; which serve as allegorical representations of the working and middle classes of the nation. The film follows several young Smith men through their experiences in the trenches, most notably Jack (
Paul ShelleyPaul Shelley is an English actor.Paul trained at RADA and has made a highly acclaimed theatre career, mainly as a classical actor...
), Freddy (Malcolm McFee), Harry (Colin Farrell) and George (
Maurice RoevesMaurice Roëves pronunciation? is an English-born actor raised in Glasgow, Scotland.Some of his many television roles include Danger UXB , The Nightmare Man , the 1984 Doctor Who serial The Caves of Androzani, Days of our Lives , Tutti Frutti , Rab C...
).
The opening sequence is set in a wrought-iron building intended to not look like a real location. This use of Brechtian staging illustrates the ruling class' distance from the realities of war as diplomatic farces, galas, and events involving the aristocracies of many European nations are shown only in this location throughout the film. As various diplomats and aristocrats walk over a huge map of Europe summarising the treaties, nationalism, and lust for expanding empire that were factors leading to the war, the scene ends with a group photo of the upper class being taken by an unnamed photographer. He hands out two red poppies to the
Archduke FerdinandFranz Ferdinand was an Archduke of Austria-Este, Austro Hungarian and Royal Prince of Hungary and of Bohemia, and from 1889 until his death, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia...
and his wife, the
Duchess of HohenbergSophie, Duchess of Hohenberg ; 1 March 1868 - 28 June 1914) was the morganatic wife of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Their assassination sparked World War I.-Early life:Sophie was born in Stuttgart to a prominent Bohemian aristocratic family...
, and takes a picture. As the flash goes off, they fall over dead as he declares they have been assassinated.
The start of the war in 1914 is shown as a parade of optimism. A band playing patriotic music rouses citizens lounging by the beach to rally round it and follow it - some even literally boarding a bandwagon. They are led to the idea of war, illustrated on film as a cheerful seaside carnival on Brighton West Pier. The first
Battle of MonsThe Battle of Mons was the first major action of the British Expeditionary Force in World War I.-Prelude:Following the surrender of the Liège forts by the Belgian Army on 16 August 1914, the Germans continued advancing towards Paris in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan...
is similarly cheerfully depicted yet more realistic in portrayal. Both scenes are flooded in pleasant sunshine. When the casualties start to mount, a shocked theatre audience is rallied by singing "Are We Downhearted? No!", a song which attempts to express the English psyche of the moment: "While we have Jack upon the sea/And Tommy on the land/We needn't fret".
The curtains on the stage lift to reveal several attractive young women dressed in frilled yellow dresses who recruit a volunteer army. They appeal to the patriotism of the crowd in the 'Roedean' section, singing "We Don't Want To Lose You, But We Think You Ought To Go." Maggie Smith then enters a lone spotlight as the curtain is drawn, and lures the roused but still doubtful young men in the audience into "taking the
King's ShillingFor many years a soldier's daily pay, before stoppages - was the shilling given as an earnest payment to recruits of the British army and the Royal Navy of the 18th and 19th centuries...
" by singing a song about how every day she has sex with different men in uniform, and that "On Saturday I'm willing, if you'll only take the shilling, to make a man of any one of you." The young men take to the stage and are quickly moved offstage and into military life.
As scenes from the war are depicted with less symbolism, the red poppy crops up again as a symbol of impending death, often being handed to a soldier about to be sent to die. These scenes are juxtaposed with the white wrought-iron building which now houses the top military brass and the pier. There is a scoreboard showing the loss of life and 'yards gained'.
1915 is depicted as darkly contrasting in tone. Many shots of a parade of wounded men illustrate an endless stream of grim, hopeless faces. Black humour among these soldiers has now replaced the enthusiasm of the early days. "There's A Long, Long Trail A-Winding" captures the new mood of despair, and the scene with the soldiers filing along in torrential rain in miserable conditions looks less like a hyperbolic musical and more like a gritty realistic portrayal of war. Red poppies provide the only bright colour in these scenes. We also see British soldiers on leave and recovering from wounds, often singing songs about wanting to stay home and no longer fight. There is a scene of British soldiers drinking in an estaminet. The chanteuse (Pia Colombo) leads them in a jolly chorus of "The
MoonThe Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System. The average centre-to-centre distance from the Earth to the Moon is , about thirty times the diameter of the Earth. The common centre of mass of the system is located at about —a quarter the Earth's...
Shines Bright On
Charlie ChaplinSir Charles Spencer Chaplin, KBE was an English comedic actor and film director. Chaplin became one of the most famous actors as well as a notable filmmaker, composer and musician in the early to mid Classical Hollywood era of American cinema.Chaplin acted in, directed, scripted, produced and...
, a reworking of an American song, then shifts the mood back to darker tone by singing a soft and sombre versions of "Adieu la vie".
