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The White Cliffs of Dover

  • 1944
  • Passed
  • 2h 6m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
1.8K
YOUR RATING
Irene Dunne and Alan Marshal in The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
London based American nurse, Lady Susan Ashwood (Irene Dunne), is at a hospital awaiting the imminent arrival of wounded soldiers. She is hoping that her enlisted son, Sir John Ashwood II (Peter Lawford), who resembles his father in appearance and temperament, is not amongst those wounded. As she waits, she remembers back to World War I when her husband, the former Sir John Ashwood (Alan Marshal), was enlisted, and the waiting she endured on any news from and about him while he was away in battle. From a humble background, Sue almost didn't meet Sir John, let alone marry him, as she and her father, Hiram Porter Dunn (Frank Morgan), the publisher of a small daily newspaper, were only in London in April 1914 on a two week vacation - her first trip - that was not going very well when by happenstance she got invited on her last day in London to the King's ball, where Sir John was awaiting the arrival of another young woman with whom he was supposed to keep company for the evening. Despite being mutually attracted to each other, the patriotic Sue didn't know whether she could leave the United States and get accustomed to John's family's aristocratic manners, as well as the English customs in general. She also thinks back to approximately ten years earlier when she was urged by her father to return to the States on the inevitability that the Germans would once again be the aggressors in a war. Through it all, Sue is a proud American, despite having lived the better part of her adult life in England.
Play trailer2:36
1 Video
24 Photos
DramaRomanceWar

Susan travels with her father to England for a vacation. Invited to a ball, Susan meets Sir John Ashwood and marries him after a whirlwind romance. However, American Susan never quite adjust... Read allSusan travels with her father to England for a vacation. Invited to a ball, Susan meets Sir John Ashwood and marries him after a whirlwind romance. However, American Susan never quite adjusts to life as a new member of the British gentry.Susan travels with her father to England for a vacation. Invited to a ball, Susan meets Sir John Ashwood and marries him after a whirlwind romance. However, American Susan never quite adjusts to life as a new member of the British gentry.

  • Director
    • Clarence Brown
  • Writers
    • Claudine West
    • Jan Lustig
    • George Froeschel
  • Stars
    • Irene Dunne
    • Alan Marshal
    • Roddy McDowall
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.0/10
    1.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Clarence Brown
    • Writers
      • Claudine West
      • Jan Lustig
      • George Froeschel
    • Stars
      • Irene Dunne
      • Alan Marshal
      • Roddy McDowall
    • 40User reviews
    • 4Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:36
    Watch Trailer

    Photos24

    9618-1 "The White Cliffs of Dover" - Elizabeth Taylor and Roddy McDowall, 1944.
    Elizabeth Taylor in "The White Cliffs of Dover" 1944 MGM
    Elizabeth Taylor in "The White Cliffs of Dover"
    Irene Dunne and Alan Marshal in The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
    Irene Dunne, Frank Morgan, and C. Aubrey Smith in The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
    Irene Dunne, Brenda Forbes, Alan Marshal, Frank Morgan, and Norma Varden in The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
    Irene Dunne and Alan Marshal in The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
    Irene Dunne and Van Johnson in The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
    Irene Dunne and Alan Marshal in The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
    Roddy McDowall and May Whitty in The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
    Irene Dunne and Alan Marshal in The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
    Irene Dunne and Peter Lawford in The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Irene Dunne
    Irene Dunne
    • Susan Ashwood
    Alan Marshal
    Alan Marshal
    • Sir John Ashwood
    Roddy McDowall
    Roddy McDowall
    • John Ashwood II as a Boy
    Frank Morgan
    Frank Morgan
    • Hiram Porter Dunn
    Van Johnson
    Van Johnson
    • Sam Bennett
    C. Aubrey Smith
    C. Aubrey Smith
    • Colonel Walter Forsythe
    May Whitty
    May Whitty
    • Nanny
    • (as Dame May Whitty)
    Gladys Cooper
    Gladys Cooper
    • Lady Jean Ashwood
    Peter Lawford
    Peter Lawford
    • John Ashwood II as a Young Man
    John Warburton
    John Warburton
    • Reggie Ashwood
    Jill Esmond
    Jill Esmond
    • Rosamund
    Brenda Forbes
    Brenda Forbes
    • Gwennie
    Norma Varden
    Norma Varden
    • Mrs. Bland
    Harry Allen
    • English Cabbie
    • (uncredited)
    Wilson Benge
    Wilson Benge
    • Chauffeur
    • (uncredited)
    Matthew Boulton
    Matthew Boulton
    • Immigration Officer
    • (uncredited)
    Edmund Breon
    Edmund Breon
    • Major Rupert Bancroft
    • (uncredited)
    Clifford Brooke
    Clifford Brooke
    • Indian Major in Boardinghouse
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Clarence Brown
    • Writers
      • Claudine West
      • Jan Lustig
      • George Froeschel
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Irene Dunne reads a telegram from her Anglophobe father to a group of English people. Her father begs her not to marry an Englishman she is in love with and tells her "You're a Yankee through and through! Think of Paul Revere! Think of the Old North steeple! Remember the Alabama!" The viewer may become confused at this point. "Remember the Alabama"? Shouldn't it be "Remember the Alamo"? However, since the context of the telegram is anti-British any mention of the Alamo would be irrelevant. What Irene Dunne's father is apparently taking about is the C.S.S. Alabama, one of several Confederate warships that were built in British shipyards over United States protest during the Civil War. These ships attacked U.S. shipping in the Atlantic Ocean. Since Irene Dunne arrives in England in April of 1914 and married just before August 4, 1914 when Great Britain declared war on Germany, the telegram was probably sent close to the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Alabama by the U.S.S. Kearsarge on June 19, 1864 in the English Channel. The United States sued Great Britain in 1869 over the building of the Confederate warships and was awarded $15.5 million.
    • Goofs
      A gift with a plaque dedicated to First Lady, Dolley Madison, misspells her name "Dolly Madison."
    • Quotes

      Susan Dunn's landlady: [Of Susan]

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

    • Alternate versions
      Elizabeth Taylor's scenes are often deleted in older TV prints.
    • Connections
      Featured in Twenty Years After (1944)
    • Soundtracks
      Auld Lang Syne
      (1788) (uncredited)

      Traditional Scottish 17th century music

      Lyrics by Robert Burns

      Played during the opening credits and often in the score

    User reviews40

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    British -USA relations
    This movie telecast recently on TCM was one of many made to promote better relations between the ordinary people of Britain and the USA. Michael Korda claims in his book that his father, Sir Alexander Korda was sent to Hollywood by Churchill, before the USA entered the war, with a mission to persuade his movie mogul friends to make movies with pro British themes. By the time this movie was released,there was a large build up of US service personnel in the UK in preparation for invasion of Europe and resentment towards the GI's was not uncommon. For many of todays viewers it may seem to be a little over the top. Howerver it is a classic, if for the only reason, it was our first glimpse of the fabulous Liz Taylor.
    helpful•8
    1
    • Briwilmen
    • Dec 29, 2007

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    FAQ11

    • What is this movie about?
    • Is "The White Cliffs of Dover" based on a book?
    • Where are the White Cliffs of Dover?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 1944 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
      • German
    • Also known as
      • Dovers vita klippor
    • Filming locations
      • Clarence Brown Ranch - Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 6 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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