''A Day to Remember'' is a 1953 British

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Ralph Thomas Ralph Philip Thomas (10 August 1915 – 17 March 2001) was an English film director who directed the Doctor (film series), ''Doctor'' film series. Thomas cast the actor James Robertson Justice in many of his films. He often worked with the pr ...

and starring an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...

including

Stanley Holloway Stanley Augustus Holloway (1 October 1890 – 30 January 1982) was an English actor, comedian, singer and monologist. He was famous for his comic and character roles Stanley Holloway on stage and screen, on stage and screen, especially t ...

Donald Sinden Sir Donald Alfred Sinden (9 October 1923 – 12 September 2014) was an English actor. Sinden featured in the film ''Mogambo'' (1953), and achieved early fame as a Rank Organisation film star in the 1950s in films including '' The Cruel Sea'' ( ...

, James Hayter and Bill Owen. Sinden wrote in his memoirs "what a delightful film this turned out to be" adding Ralph Thomas was "the most cuddly of directors" who it was a relief to work with after having made ''Mogambo'' with John Ford.

Plot

The

darts Darts is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, projectiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dartboard. Point ...

team of a London

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

go on a

day trip A day trip is a visit to a tourist destination or visitor attraction from a person's home, hotel, or hostel in the morning, returning to the same lodging in the evening. The day trip is a form of recreational travel and leisure to a location t ...

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

in France. On the eve of their visit to France, the members of the Hand & Flower pub darts team gather for a drink. The day trip has been organised by one of the team, Percy, who is a travel agent. For some of the team, it is their first ever trip abroad, while for others it is the first time they have returned to France since their service in World War I or World War II. Charley is looking forward to meeting some French ''mademoiselles'', but Fred, the pub's landlord, whose wife is within earshot, says there'll be "none of that sort of thing". Stan has a plan to buy watches in France and smuggle them back into Britain, avoiding customs duty. Jim is going through a rocky patch with his fiancée, whom he suspects considers him to be boring and staid. The following day, the group meet at

London Victoria station Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, in the City of Westminster, managed by Network Rail. Named after the nearby Victoria Street, the mai ...

and catch the

boat train A boat train is a passenger train operating to a port for the specific purpose of making connection with a passenger ship, such as a ferry, ocean liner, or cruise ship. Through ticketing is normally available. __NOTOC__ Notable named boat train ...

Folkestone Harbour station Folkestone Harbour station was one of four railway stations in Folkestone, Kent. It served Folkestone Harbour with connecting boat train services across the English Channel to Calais and Boulogne-sur-Mer, Boulogne. The station was opened by ...

for the ferry across the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

to Boulogne. Once they have landed in France, despite the insistence of Fred that they stick together, Jim departs to visit the area where he had been involved in heavy fighting during 1944 when British troops had arrived to liberate France. In the local florists, the shop owners refuse to take his money for flowers for his friend's grave. After taking them to the cemetery where his comrade is buried, he visits a local farm and meets Martine, with whom he spent time eight years before when she was eleven. Now an attractive young woman, she recognises him and invites him to have lunch with her family who also remember him. They immediately strike up a chemistry, which his relationship with his fiancée in England lacks. However, Martine is engaged to a local lawyer who is expecting to land a prestigious partnership in Paris. Back in town, the rest of the group enjoy lunch in a cafe and then separate to tour around the town. Stan goes and picks up his black market watches, while "Shorty", stewing over those who use his resented nickname, gets drunk and joins the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...

, in spite of Charley's efforts to stop him. Fred is enticed by a young woman into a bar and she persuades him to buy champagne for them and dance with her. He is embarrassed when Charley finds him in there. Percy, the travel agent, becomes violently homesick and desperate for a cup of tea. Reassembling, the group attempt but fail to retrieve Shorty from service in the Foreign Legion, and then drift towards the docks and the ship for the return trip, wondering what has happened to Jim who has been missing all day. Stan sees a policeman calling to him, so, thinking he knows about the watches, throws them into the water; but he only wants to return Stan's passport which he had left at the customs check. Jim has fallen in love with Martine, but they argue over whether they can be together, and he heads for the docks, while Martine goes to rejoin her fiancée. But once there, she tells him she does not love him and cannot marry him, and then drives hurriedly towards the docks. Meanwhile, on a blind date with a friend, Jim's fiancée in London has met and struck up a relationship with an American serviceman. Arriving as his ship is leaving, Martine shouts her true feelings for Jim, and they agree to meet again when he returns to France.

