WENT THE DAY WELL?

I was impressed by Helen and Neil Matthews’ article on the Chilterns in the summer edition. I am familiar with many of the places mentioned, including Turville, which is one of the most picturesque villages in the area.

They are correct in saying that it has been used as the location for many film and TV programmes but do not mention one of the most celebrated – at least in film circles – which is the Ealing Studios production, Went The Day Well?, which was filmed in Turville and the surrounding area in 1942. It is well remembered in the village, even today. Turville, by the way, becomes “Bramley End” in the film, the name given by Graham Greene in his original outline for Ealing Studios.

The story describes the attempts of a detachment of German paratroopers in the guise of British “Tommies” to occupy and isolate the village and block out all radio communication. They are a vital part of the combined German effort to invade Britain over what is the May Bank Holiday weekend.

Needless to say, their plans come to nothing and they are eventually destroyed, but not before many of the villagers themselves have sacrificed their lives. Most of the exteriors were shot in Turville itself; there is a good panorama of the village taken from the surrounding hill, and the famous windmill is very much in evidence. The interiors of the church, pub and manor house, so important to the story, were filmed back at Ealing Studios.

The film was directed by Brazilian filmmaker Alberto Cavalcanti, with a stirring musical score by William Walton. There are strong characterisations from many regulars such as Leslie Banks, Basil Sydney, David Farrar, Marie Lohr, Frank Lawton, Elizabeth Allan, Muriel George, Thora Hird, Valerie Taylor and a young Harry

Fowler.

For its time, it shows a very modern perception of the role of women in the community, and it is they, as much as the men, who show courage and fortitude when they realise that the Tommies billeted in their village are not what they seem. Indeed, the message being conveyed to its wartime audience is that all members of the community – men, women and children – have their part to play in defeating their common enemy.

Many years ago, This England published a full article on this absorbing film. This letter, I hope, will once again encourage readers to view this production (it is currently available on DVD). It still makes marvellous entertainment nearly 80 years on and may be regarded as a landmark of wartime British cinema.

Andrew Youdell, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire