Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)There are few films that I could honestly say are faultless in my opinion but without doubt "The White Cliffs of Dover" is one of them.
This beautiful film never fails to move me tremendously and I always screen it on ANZAC DAY which in Australia is a day on which we celebrate and remember our brave soldiers achievements. The film is based on the celebrated poem "The White Cliffs" and is narrated by Irene Dunne at intervals throughout the story in a beautiful moving prose.
What a story it is!!! Covering two world wars it tells of the life of a young American woman who comes to England originally for two weeks and ends staying a lifetime, who marries, loses her husband in the conflict of WW1 and lives to see her only beloved son suffer the same fate in WW2. The incredibly moving and sensitive way the story unfolds will have you riveted from beginning to end and the talented director Clarence Brown never lets the massive story lag for one minute with his sensitive direction and obvious love for the material.
Surprisingly this classic film is not as well known as other famous wartime sagas like "Mrs. Miniver" and "Since You Went Away" but I find it so much more arresting and memorable. Certainly this feeling is engendered because of the simply wonderful cast assembled for a story that covers almost 40years. Irene Dunne, so memorable in classics like "The Awful Truth", has in this film the role of a lifetime and she is superb. Never have I loved her more than in the truly beautiful scenes she shares with Roddy McDowell who plays her son. And with Dame May Witty, Frank Morgan, the brilliant Gladys Cooper, and Alan Marshall in a knockout performance the production is blessed with A class talents displayed to perfection. One of the smaller parts is taken by a very young Elizabeth Taylor and these couple of scenes in a role for Elizabeth, pre "National Velvet" really shows her incredible beauty and very sweet persona to perfection. Her interactions with the Roddy McDowall character of Sir John really show a special chemistry between the two child performers who became life long friends.
The production side of "The White Cliffs of Dover" is exceptional and considering the inability to film in England because of the war it has captured that English feel perfectly. Hollywood always seemed to be able to create that special English feel in its productions at this time.
"The White Cliffs of Dover" is an incredible experience for those of you who like good heartfelt sentimental dramas. It is my favourite wartime film and I discover new things to admire about it with each screening.
Click Here to see more reviews about: White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
Click here for more information about White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
0 comments:
Post a Comment