Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)

Director:

Richard Attenborough

Writers:

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

Release Date:

3 October 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | War

Tagline:

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

Plot:

A movie about the First World War based on a stage musical of the same name, portraying the "Game of...

Plot Keywords:

Song | Army | Satire | Anti War | 1910s

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 10 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

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
Robert Flemyng	...	Staff Officer in Gassed Trench
Meriel Forbes	...	Lady Grey
Ian Holm	...	President Poincare
David Lodge	...	Recruiting Sergeant
Joe Melia	...	The Photographer
Guy Middleton	...	Gen. Sir William Robertson
Juliet Mills	...	Nurse
Nanette Newman	...	Nurse
Cecil Parker	...	Sir John
Natasha Parry	...	Sir William Robertson's Lady
Gerald Sim	...	Chaplain
Thorley Walters	...	Staff Officer in Ballroom
Anthony Ainley	...	3rd Aide
Penelope Allen	...	Solo Chorus Girl
Maurice Arthur	...	Soldier Singer
Freddie Ascott	...	'Whizzbang' Soldier
Michael Bates	...	Drunk Lance Corporal
Fanny Carby	...	Mill Girl
Cecilia Darby	...	Sir Henry Wilson's Lady
Geoffrey Davies	...	Aide
Edward Fox	...	Aide
George Ghent	...	Heckler
Peter Gilmore	...	Pvt. Burgess
Ben Howard	...	Pvt. Garbett
Norman Jones	...	Scottish Soldier
Paddy Joyce	...	Irish Soldier
Angus Lennie	...	Scottish Soldier
Harry Locke	...	Heckler
Clifford Mollison	...	Heckler
Derek Newark	...	Shooting Gallery Proprietor
John Owens	...	Seamus Moore
Ron Pember	...	Corporal at Station
Dorothy Reynolds	...	Heckler
Norman Shelley	...	Staff Officer in Ballroom
Marianne Stone	...	Mill Girl
John Trigger	...	Officer at Station
Kathleen Wileman	...	Emma Smith at Age 4
Dirk Bogarde	...	Stephen
Phyllis Calvert	...	Lady Haig
Jean-Pierre Cassel	...	French Colonel
John Clements	...	Gen. von Moltke
John Gielgud	...	Count Leopold Von Berchtold
Jack Hawkins	...	Emperor Franz Josef
Kenneth More	...	Kaiser Wilhelm II
Laurence Olivier	...	Field Marshal Sir John French
Michael Redgrave	...	Gen. Sir Henry Wilson
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Sylvia Pankhurst
Ralph Richardson	...	Sir Edward Grey
Maggie Smith	...	Music Hall Star
Susannah York	...	Eleanor
John Mills	...	Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pamela Abbott	...	Czarina (uncredited)
Charlotte Attenborough	...	Emma Smith Age 8 (uncredited)
Annie Bee	...	Girl Friend in 'Goodbyee') (uncredited)
Norman Bird	...	Training Sergeant (uncredited)
Joanne Brown	...	Singer (uncredited)
Christopher Cabot	...	Soldier in Shell Hole (uncredited)
Jeremy Child	...	Wealthy Young Man (uncredited)
Frank Coda	...	Soldier in 'Goodbyee' (uncredited)
Ambrose Coghill	...	His Father (uncredited)
Stella Courtney	...	Poincaré's Lady (uncredited)
Sheila Cox	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Elizabeth Craven	...	Kaiserin (uncredited)
Richard Davies	...	Sergeant in Burial Party (uncredited)
John Dunhill	...	Irish Soldier (uncredited)
Ray Edwards	...	3rd Staff Officer in Ballroom (uncredited)
Charles Farrell	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Hermione Farthingale	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Frank Forsyth	...	Woodrow Wilson (uncredited)
Joyce Franklin	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
John Gabriel	...	Nikolai Lenin (uncredited)
Zeph Gladstone	...	Sir John's Chauffeuse (uncredited)
Ruth Gower	...	Von Moltke's Lady (uncredited)
Kim Grant	...	Soldier in 'Goodbyee' (uncredited)
Carole Gray	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Paul Hansard	...	German Officer (uncredited)
Kathleen Helm	...	Berchtold's Lady (uncredited)
Richard Howard	...	Young Soldier at Mons (uncredited)
John Hussey	...	Soldier on Balcony (uncredited)
Dinny Jones	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Lind Joyce	...	Scoreboard Girl (uncredited)
Dolores Judson	...	Haig's Girlfriend (uncredited)
Ruth Kettlewell	...	Duchess Sophie (uncredited)
Stanley Lebor	...	Soldier in Gassed Trench (uncredited)
Delia Linden	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Richard Loring	...	Soldier in 'Goodbyee' (uncredited)
Tom Marshall	...	Soldier in 'Goodbyee' (uncredited)
Stanley McGeagh	...	Soldier in Gassed Trench (uncredited)
Isabelle Metcalfe	...	Girl Friend in 'Goodbyee' (uncredited)
Jenny Morgan	...	Girl Friend in 'Goodbyee' (uncredited)
Anthony Morton	...	Italian Military Attaché (uncredited)
Christine Noonan	...	Mill Girl (uncredited)
Wensley Pithey	...	Archduke Franz Ferdinand (uncredited)
Steve Plytas	...	Turkish Military Attaché (uncredited)
Andrew Robertson	...	2nd Scottish Soldier (uncredited)
Sue Robinson	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
David Scheuer	...	French Soldier (uncredited)
Jane Seymour	...	Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Valerie Smith	...	Girl Friend in 'Goodbyee' (uncredited)
Pippa Steel	...	Scoreboard Girl (uncredited)
P.G. Stephens	...	Irish Soldier (uncredited)
Tony Thawnton	...	Officer on Telephone (uncredited)
Christian Thorogood	...	Irish Soldier (uncredited)
Brian Tipping	...	4th Scottish Soldier (uncredited)
Bette Vivian	...	Heckler (uncredited)
Tony Vogel	...	German Soldier (uncredited)
Arthur White	...	Sergeant in Dugout (uncredited)
Michael Wolf	...	German Officer (uncredited)
John Woodnutt	...	British Officer (uncredited)
Julia Wright	...	Haig's Secretary (uncredited)
Mary Yeomans	...	Scoreboard Girl (uncredited)

