''For Freedom'' is a 1940

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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

Maurice Elvey Maurice Elvey (11 November 1887 – 28 August 1967) was one of the most prolific film directors in British history. He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year. He a ...

and

Castleton Knight Castleton Knight, Order of the British Empire, OBE (9 August 1894 – 3 April 1970) was a British film producer and director. He worked at one point as managing director of British Gaumont's newsreel division. He directed several feature films, ...

, and starring

Will Fyffe Will Fyffe, CBE (16 February 1885 – 14 December 1947) was a Scottish music hall and performing artist on stage and screen during the 1930s and 1940s. Fyffe made his debut in his father's stock company at age 6. He travelled extensively throug ...

Guy Middleton Guy Middleton Powell (14 December 1907 – 30 July 1973), better known as Guy Middleton, was an English film character actor. Biography Guy Middleton was born in Hove, Sussex, and originally worked in the London Stock Exchange, before tur ...

, and

Terry-Thomas Terry-Thomas (born Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens; 10 July 1911 – 8 January 1990) was an English character actor and comedian who became internationally known through his films during the 1950s and 1960s. He often portrayed disreputable members ...

. It was written by

Leslie Arliss Leslie Arliss (6 October 1901 – 30 December 1987) was an English screenwriter and film director, director. He is best known for his work on the Gainsborough melodramas directing films such as ''The Man in Grey'' and ''The Wicked Lady'' during ...

and

Miles Malleson William Miles Malleson (25 May 1888 – 15 March 1969) was an English actor and dramatist, particularly remembered for his appearances in British comedy films of the 1930s to 1960s. Towards the end of his career, he also appeared in cameo roles ...

, and was made largely for propaganda purposes during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Through its blending of fiction and documentary it was similar to ''

The Lion Has Wings ''The Lion Has Wings'' is a 1939 British, black-and-white, documentary-style, propaganda film, propaganda war film that was directed by Adrian Brunel, Brian Desmond Hurst, Alexander Korda and Michael Powell. The film was produced by London Film ...

'' (1939) produced by

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; ; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)

London Films London Films Productions is a British film and television production company founded in 1932 by Alexander Korda and from 1936 based at Denham Film Studios in Buckinghamshire, near London. The company's productions included '' The Private Li ...

Synopsis

The film portrays the early events of the war, particularly the Battle of the River Plate, from the point of view of a British

newsreel A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news, news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a Movie theater, cinema, newsreels were a source of cu ...

production company.

Cast

as Chief *

Anthony Hulme Anthony Hulme (1910–2007) was a British film actor. Filmography * ''A Yank at Oxford'' (1938) * '' The Body Vanished'' (1939) * ''The Frozen Limits'' (1939) * ''They Came by Night'' (1940) * '' Laugh It Off'' (1940) * '' For Freedom'' (1940) * ...

as Steve * E.V.H. Emmett as Ted *

as Pierre *

Albert Lieven Albert Lieven (born Albert Fritz Liévin; 22 June 1906 – 22 December 1971) was a German actor. Early life Lieven was born in Olsztynek, Hohenstein, German Empire. His father was the head physician of the Tuberculosis sanatorium Hohenstein, ...

as Fritz * Hugh McDermott as Sam *

Arthur Goullet Arthur Goullet (1894–1978) was a British stage, film and television actor. He played the role of Sebastian Moran in the 1937 Sherlock Holmes film '' Silver Blaze''.Nollen p.298 Selected filmography * '' Down River'' (1931) * '' A Gentleman of ...

as Ivan *

as newsreader * Captain Dove as himself * Captain Pottinger as himself * First Officer Murphy as himself * Engineer Walker as himself * Engineer Angel as himself *

John Ernest Harper Vice-Admiral John Ernest Troyte Harper (29 May 1874 – 27 May 1949) was a British Royal Navy officer. Biography Harper was born in New Zealand and educated there at Christ's College. In 1888 he joined the Royal Navy, being promoted to Li ...

as himself

Reception

According to ''Kinematograph Weekly'' the film did well at the British box office in May 1940. ''

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "The framework of this story is original, ingenious and appropriate. The result combines magnificent, inspiring and thrilling spectacle with the unswerving regard for accuracy typical of the documentary at its best. The events leading up to the war are eficctively shown, and bitingly but not bitterly commented upon by Will Fyffe, whose shrewd and pawky humour is exactly right and telling. The battle scenes introduced and commented upon by Vice-Adumiral Harper are breath-taking and unforgettable, and most impressively reconstructed. The telling has dignity, restraint, and a sense of values and proportion. All the actors, professional and amateur, give of their best, and very good this is." ''

Kine Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. Etymology The word Kinematograph was derived from the Greek ' Kinumai ', (to move, to be in motion, to ...

'' wrote: "Spectacular melodrama, inspired by a great and glorious Naval occasion, presenting at one and the same time epic adventure, impressive documentary, and thrilling confirmation of Britain's supremacy on the high seas. Victory at the battle of River Plate is, together with superb shots of the magnificent Altmark incident, the piece de résistance of the inspiring patriotic scheme, and each s re-enacted by many who, took part in the memorable engagement. Rigid regard for accuracy and atmosphere is not the least of the film's many showmanlike qualities." In ''British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959'' David Quinlan rated the film as "very good", writing: "excellent semi-documentary strikes just the right note."

References

Bibliography

* Chapman, James. ''The British at War: Cinema, State, and Propaganda, 1939-1945''. I.B. Tauris Publishers, 1998.

External links

* {{Castleton Knight 1940 films British World War II propaganda films 1940s English-language films Films directed by Castleton Knight Films directed by Maurice Elvey 1940s war drama films British war drama films British black-and-white films Films set in London Gainsborough Pictures films British seafaring films Films set in Montevideo 1940 drama films Films scored by Walter Goehr Films scored by Louis Levy English-language war drama films