''The Way Ahead'' (also known as ''Immortal Battalion'') (1944) is a British

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 ...

drama film directed by

Carol Reed Sir Carol Reed (30 December 1906 – 25 April 1976) was an English film director and producer, best known for '' Odd Man Out'' (1947), '' The Fallen Idol'' (1948), '' The Third Man'' (1949), and '' Oliver!'' (1968), for which he was awarded th ...

. The screenplay was written by

Eric Ambler Eric Clifford Ambler OBE (28 June 1909 – 23 October 1998) was an English author of thrillers, in particular spy novels, who introduced a new realism to the genre. Also working as a screenwriter, Ambler used the pseudonym Eliot Reed for books ...

and

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, director and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits for much of his career. Ustinov received #Awa ...

. The film stars David Niven, Stanley Holloway and William Hartnell along with 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 ...

of other British actors, including Ustinov in one of his earliest roles. ''The Way Ahead'' follows a group of civilians who are conscripted into the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and, after training, are shipped to

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

where they are involved in a battle against the

Afrika Korps The German Africa Corps (, ; DAK), commonly known as Afrika Korps, was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its Africa ...

Plot

In the days after the

Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...

in the

, recently commissioned Second Lieutenant Jim Perry (Niven), a pre-war

Territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

private soldier, is posted to the (fictional) Duke of Glendon's Light Infantry, known as the "Dogs", to train replacements to fill its depleted ranks. He is joined by

Sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

Ned Fletcher (Hartnell), a veteran of the British Expeditionary Force. In contrast to Perry, the rest of the squad is shocked to have been conscripted to the army. Evan Lloyd ( James Donald), a phlegmatic rent collector, Sid Beck ( Leslie Dwyer), a loquacious travel agent, Geoffrey Stainer ( Jimmy Hanley), a boastful friend of Lloyd's, Ted Brewer ( Stanley Holloway), a plumber working in parliament, Herbert Davenport ( Raymond Huntley), a department store manager with his young employee Bill Parsons (

Hugh Burden Hugh Archibald Nairn Burden''The Daily Telegraph'', 25 July 1962 (3 April 1913 – 16 May 1985) was a British actor and playwright. Early life Hugh Archibald Nairn Burden was born as the eldest son of Harry Archibald Burden, a colonial officia ...

) and finally Scottish farm labourer Luke ( John Laurie). A patient, mild-mannered officer, Perry does his strenuous best to turn the bunch of grumbling ex-civilians into soldiers, earning himself their intense dislike. The conscripts also mistakenly believe that their drill sergeant Fletcher is treating them harshly due to a minor incident where Stainer spilt tea on the older man. Stainer grumbles about it, saying he'll give him what for but it's Lloyd who decides to air this grievance with Perry by reporting Fletcher for being unfair to the squad. When Perry approaches Fletcher over Lloyd's accusation, Fletcher in fact discloses that he is pleased with the way they are developing and even goes so far to state that a few of the men (including Lloyd) could be future NCOs. When Parsons appears to desert his post, Perry takes a kindly stance with the young man and learns that his wife is being threatened by debt collectors. Perry speaks up for the young man at his court martial and he is allowed to rejoin the unit. The other men go on a training exercise and to "avenge" Perry's treatment of Parsons they sabotage the war game bringing shame on the battalion. Perry angrily rebukes the men who afterwards learn that Parsons was saved by Perry. Eventually the men come to respect both sergeant Fletcher and Perry. After completing their training, the battalion is transferred to North Africa to face Rommel's ''

'', but their

troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable to land troops directly on shore, typic ...

is torpedoed en route and they are forced to abandon ship. When Sergeant Fletcher is trapped below deck by a burning vehicle, both Perry and Private Luke (John Laurie) intervene and work to save him. The survivors are evacuated to a nearby destroyer and are taken to Gibraltar, missing the invasion entirely. When they eventually arrive in North Africa, the platoon is assigned to guard a small town. Perry appropriates a cafe as his headquarters, much to the disgust of the pacifist owner, Rispoli (

). He instructs the men to respect the cafe owner and the men form a bond after playing darts and allowing Rispoli to join in. When the Germans attack, Perry and his men fiercely defend their positions, aided by Rispoli. As the battle seems to turn, the Germans approach the British position under a white flag and invite Perry to surrender to save his men. Perry through his interpreter Beck tells the Germans to "Go to Hell!". The besieged British soldiers fix bayonets and join other surviving units in advancing on the enemy, hidden in the smoke from explosions. The film ends with two veteran "Dogs" appreciatively reading about the men's bravery.

Cast

Platoon

* David Niven as Lieutenant Jim Perry * William Hartnell as Sergeant Ned Fletcher (credited as Billy Hartnell) *

as Private Bill Parsons * James Donald as Private, later Corporal, Evan Lloyd * Leslie Dwyer as Private Sid Beck * Jimmy Hanley as Private Geoffrey Stainer (credited as Jimmie Hanley) * Stanley Holloway as Private Ted Brewer * Raymond Huntley as Private Herbert Davenport * John Laurie as Private Luke

Wives

* Penelope Dudley-Ward as Mrs Jim Perry (credited as Penelope Ward) *

Grace Arnold Grace Arnold (19 September 1894 – 26 February 1979) was an England, English actress. Selected filmography * ''Guilt (1931 film), Guilt'' (1931) * ''Men Without Honour'' (1939) - Mrs. Hardy * ''Crimes at the Dark House'' (1940) - Maid (uncred ...