Directed by
Richard Attenborough

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Charles Chilton		play
Len Deighton		screenplay
Joan Littlewood		musical play

Produced by
Richard Attenborough	....	producer
Brian Duffy	....	producer
Len Deighton	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Alfred Ralston

Cinematography by
Gerry Turpin

Film Editing by
Kevin Connor

Casting by
Miriam Brickman

Production Design by
Donald M. Ashton

Art Direction by
Harry White

Set Decoration by
Peter James

Costume Design by
Anthony Mendleson

Makeup Department
Stuart Freeborn	....	makeup artist

Production Management
John Comfort	....	production manager
Paul Hitchcock	....	executive in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nicolas Hippisley-Coxe	....	second second assistant director
Claude Watson	....	assistant director

Art Department
Tim Hutchinson	....	draughtsman

Sound Department
Don Challis	....	sound
Gerry Humphreys	....	sound re-recording mixer
Simon Kaye	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Ron Ballanger	....	special effects
Brian Gamby	....	special effects
Fred Heather	....	special effects
Garth Inns	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Ronnie Taylor	....	camera operator (as Ron Taylor)

Editorial Department
Peter Hollywood	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Alfred Ralston	....	conductor
Alfred Ralston	....	music arranger

Other crew
Douglas Campbell	....	military advisor (as Maj. Gen. Douglas Campbell)
Eleanor Fazan	....	choreographer
Pam Rose	....	stand-in/double
Ann Skinner	....	continuity
Ron Bareham	....	assistant accounting (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Accord Productions

Distributors

• Paramount British Pictures (1969) (UK) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures (1969) (USA) (theatrical)
• Paramount (1969) (France) (theatrical)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

144 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-8 | Sweden:11 | USA:G | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Bayham Abbey, Lamberhurst, Kent, England, UK

Company:

Accord Productions

Trivia:

Tom Courtenay and Alan Bates were both offered key cameos.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: This occurs in the scene of the morning of the Christmas Truce: when one of the soldiers is offered a hot drink, he doesn't move his lips when he says "cocoa".

Quotes:

Sir Edward Grey:[as war breaks out] The lamps are going out all over Europe, we will not see them lit again in our lifetime.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Breakfast: Episode dated 18 February 2010" (2010)

Soundtrack:

Bonsoir Mon Amour

The film I most want to experience again

I saw this movie once, thirty years ago, and it still has the power to choke me inside.

This is the first film I look for on any movie site I go to. Every other movie I just browse for.

Along with the original "All Quiet on the Western Front", I find it one of the most powerful war movies ever. All the other movies have actors that you know didn't die - no matter how realistic the scenes.

This movie truly affected me at the time.

I would drive a long way to purchase, or see this movie. Why has this movie never been released when so many worse have been? Other movies might be considered entertainment, but not this one.