Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)

A movie about the First World War based on a stage musical of the same name, portraying the "Game of War" and focusing mainly on the members of one family (last name Smith) who go off to ... See full summary »

Director:

Richard Attenborough

Writers:

Charles Chilton (play), Len Deighton (screenplay),

Stars:

Wendy Allnutt, Colin Farrell, Malcolm McFee

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 10 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Wendy Allnutt	...	Flo Smith
Colin Farrell	...	Harry Smith
Malcolm McFee	...	Freddie Smith
John Rae	...	Grandpa Smith
Corin Redgrave	...	Bertie Smith
Maurice Roëves	...	George Smith
Paul Shelley	...	Jack Smith
Kim Smith	...	Dickie Smith
Angela Thorne	...	Betty Smith
Mary Wimbush	...	Mary Smith
Vincent Ball	...	Australian Soldier
Pia Colombo	...	Estaminet Singer
Paul Daneman	...	Czar Nicholas II
Isabel Dean	...	Sir John French's Lady
Christian Doermer	...	Fritz

Storyline

A movie about the First World War based on a stage musical of the same name, portraying the "Game of War" and focusing mainly on the members of one family (last name Smith) who go off to war. Much of the action in the movie revolves around the words of the marching songs of the soldiers, and many scenes portray some of the more famous (and infamous) incidents of the war, including the assassination of Duke Ferdinand, the Christmas meeting between British and German soldiers in no-mans-land, and the wiping out by their own side of a force of Irish soldiers newly arrived at the front, after successfully capturing a ridge that had been contested for some time.

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Plot Keywords:

song | army | satire | anti war | 1910s | 

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Taglines:

The ever popular war game with songs battles & a few jokes

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Genres:

Musical | War

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 October 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

Aftos o yperohos polemos

Filming Locations:

Bayham Abbey, Lamberhurst, Kent, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Accord Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

144 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tom Courtenay and Alan Bates were both offered key cameos.

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Goofs

This occurs during the song "Bombed Last Night" in the trench that had just underwent a gassing disaster. When the Sergeant is doing his little dance, he is just turning clockwise on 'no more of us'. However, in the next frame, he is suddenly facing the absolute opposite way with no time in between shots for him to have turned around that quickly.

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Quotes

Soldier Singer: It was Christmas Day in the cookhouse, the happiest time of the year, Men's hearts were full of gladness and their bellies full of beer, When up popped Private Shorthouse, his face as bold as brass, He said We don't want your Christmas pudding, you can stick it up your tidings of co-omfort and joy, comfort and joy, o-oh ti-idings of co-omfort and joy. It was Christmas Day in the harem, the eunuchs were standing 'round, And hundreds of beautiful women were stretched out on the ground, Along came...

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Connections

Featured in The Man Who Shot the 60s (2010)

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Soundtracks

"'Till the Boys Come Home"
(uncredited)
Music by Ivor Novello
Lyrics by Lena Guilbert Ford

User Reviews

Should be subtitled: Don't Go Near the Poppies

I first saw this movie in the theater in 1969. In my opinion it was by far the most powerful anti-war movie I had ever seen. I came to IMDB looking for a place where I could order a copy so that my children could see it. I can not think of another movie which makes use of the media so effectively. For instance, the party atmosphere of the boardwalk where we see a toy merry-go-round with puppets which blends into a real merry-go-round with real soldiers and real women which blends into real soldiers in a real battle. And the scene where the "upper class" lady is enticing men to join the army morphs into a whore soliciting anybody she can drag onstage. Then the camera moves to the men gathered backstage and the backdrop of the curtains in the theatre becomes the canvas cover of the truck carrying the men to the battlefront. Death is symbolized by poppies. The surrealistic atmosphere allows the characters to pass by poppies, or be handed a poppy rather than being shot or dying from mustard gas. And I particularly liked the scoreboard where the result--regardless of the men lost or the ground lost was always VICTORY! The final scene with the women and children having a picnic in a beautiful field requires the scope of the "big screen." When the child comes running up to his mother and asks, "What did Daddy do in the war?" the answer comes not from the mother but from the camera pulling back very slowly from the picnic. We see a cross and some poppies and then we see more poppies and more crosses until all we can see are the crosses and poppies of Flanders Field and we are no longer able to distinguish the people having the picnic. This is a film for those who enjoy surrealism and satire. It is a must for anyone studying anti-war films. And as an added treat, it has in it practically everybody who was anybody in British theatre at the time it was made.