as Mrs Ned Fletcher *

Esma Cannon Esma Ellen Charlotte Littmann (''née'' Cannon; 27 December 1905 – 18 October 1972), credited as Esme or Esma Cannon, was an Australian-born character actress who moved to Britain in the early 1930s. Although she frequently appeared on televis ...

as Mrs Ted Brewer * Eileen Erskine as Mrs Bill Parsons

Others

as Rispoli, cafe owner * Reginald Tate as the Training Company Commanding Officer * Leo Genn as Captain Edwards * Renée Asherson as Marjorie Gillingham (credited as Renee Ascherson) * Mary Jerrold as Mrs Gillingham * Jack Watling as Sergeant Buster *

Raymond Lovell Raymond Lovell (13 April 1900 – 1 October 1953) was a Canadian actor who performed in British films. He mainly played supporting roles, often somewhat pompous characters. Lovell initially trained as a physician at Cambridge University, but g ...

as Mr Jackson * A. E. Matthews as Colonel Walmsley * Lloyd Pearson as Sam Thyrtle * John Ruddock as Old Chelsea Soldier * A. Bromley Davenport as Old Chelsea Soldier (credited as Bromley Davenport) * Tessie O'Shea as Herself *

Trevor Howard Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith (29 September 1913 – 7 January 1988) was an English stage and screen actor. After varied work in the theatre, he achieved leading man star status in the film '' Brief Encounter'' (1945), followed by '' The Third M ...

as Ship's Officer (uncredited) * George Merritt as the Sergeant-Major (uncredited) * Tracy Reed as the Perrys' Daughter (uncredited)

Production

''The Way Ahead'' was written by

and Peter Ustinov, and directed by

. The three had originally produced the 1943 44-minute training film '' The New Lot'', which was produced for the Army Kinematograph Service. ''The Way Ahead'' was an expanded remake of their earlier film, this time intended for a commercial audience. The two films featured some of the same actors, including John Laurie, Raymond Huntley and a 23-year-old Peter Ustinov. The driving force behind the film was David Niven, a 1930 graduate of Sandhurst, who at the time was a major in the British Army working with the Army Film Unit and later served in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

with GHQ Liaison Regiment. Niven was the executive producer on ''The Way Ahead''.McGee, Scott
""Article: 'Immortal Battalion'.
''TCM''. Retrieved: 9 July 2017. The last scene in ''The Way Ahead'' shows the soldiers advancing in a counter-attack. Instead of the film ending with the words "The End", it concludes with "The Beginning". In a film made and released during the war, this was an effort to galvanise public support for the final push in the war effort, with a perhaps not unintended reference to one of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

's famous quotations: "This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." In the United States, an edited version of ''The Way Ahead'', with an introduction by journalist Quentin Reynolds, was released as ''Immortal Battalion''.For Whom the Bell Tolls'', '' This Happy Breed'', '' The Song of Bernadette'', ''

Going My Way ''Going My Way'' is a 1944 American musical comedy drama film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald. Written by Frank Butler and Frank Cavett, based on a story by McCarey, the film is about a new young priest ...

'', ''

This Is the Army ''This Is the Army'' is a 1943 American wartime musical film, musical comedy film produced by Jack L. Warner and Hal B. Wallis and directed by Michael Curtiz, adapted from This Is the Army (musical), the wartime stage musical of the same name, d ...

'', ''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The firs ...

'', '' The Story of Dr. Wassell'', ''

Cover Girl A cover girl is a woman whose photograph is used for the front cover of magazines. She may be a model, celebrity or entertainer. The term would generally not be used to describe a person making a single, casual appearance on the cover of a magaz ...

'', '' The White Cliffs of Dover'', '' Sweet Rosie O'Grady'' and '' Fanny By Gaslight''. The biggest British hits of the year were, in order, ''This Happy Breed'', ''Fanny By Gaslight'', ''The Way Ahead'' and '' Love Story''. In 1945, ''The Way Ahead'' (referred to as ''Immortal Battalion'') was listed as one of the Top Ten Films by the USA National Board of Review. As ''Immortal Battalion'', film critic and historian

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...

noted: "Exhilarating wartime British film showing how disparate civilians come to work together as a fighting unit; full of spirit and charm, with an outstanding cast, and fine script by Eric Ambler and Peter Ustinov.""Leonard Maltin Ratings & Review: Immortal Battalion'."
''TCM''. Retrieved: 9 July 2017. The final scene of the advancing soldiers was imitated for the closing credits of the long-running BBC sitcom ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...

''. John Laurie appeared in both productions and his performance in the sitcom credits replicates this film.Pertwee 2009, pp. 55–56.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Evans, Alun. ''Brassey's Guide to War Films''. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books, 2000. . * Howe, David J., Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker. ''The Handbook: The First Doctor — The William Hartnell Years 1963–1966.'' London: Virgin Books, 1994. . * Morgan-Russell, Simon. ''Jimmy Perry and David Croft''. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2004. . * Murphy, Robert. ''Realism and Tinsel: Cinema and Society in Britain 1939–48''. London: Routledge, 2003. . * Pertwee, Bill. ''Dad's Army: The Making of a Television Legend''. London: Conway, 2009..

External links

* *
''The Way Ahead''
at

screenonline Screenonline is a website about the history of British film, television and social history as documented by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and tele ...

Film review
at ''Variety'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Way Ahead, The British World War II films 1944 films 1940s war drama films British war drama films British black-and-white films World War II films made in wartime Two Cities Films films Films directed by Carol Reed North African campaign films Films scored by William Alwyn 1944 drama films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films English-language war drama films