IMMORTAL BATTALION Movie Review

The Way Ahead

1944 Carol Reed

“Tommy” is the British equivalent of “GI,” slang shorthand for a foot soldier. This gem of propaganda, created by an unlikely trio of filmmakers, is the English version of The Story of G.I. Joe, a heartfelt appreciation of the men who do the hard work of war. In terms of structure, the film takes an almost documentary approach to the familiar “unit picture” story. Its subjects are draftees.

They're quickly introduced during the last days of their civilian lives. Brewer (Stanley Halloway) tends a furnace boiler. Davenport (Raymond Huntley) is a salesman with an inflated opinion of himself. Jim Perry (David Niven) is working in a gas station. Along with several others who will become important, they meet for the first time in a railway station pub, where one of them manages to insult Sgt. Fletcher (William Hartnell). To no one's surprise, he winds up being in charge of their unit and reporting to Lt. Perry.

Most of the film follows the men's basic training. The simple scenes of drills, marching, K.P., guard duty, early reveilles, running the obstacle course, and barracks bull sessions are standard stuff for the genre, but they've seldom been presented so insightfully. Novelist Eric Ambler and actor Peter Ustinov base their script on their own experiences, and that authenticity shows through in all the key moments, particularly in the smaller details of conversations. Those ring true. The group's first organized act of rebellion against their officers comes as a small surprise, but again, it's the kind of thing that probably happens often.

Once the training is over, the film becomes more intense, but still restrained when compared to similar American efforts of the period. The big scenes begin with some excellent shipboard action and continue with the battalion's first engagement with the Germans. Though some of those scenes over-rely on stock footage—one building corner must collapse four times—they're well paced and believable. Still, director Carol Reed is more interested in the characters as individuals and as a group than in pyrotechnics. There's not a single off-key note in the entire ensemble cast, and they're ably led by Niven. His big speech about the honor of the regiment could easily dissolve into a puddle of patriotic hogwash if he didn't deliver it with such unshakable conviction and passion. Though William Hartnell's role is much less showy, he brings the same rigorous believability to Sgt. Fletcher. Author George MacDonald Fraser, a veteran himself, says simply, “as for Hartnell, he doesn't play the part, he is it: the pared-to-the-bone immaculate figure, the hard eye, the cold barking voice—how you hated it, and how you missed it later on, when you realized what a good man was underneath.” (The Hollywood History of the World. Beech Tree Books. 1988)

Few films achieve that level of reality.

Cast: David Niven (Lt. Jim Perry), Stanley Holloway (Ted Brewer), Reginald Tate (The C.O.), Raymond Huntley (Herbert Davenport), William Hartnell (Sgt. Fletcher), James Donald (Lloyd), Peter Ustinov (Rispoli), John Laurie (Luke), Leslie Dwyer (Sid Beck), Hugh Burden (Bill Parson), Jimmy Hanley (Stainer), Leo Genn (Capt. Edwards), Renee Asherson (Marjorie Gillingham), Mary Jerrold (Mrs. Gillingham), Tessie O'Shea (Herself), Raymond Lovell (Mr. Jackson), A.E. Matthews (Col. Walmsley), Jack Watling (Marjorie's Boyfriend); Written by: Eric Ambler, Peter Ustinov; Cinematography by: Guy Green; Music by: William Alwyn; Technical Advisor: R. Fellowes, Brian May-field. Producer: J. Arthur Rank, 20th Century-Fox, John Sutro, Norman Walker. British. Running Time: 89 minutes. Format: VHS, Beta.