The Avengers (1942)
"The Day Will Dawn" (original title)

Horse race tipster and journalist Metcalfe is picked for the job of foreign correspondent in Norway when Hitler invades Poland. On the way to Norway his boat is attacked by a German U-Boat,... See full summary »

Director:

Harold French

Writers:

Frank Owen (by), Terence Rattigan (treatment and screenplay),

Stars:

Hugh Williams, Griffith Jones, Deborah Kerr

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hugh Williams	...	Colin Metcalfe
Griffith Jones	...	Police Inspector Gunter (as Griffiths Jones)
Deborah Kerr	...	Kari Alstad
Ralph Richardson	...	Frank Lockwood
Francis L. Sullivan	...	Kommandant Ulrich Wettau (as Francis L.Sullivan)
Roland Culver	...	Cmdr. Pittwaters
Finlay Currie	...	Capt. Alstad
Niall MacGinnis	...	Olaf
Elizabeth Mann	...	Gerda
Raymond Huntley	...	Norwegian Under Secretary (scenes deleted)
Patricia Medina	...	Ingrid
Roland Pertwee	...	Capt. Waverley - Naval Intelligence
Henry Oscar	...	Newspaper Editor
David Horne	...	Evans, Foreign Editor
Henry Hewitt	...	Jack, News Editor

Storyline

Horse race tipster and journalist Metcalfe is picked for the job of foreign correspondent in Norway when Hitler invades Poland. On the way to Norway his boat is attacked by a German U-Boat, however when he tells the navy about it they disbelief him and, to make matters worse, he is removed from his job. When German forces invade Norway, Metcalfe returns determined to uncover what is going on and stop the Germans in their tracks.

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Plot Keywords:

norway | journalist | world war two

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 June 1942 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Avengers

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paul Soskin Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The shot of the wooden building being blown up towards the end was from one of the British Commando raids on the Norwegian coast. These were usually to attack things like fish oil processing plants. There are various other extracts from newsreels or other reality footage inserted into the film at various points.

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Goofs

When the escaping German commander of the town shoots the Norwegian police chief the pistol is plainly seen beside the man's body, pointing towards the wall of the room not into the man's abdomen. So when he pulls the trigger the bullet would hit the wall not the policeman.

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Quotes

Milligan, Reporter in Fleet Street Pub: This is the man in the street, Frank, the average man. And he's asking you a question the average man in the street wants answering. World war over Danzig?
"Man-in-the-Street" in Fleet Street Pub: That's right. As you say, Danzig's only a small place.
Frank Lockwood: So was Thermopylae. And Verdun. And Madrid. All very small places. Big enough to bury the people that hadn't the guts to fight for them. Did you ever hear Hitler laugh?
[Man shakes head]
Frank Lockwood: I did. I was in Vienna when he entered the city in triumph. "Providence has sent me here to save you,"...

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Crazy Credits

Postscript on screen: "In a dozen famous ancient states, now prostrate under the Nazi yoke, the masses of the people, all classes and creeds, await the hour of liberation, when they, too, will be able once again to play their part and strike their blows like men. That hour will strike, and its solemn peal will proclaim that the night is past and that the dawn has come." The Prime Minister (Winston Churchill) In the United States Senate 26-12-1941

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Soundtracks

"Gökvalsen"
("The Cuckoo Waltz")
(uncredited)
Composed by Johann Emanuel Jonasson

User Reviews

Wartime British flagwaver fails to gel.

British wartime propaganda film in which Hugh Williams plays a British foreign correspondent investigating German U-boat activities in Norway. The disparate elements of the film however, in terms of location, narrative and character, do not seem to have been successfully combined into a cohesive whole. Apart from the Hugh Williams character there is a lack of focus, and the film comes across as episodic and disjointed. Ralph Richardson, for example, is for the most part wasted in a role which despite popping up briefly all over the place, seems to have very little relevance to either plot or theme. Finlay Currie, always worth watching, does well by his part and has the most convincing accent of the piece, but Deborah Kerr sounds as Norwegian as praties. Francis L Sullivan trots out another of his well worn villains.