In Which We Serve (1942)

Directors:

Noel Coward
David Lean

Writer:

Noel Coward (by)

Release Date:

23 December 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

The Greatest Motion Picture Of Our Time! [USA Theatrical]

Plot:

This "story of a ship," the British destroyer HMS Torrin, is told in flash backs by survivors as they cling to a life raft.

Plot Keywords:

Destroyer | Knitting | World War Two | British Navy | Produced By Director

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Noel Coward	...	Captain E. V. Kinross R.N. / Captain 'D'
Derek Elphinstone	...	No. 1
Michael Wilding	...	Flags
Robert Sansom	...	Guns
Philip Friend	...	Torps
Chimmo Branson	...	Midshipman
Ballard Berkeley	...	Engineer Commander
Hubert Gregg	...	Pilot
James Donald	...	Doc
Michael Whittaker	...	Sub
Kenneth Carten	...	Sub-Lieutenant R.N.V.R.
John Varley	...	Secco
Bernard Miles	...	Chief Petty Officer Hardy / Walter Hardy
Caven Watson	...	Brodie
John Mills	...	Ordinary Seaman Blake / Shorty Blake
Geoffrey Hibbert	...	Joey Mackeridge
Frederick Piper	...	Edgecombe
Lionel Grose	...	Reynolds
Leslie Dwyer	...	Parkinson
Charles Russell	...	Fisher
John Singer	...	Moran
Robert Moreton	...	Coombe
John Boxer	...	Hollett
Kenneth Evans	...	Posty
Johnnie Schofield	...	Coxswain
Franklyn Bennett	...	Commander Spencer (as Franklin Bennett)
Charles Compton	...	No. 1. 'Tremoyne'
Walter Fitzgerald	...	Colonel Lumsden
Gerald Case	...	Jasper
Celia Johnson	...	Mrs. Kinross / Alix
Daniel Massey	...	Bobby
Ann Stephens	...	Lavinia
Joyce Carey	...	Mrs.Hardy / Kath
Kay Walsh	...	Freda Lewis / Freda
Kathleen Harrison	...	Mrs. Blake
Dora Gregory	...	Mrs. Lemmon
Penelope Dudley-Ward	...	Maureen (as Penelope Dudley Ward)
Barbara Waring	...	Mrs. Macadoo
Eileen Peel	...	Mrs. Farrell
Lesley Osmond	...	Nell Fosdick
Josie Welford	...	Emily
Kay Young	...	Barmaid
Trixy Scales	...	Mona Duke (as Trixie Scales)
George Carney	...	Mr. Blake
Wally Patch	...	Uncle Fred
Michael Anderson	...	Albert Fosdick (as Mickey Anderson)
Jill Stephens	...	May Blake
Everley Gregg	...	Nurse
Roddy Hughes	...	Photographer
Norman Pierce	...	Mr. Satterthwaite
Juliet Mills	...	Freda's Baby
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Richard Attenborough	...	Young Powder Handler (uncredited)
John Brabourne	...	Soldier in the Dunkirk Sequence (uncredited)
Leslie Howard	...	Voice (uncredited)

Directed by
Noel Coward
David Lean

Writing credits
Noel Coward		(by)

Produced by
Noel Coward	....	producer
Anthony Havelock-Allan	....	associate producer
Herbert Smith	....	executive producer in charge of production (uncredited)

Original Music by
Noel Coward		(musical score)
Clifton Parker		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Ronald Neame		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Thelma Connell		(as Thelma Myers)
David Lean		(uncredited)

Casting by
Irene Howard		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
David Rawnsley

Makeup Department
Tony Sforzini	....	makeup artist (as Toni Sforzini)