A pan-religious service is held in a ruined abbey. A priest tells the gathered masses of soldiers that each religion has endorsed the war by way of allowing soldiers to eat pork if Jewish, red meat on Fridays if
CatholicThe word Catholic is derived from the Greek adjective , meaning "universal". In the context of Christian ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages. For some, the term "Catholic Church" refers to the church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, made up of the Latin Rite and the 22...
, and work through the sabbath if in service of the war for all religions. He also mentions the
Dalai LamaThe Dalai Lama is a lineage of religious officials of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism. "Lama" is a general term referring to Tibetan Buddhist teachers...
has blessed the war effort.
1916 passes, and the film's tone darkens again. The songs contain contrasting tones of wistfulness, stoicism, and resignation; including "
The Bells Of Hell Go Ting-a-ling-a-lingThe Bells Of Hell Go Ting-a-ling-a-ling was a soldier's song of World War I. It is apparently a parody of another popular song of the time entitled "She Only Answered 'Ting-a-ling-a-ling'". It is featured in the musical film Oh! What a Lovely War . The lyrics are:The Bells Of Hell Go...
", "If The Sergeant Steals Your Rum, Never Mind" and "
Hanging on the Old Barbed WireHanging on the Old Barbed Wire is a war song of World War I. The song sarcastically recounts the location of various army members, not to be found in the combat zone, and concludes by describing the location of the old battalion: "hanging on the old barbed wire"...
". The wounded are laid out in ranks at the field station, a stark contrast to the healthy rows of young men who entered the War. Harry Smith's silently-suffering face is often lingered upon by the camera.
The Americans arrive, but are shown only in the 'disconnected reality' of the pier and white iron building, singing (in travesty of Cohan) "And we won't come back - we'll be buried over there!" Jack notices with disgust that after three years of this nightmare, he is literally back where he started, fighting at Mons.
As the
ArmisticeAn armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
is sounding, Jack is the last one to die. The film closes with a long slow pan out that ends in an aerial view of soldiers' graves, dizzying in their geometry and scale, as the voices of the dead sing "We'll Never Tell Them" (a version of the
Jerome KernJerome David Kern was an American composer of popular music. He wrote around 700 songs, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A Fine Romance", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "All the Things You Are", "The Way You Look Tonight", and "Who?", a 6-week number 1 hit for...
song "
They Didn't Believe Me"They Didn't Believe Me" is a song with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Herbert Reynolds.First introduced in the 1914 musical The Girl from Utah it was one of five numbers added to the show for its Broadway debut at the Knickerbocker Theater on August 14, 1914...
").
Themes and social commentary
The sense of fundamental class differences pervades the film. The symbolic settings of the pier and the white iron building show the upper class disengaged from the harsh realities of the war and the effects their decisions have upon the ones doing the fighting. Wounded men from the lower ranks have to wait for treatment, but officers have taxis laid on to take them to hospital. A wounded man arrives back in England, relieved to be out of the hell of war, and is told by a nurse, "Don't worry - we'll soon have you back at the Front". Upper-class war dodgers carry on as before, but they think they are making noble sacrifices - "I'm not using my
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
wineWine is an alcoholic beverage typically made of fermented grape juice. The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes or other nutrients. Wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast consumes...
- not while the War's on" (a line spoken in the film by
Dirk BogardeSir Dirk Bogarde was a British actor and novelist. Initially a matinee star in such films as Doctor in the House and other Rank Organisation pictures, Bogarde later acted in art house films like Death in Venice...
). The staff officer who visits the Front is patently unfamiliar with life there, and desperate to get away, but happy enough to have the men live (and die) in these conditions.
There is one scene in which the war brings an
aristocratThe aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in society, who traditionally have land, money, and power. They are often members of a hereditary nobility that derives its stature from a lineage traceable to the original inhabitants or rulers of a region...
(who is called 'Sir John') to converse with one of his retainers, but the conversation is hollow and awkward, as if the men speak different languages. The working-class men in the trenches fraternise with their German 'brothers', and a staff officer in the comfort and safety of
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
punishes them for their inappropriate behaviour, all while he flirts with a young attractive woman. The pacifist who addresses the workers on the pier falls foul of the crowd's jeered and screamed patriotism.
The religious service set in a crumbling abbey points to the lack of moral foundations of the many religions who 'endorse' the war by way of the priest's statements.
Production
The 1969 film transferred the
mise-en-scene completely into the cinematic domain, with elaborate sequences shot at
West Pier, BrightonThe West Pier is a pier in Brighton, England. It was built in 1866 by Eugenius Birch and has been closed and deteriorating since 1975, awaiting renovation...
, elsewhere in Brighton and on the
South DownsThe South Downs is one of the four areas of chalk downland in southern England. They extend from the eastern side of Hampshire through Sussex, culminating in the cliffs at Beachy Head...
, interspersed with
motifIn a narrative, such as a novel or a film, motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the piece’s major themes. The narrative motif is the vehicle by means of which the narrative theme is conveyed...
s from the stage production. These included the 'cricket' scoreboards showing the number of dead, but Attenborough did not use the pierrot costumes. However, as many critics, including
Pauline KaelPauline Kael was an American film critic who wrote for The New Yorker magazine from 1968 to 1991. Earlier in her career she was published by City Lights, McCall's and The New Republic....
