The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Clarence Brown

Writers:

Alice Duer Miller (poem)
Claudine West (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

June 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

The greatest love story of our time! It will live forever in your heart! MGM's greatest triumph!

Plot Keywords:

Dover | Red Cross | White Cliffs Of Dover | France | Military

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Irene Dunne	...	Susan Dunn
Alan Marshal	...	Sir John Ashwood
Roddy McDowall	...	John Ashwood II as a Boy
Frank Morgan	...	Hiram Porter Dunn
Van Johnson	...	Sam Bennett
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Colonel Walter Forsythe
Dame May Whitty	...	Nanny
Gladys Cooper	...	Lady Jean Ashwood
Peter Lawford	...	John Ashwood II as a Young Man
John Warburton	...	Reggie Ashwood
Jill Esmond	...	Rosamund
Brenda Forbes	...	Gwennie
Norma Varden	...	Mrs. Bland

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #9825) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Bradbury Building - 304 S. Broadway, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Irene Dunne filmed this movie while filming was held up for A Guy Named Joe (1943) due to Van Johnson's automobile accident. She even helped Johnson land a small role in this film.

Quotes:

[Of Susan.]
Susan Dunn's landlady: Such a nice young thing. Not a bit like an American.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Déjà Vu (1997)

Soundtrack:

Flow Gently Sweet Afton

Another fine showcase for marvelous Irene Dunne

One of the great crimes of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is that Dunne was never given an Oscar....not even an honorary one! Most of her performances transcend time and come off as fresh and natural today as when they were first delivered. She just must have made it look too easy. The woman could do everything! At any rate, this film features another strong performance from her. She plays a young American girl who comes to England with her father (the irascible Morgan) and is soon swept off her feet by dashing and wealthy Marshall. Before they can enjoy any sort of life together, he is called to serve in WWI and they are separated. This is only part of the story as her life unfolds through the next decades and she struggles with letting her son (McDowall, then Lawford) serve in WWII. The film is obviously patriotic and propaganda filled, but understandably so as WWII was still being waged! Dunne is luminescent in the role and is surrounded by a strong array of familiar supporting actors. Notable are Cooper (endlessly watchable in anything!) and Witty (wonderfully crotchety, yet sentimental.) It is a touch jarring to see Taylor grow into Lockhart (young Taylor barely says anything, but "Yes, Sir John".) Lawford is at his most youthful and appealing. The film has a lot of sentiment and melodrama, but also a lot of heart and a little humor. It winds up being quite touching at times and displays a time long gone, but a patriotism that can still be resurrected when events call for it.