Production Management
Michael Anderson	....	unit manager
Sydney Streeter	....	production manager (as Sydney S. Streeter)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kenneth Horne	....	first assistant director (uncredited)
Tom Payne	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Norman Spencer	....	third assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
William C. Andrews	....	associate art director (as W.C. Andrews)
G.E. Calthrop	....	art supervisor to Noel Coward
Norman Delaney	....	set dressing
John Elphick	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Alfred Roberts	....	scenic artist (uncredited)
Gus Walker	....	assistant construction manager (uncredited)
Harry White	....	assistant art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
C.C. Stevens	....	sound recording
John Aldred	....	sound assistant (uncredited)
Walter R. Day	....	assistant sound (uncredited)
Desmond Dew	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Douglas Woolsey	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Derick Williams	....	special effects cameraman
W. Percy Day	....	matte painter (uncredited)
Frank Gibson	....	visual effects production manager (uncredited)
Stanley Grant	....	special effects camera operator (uncredited)
P.G. Hemfrey	....	first assistant camera: visual effects unit (uncredited)
T. Pickett	....	model assistant (uncredited)
Charles Staffell	....	special effects camera assistant (uncredited)
Bill Warrington	....	model supervisor (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Guy Green	....	operating cameraman
Jack Atcheler	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Jim Body	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Jock Dymore	....	chief electrician (uncredited)
Norman Foley	....	focus puller (uncredited)
B. Francke	....	camera operator (uncredited)
J. Green	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Alan Hume	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Max Rosher	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Henry Slagter	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Ray Sturgess	....	focus puller (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Reginald Beck	....	supervising editor (uncredited)
Pat Danes	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Peter Taylor	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Norah Walsh	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Renee Woods	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Muir Mathieson	....	conductor
Roy Douglas	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Other crew
I.T. Clark	....	naval advisor (as Lt. Commander I.T. Clark O.B.E. R.N.)
C.R.E. Compton	....	naval advisor (as Lieutenant C.R.E. Compton R.N.)
T.W.J. Lawlor	....	naval advisor (as Able Seaman T.W.J. Lawlor)
Betty Curtis	....	continuity (uncredited)
Irene Howard	....	rehearsal director (uncredited)
Gordon Parry	....	location manager (uncredited)
Maggie Unsworth	....	assistant continuity (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Two Cities Films (as A Two Cities Film)

Distributors

• British Lion Film Corporation (1942) (UK) (theatrical) (presents) (as British Lion Film Corpn.Ltd.)
• United Artists (1942) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1956) (USA) (TV)
• Columbia Films (1945) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Gaumont (1944) (France) (theatrical) (as Compagnie Parisienne de Location de Films)
• Belle & Blade Studios (video)
• Criterion Collection, The (2012) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (laserdisc)
• Elephant Films (2004) (France) (DVD)
• F.J. Lucas (Brazil) (video)
• Future Film (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
• LW Editora (2006) (Brazil) (DVD)
• TV3 (1987) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Royal Navy  this film is dedicated to, "whereon under the good providence of God, the wealth, safety and strength of the kingdom chiefly depend" (as The Royal Navy)
• Forster & Son  officers uniforms (as Forster & Son Ltd.)
• London Symphony Orchestra, The (LSO)  music played by (as The London Symphony Orchestra)
• Royal Navy  this film would not have been possible without the help, guidance and co-operation of the following (as The Royal Navy)
• Royal Air Force (RAF)  this film would not have been possible without the help, guidance and co-operation of the following (as The Royal Air Force)
• 5th Battalion Coldstream Guards, The  this film would not have been possible without the help, guidance and co-operation of the following (as The 5th Battalion Coldstream Guards)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

USA:115 min | UK:114 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Sound System)

Certification:

UK:U | Australia:G | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

D&P Studios, Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Two Cities Films

Trivia:

John Mills claimed that Noel Coward wrote the part of Shorty Blake specifically for him in order "to give him a job".

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the scene in which two Army officers returning from Dunkirk join Kinross on the bridge of his ship, the way the cigarette smoke rises betrays the fact this scene was shot indoors.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Voice:[voiceover] This is the story of a ship...
[long sequence of ship-building and launch]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005) (TV)

Noel Cowards' Citizen Kane

The life and times of a British WW2 ship told in flashback. Loosely based on the war time experiences of Louis Mountbatten.

A powerhouse classic that drags you in and doesn't let go for a single second. Not only one of the best war films of all time, but the best told from a navy perspective. Hasn't dated one little bit since it was made in 1942.

Actor/Director (with help from David Lean) Coward made the filming as much like reality as possible and the scenes in the tank almost resulted in the drowning of several of the actors - including Coward himself!

If you haven't seen it you really should because it belongs in the highest rank of world cinema.