Went the Day Well?
Directed by	Alberto Cavalcanti
Produced by	Michael Balcon
Written by	Graham Greene (story) John Dighton Angus MacPhail Diana Morgan
Starring	Leslie Banks Mervyn Johns Basil Sydney C.V. France Valerie Taylor Thora Hird David Farrar
Music by	William Walton
Distributed by	Ealing
Release date(s)	1942
Running time	92 m
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
IMDb profile

Went the Day Well? is a British war film produced by Ealing Studios in 1942. Alberto de Almeida Cavalcanti (February 6, 1897 – August 23, 1982) was a Brazilian-born film director and producer. ... Sir Michael Balcon (19 May 1896–17 October 1977) was a British film producer, best known for his work with the Ealing Studios. ... Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH (October 2, 1904 – April 3, 1991) was a great English playwright, novelist, short story writer, travel writer and critic whose works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world. ... John Dighton (1909 - 1989), was a successful British playwright and screenwriter. ... This article or section seems not to be written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia entry. ... Leslie Banks (June 9, 1890 – 21 April 1952) was a British theatre and film actor, director and producer. ... Mervyn Johns (1899-1992) was a British film and television character actor. ... Basil Sydney was a British actor who made over fifty screen appearances. ... Dame Thora Hird (May 28, 1911 - March 15, 2003) was a veteran British actress born in the Lancashire seaside town of Morecambe. ... Kathleen Byron and David Farrar in The Small Back Room. ... Sir William Turner Walton, OM (March 29, 1902–March 8, 1983) was a British composer whose style was influenced by the works of Stravinsky, Sibelius and jazz. ... Ealing is a town in the London Borough of Ealing. ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on January 18 1815 (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... The war film is a film genre that has to do with warfare, usually focusing on naval, air, or land battles, but sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training, or other related subjects. ... Ealing Studios, a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London, claims to be the oldest film studio in the world. ... See also: 1941 in film 1942 1943 in film 1940s in film years in film film // Events Carole Lombard is killed in a plane crash when returning from a War Bond tour. ...

Plot

During the Second World War a group of British soldiers arrive in the small, fictitious English village of "Bramley End". At first they are welcomed by the villagers, until doubts begin to grow about their true identity and purpose. When it is discovered that they are in reality disguised German soldiers intended to form the vanguard of a German invasion of England, the occupants of the village are rounded up and held prisoner in the local church. They attempt to escape to warn the local Home Guard soldiers, but are betrayed by the village squire, who is revealed to be a German spy. Eventually one of the villagers succeeds in escaping and alerting the army. British soldiers arrive and a gun battle ensues in which the Germans are defeated. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... The Local Defence Volunteers (LDV) or Home Guard, was instituted by the British government during World War II to defend the UK in the event of an invasion by Germany. ... In feudal times a squire was a man-at-arms in the service of a knight, often as his apprentice. ... Spy and secret agent redirect here; for alternate use, see Spy (disambiguation) and Secret agent (disambiguation). ...

The film is set in the future after the war and told in flashback by a villager (Mervyn Johns) sitting in the churchyard where the German soldiers are buried. This, he explains, "is the only piece of English soil the Germans ever captured." Graves at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York A cemetery (also called a graveyard, churchyard or kirkyard) is a place (usually an enclosed area of land) in which dead bodies are buried. ...

Opening Quote as per the film

Went the day well?
We died and never knew
But, well or ill.
Freedom, we died for you
Went the day well?

The correct wording would appear to be “Went the day well? We died and never knew, But well or ill, England, we died for you.”

The verse is anonymous. The “original” appears in an unidentified newspaper cutting in a scrapbook now held in the RAF museum (AC97/127/50)and in a book called “Voices of Silence” being a collection of first world war poems put together by Vivian Noakes the poems appear in chronological order and this appears under the heading “Verdun, The Battle of the Somme begins.” (Sutton Publishing 2006 ISBN 0-7509-4521-4) RAF is an three letter acronym for: Royal Air Force -- the Air Force of the United Kingdom (see also Air Ministry) Red Army Faction (Rote Armee Fraktion) -- a German terror organisation Rigas Autobusu Fabrika -- a factory making buses in Riga, Latvia Rapid Action Force in India Računarski Fakultet RAF... “The Great War ” redirects here. ...

Reception

The film went into production at a time when The United Kingdom was still under threat of invasion from Nazi Germany, and reinforced the message that civilians should be vigilant and that "careless talk costs lives". It was based on a short story by the author Graham Greene entitled The Lieutenant Died Last and, along with films like In Which We Serve, is credited with bringing more realism into British propaganda films. By the time the film was released the threat of invasion had subsided somewhat, but it was still seen as an effective piece of propaganda, and its reputation has grown over the years. It has been noted that by opening in a predicted future where the war had been won, and in presenting a scenario where all echelons of British society unite for the common good (the lady of the manor sacrifices herself without pause, for example), the film's message was morale-boosting and positive rather than scaremongering. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and a member of the European Union. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH (October 2, 1904 – April 3, 1991) was a great English playwright, novelist, short story writer, travel writer and critic whose works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world. ... In Which We Serve is a 1942 war film written by and starring Noel Coward, and directed by Coward and David Lean, both making their directorial debut. ... Soviet Propaganda Poster during the Great Patriotic War. ...

In 2005 it was named as one of the "100 Greatest War Films" in a Channel 4 poll in Britain. The 1976 film The Eagle Has Landed uses some of the same ideas. The film includes the first major role of Thora Hird. It has been suggested that Channel Four Television Corporation be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... Dame Thora Hird (May 28, 1911 - March 15, 2003) was a veteran British actress born in the Lancashire seaside town of Morecambe. ...

References

• Houston, Penelope. 1992. Went the Day Well? London: BFI

• Went the Day Well? at the Internet Movie Database