In Which We Serve (1942)
Directed by Noel Coward, David Lean

Film Review

The memorable wartime drama In Which We Serve gave Noël Coward ample scope to demonstrate his remarkable range of talents.  Not only does Coward give an impressive performance in the leading role, but he also co-directed the film, wrote the screenplay and composed its score.  At the time, Coward had won acclaim for his London stage plays, which he wrote, directed and appeared in.

When producer Anthony Havelock-Allan approached Coward and gave him carte blanche to make a film on any subject, he jumped at the chance.  Having no experience of directing films, Coward engaged David Lean, the most highly regarded film editor in Britain at the time, to co-direct the film with him.  So successful was the collaboration that Lean directed another three of Coward's screenplays and made some of British cinema's most highly regarded films - including Brief Encounter (1945) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962).

In Which We Serve is based loosely on the experiences of Lord Mountbatten, the commander of the destroyer HMS Kelly which sank during the Battle of Crete in May 1941.   It is unashamedly a propaganda film intended to boost the moral of a war-weary British public at the height of WWII.  The film was an immense success and won Coward a special Academy Award in 1943.

The Film combines melodrama with a documentary-style portrayal of war, with most of the story told using flashbacks, as in Orson Welles' Citizen Kane (1941).  Early in the film, this non-linear structure works well, but it complicates the narrative later on.  The battle sequences are executed brilliantly, making this one of the best British films to feature the exploits of the Royal Navy.

The film boasts an impressive cast, which includes John Mills, Bernard Miles and Celia Johnson.  A very young Richard Attenborough makes his film debut - a few years later he would terrify the nation with his portrayal of Pinkie Brown in Brighton Rock (1947).  Mills and Johnson would star in several of Lean's subsequent films - Mills notably in Great Expectations (1946) and Johnson in Brief Encounter (1945).

Although highly praised when it was first released, In Which We Serve now appears somewhat dated and mildly patronising.  The problem lies with its depiction of the social division which existed in Britain at the time.  The class barrier between Coward's character and his crewmen is striking and, to a modern viewer, slightly sickening.  Also, Coward's representation of the working classes is somewhat caricatured and shallow, greatly undermining the film's impact.  To its credit, the film doesn't glorify war but rather shows it as a painful necessity.  It also has great artistic strengths - Ronald Neame's cinematography, strong performances from Bernard Miles and Celia Johnson, and some meticulously staged action scenes - which all convey the ferocity of war and its cost in human suffering.

Film Synopsis

Captain Kinros is the commander of HMS Torrin, a Royal Navy destroyer whose launch coincides with the outbreak of World War II.  In the spring of 1941, whilst off the coast of Crete, the ship comes under fierce attack from German fighter planes.  The ship goes down, but some of her crew manage to escape.  Clinging to a life raft, each of the crewmen recalls his days at home and at sea during the past few years...