Cast

as Charley Porter *

as Jim Carver *

Joan Rice Joan Rice (3 February 1930 – 1 January 1997) was an English film actress. Rice is best known for her role as Dalabo in the film '' His Majesty O'Keefe'' (1954) which co-starred Burt Lancaster. Apart from that she played Maid Marian in '' T ...

as Vera Mitchell *

Odile Versois Odile Versois (born Étiennette de Poliakoff-Baydaroff; 15 June 1930 – 23 June 1980) was a French actress who appeared in 47 film and television productions between 1948 and 1980. Versois was the sister of actresses Marina Vlady, Hélène ...

as Martine Berthier * James Hayter as Fred Collins *

Harry Fowler Henry James Fowler (10 December 1926 – 4 January 2012) was an English character actor in film and television. Over a career lasting more than six decades, he made nearly 200 appearances on screen. Personal life Fowler was born in Lambeth, so ...

as Stan Harvey * Edward Chapman as Mr Robinson * Peter Jones as Percy Goodall * Bill Owen as "Shorty" Sharpe * Meredith Edwards as Bert Tripp *

George Coulouris George Alexander Coulouris (1 October 1903 – 25 April 1989) was an English film and stage actor. He was perhaps best known for his collaborations with Orson Welles, most notably ''Citizen Kane''. Early life Of Anglo-Greek origin, Coulouris ...

as Foreign Legion Captain *Vernon Gray as Marvin *

Thora Hird Dame Thora Hird (28 May 1911 – 15 March 2003) was an English actress. In a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in more than 100 films, as well as many television roles, becoming a household name and a British institution. Hird w ...

as Mrs Trott *

Theodore Bikel Theodore Meir Bikel ( ; May 2, 1924 – July 21, 2015) was an Austrian-American actor, singer, musician, composer, unionist, and political activist. He made his stage debut in '' Tevye the Milkman'' in Mandatory Palestine, where he lived as ...

as Henri Dubot * Brenda De Banzie as Mrs Collins *

Lily Kann Lily Hertha Kann 26 October 1893, Peitz – 2 November 1978, Sussex, was a German-born British actress. (Though the BFI website claims that she was born in Berlin, and died in Horsham). She appeared in the West End in the play '' Background'' ...

as Martine's Grandmother *

Georgette Anys Georgette Anys (15 July 1909 – 4 March 1993) was a French film and television actress. A character actress, she appeared mainly in French productions, but also some American films which were shot in Europe including Alfred Hitchcock's '' To Cat ...

as Jeanne Sautet *

Marianne Stone Marianne Stone (23 August 1922 – 21 December 2009) was an English character actress. She performed in films from the early 1940s to the late 1980s, typically playing working class parts such as barmaids, secretaries and landladies. Stone app ...

as Doreen *

Shirley Eaton Shirley Jean Eaton (born 12 January 1937) is an English former actress and singer. Eaton appeared regularly in British films throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and gained her highest profile for her appearance as Bond Girl Jill Masterson in the ...

as Young Woman on Ferry (uncredited) * Jacques Cey as Maurice

Production

The film was based on ''The Hand and Flower'', a 1952 novel by

Jerrard Tickell Edward Jerrard Tickell (14 February 1905 – 27 March 1966) was an Irish writer, known for his novels and historical books on the Second World War. Biography Jerrard Tickell was born in Dublin and educated in Tipperary and, from 1919 until 1922 ...

, who had written '' Appointment with Venus'', also filmed by Betty Box and Ralph Thomas. Filming started April 1953. The star was Donald Sinden, who had just made ''The Cruel Sea'' and ''Mogambo''. The movie was partly filmed on location in Boulogne. Filming finished on June 9. Box offered the female lead to

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a French former actress, singer, and model as well as an animal rights activist. Famous for portraying characters with Hedonism, hedonistic life ...

but was turned down because Bardot felt her English was too limited. However Bardot would appear in ''Doctor at Sea'' for Box. The film was distributed in the US by Republic as part of a five picture deal between that studio and Rank.

Reception

The ''Evening Telegraph'' called the film "designed on the ''

Innocents in Paris ''Innocents in Paris'' is a 1953 British-French international co-production comedy film produced by Romulus Films, directed by Gordon Parry and starring Alastair Sim, Ronald Shiner, Claire Bloom, Margaret Rutherford, Claude Dauphin, and Jimm ...

'' pattern... a neat combination of fun and sentiment." ''Filmink'' argued the movie has "an endearing desire to please and technical competency" but "lack something."

References

External links

*
''A Day to Remember''
at Britmovie
''Day to Remember''
at Letterbox DVD {{DEFAULTSORT:Day to Remember (1953 film), A 1953 films 1950s English-language films Films based on Irish novels 1953 comedy-drama films Films set in France Films set in London Films directed by Ralph Thomas Films scored by Clifton Parker Films shot at Pinewood Studios British comedy-drama films Films produced by Betty Box British black-and-white films 1950s British films English-language comedy-drama films