, noted, the treatment diminished the effect of the numbers of deaths, which appear only fleetingly. Nonetheless, Attenborough's final sequence, ending in a helicopter shot of hundreds of war graves, each individually hammered into the South Downs chalk for the shot, is regarded as one of the most memorable moments of the film. The film was shot in the Brighton, East Sussex, area of the U.K. in the summer of 1968. Many of the extras were local folk, but a great many were students from the
University of SussexThe University of Sussex is a British campus university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. It was the first of the "plate glass" universities founded in the 1960s. It received its Royal Charter in August 1961...
, Falmer, on the outskirks of the city. The film's locations included the West Pier (now virtually demolished),
Ditchling BeaconDitchling Beacon is the third-highest point on the South Downs in south-east England, behind Butser Hill and Crown Tegleaze . It consists of a large chalk hill with a particularly steep northern face, covered with open grassland and sheep-grazing areas...
, Sheepcote Valley (the trench sequences), Old Bayham Abbey, near
LamberhurstLamberhurst is a village and civil parish in Kent although the latter parish was at first in both Kent and East Sussex. The line of the county border was adjusted in 1894 to allow farmers in Sussex to get a better price for their hops...
,
KentKent , originally Cantia, is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent...
(the church parade),Brighton Station and
OvingdeanOvingdean is a small formerly agricultural village which was absorbed into the borough of Brighton, East Sussex, UK, in 1928, and now forms part of the city of Brighton and Hove. It has expanded through the growth of residential streets on its eastern and southern sides, and now has a population of...
(where hundreds of crosses were erected for the classic finale).
The screenwriter
Len DeightonLeonard Cyril Deighton is a British military historian, cookery writer, and novelist. He is perhaps most famous for his spy novel The IPCRESS File, which was made into a film starring Michael Caine....
asked for his name to be removed from the film's credits after seeing rushes of the film, stating that what was filmed was not as he conceived it. He later stated that he regretted the decision.
The song
The song was written by J.P. Long and Maurice Scott in 1917 and was part of the repertoire of music hall star and
male impersonatorDrag kings are mostly female performance artists who dress in masculine drag and personify male gender stereotypes as part of their performance. A typical drag king routine may incorporate dancing and singing or lip-synching...
Ella ShieldsElla Shields was a music hall singer and male-impersonator. Her famous signature song, "Burlington Bertie from Bow", written by her manager and first husband, William Hargreaves, was an immediate hit that is still sung to this day...
. Here is the first verse and the chorus:
- Up to your waist in water,
- Up to your eyes in slush -
- Using the kind of language,
- That makes the sergeant blush;
- Who wouldn't join the army?
- That's what we all inquire,
- Don't we pity the poor civilians sitting beside the fire.
- Chorus
- Oh! Oh! Oh! it's a lovely war,
- Who wouldn't be a soldier eh?
- Oh! It's a shame to take the pay.
- As soon as reveille is gone
- We feel just as heavy as lead,
- But we never get up till the sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
brings
- Our breakfast up to bed
- Oh! Oh! Oh! it's a lovely war,
- What do we want with eggs and ham
- When we've got plum and apple jam?
- Form fours! Right turn!
- How shall we spend the money we earn?
- Oh! Oh! Oh! it's a lovely war.
Two pre-
musicalMusical theatre is a form of theatre combining music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
renditions, one from 1918, can be found at http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/ohitsalovelywar.htm
Awards
- Golden Globe, Best Cinematography (Gerry Turpin) 1969
- BAFTA Film Award, Best Art Direction (Donald M. Ashton) 1970
- BAFTA Film Award, Best Cinematography (Gerry Turpin) 1970
- BAFTA Film Award, Best Costume Design (Anthony Mendleson) 1970
- BAFTA Film Award, Best Sound Track (Don Challis and Simon Kaye) 1970
- BAFTA Film Award, Best Supporting Actor (Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century, along with his contemporaries John Gielgud, Peggy Ashcroft, Alec Guinness and Ralph Richardson...
) 1970
Radio musical documentary
Charles ChiltonCharles Chilton MBE is a BBC radio presenter, a writer and a producer. Born in Bloomsbury in London, England, he never knew his father - who was killed during World War I - and when he was six his mother died of the 1920s flu epidemic, so he was raised by his grandmother. He was educated at St...
, producer of the film, created a radio musical of
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
songs called
The Long Long Trail (1962), named for the popular
music hallMusic hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
song,
There's a long, long trail a winding"There's a Long, Long Trail" is a popular song of World War I. The lyrics were by Stoddard King and the music by Alonzo "Zo" Elliot, both seniors at Yale....
. The piece was a radio documentary that used facts and statistics, juxtaposed with songs of the time, as an ironic critique of the reality of the war.