Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)

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Oh! What a Lovely War is an every-man-for-himself adaptation of Charles Chilton's 1963 play, as staged in London by Joan Littlewood. The tragedy of World War I is redefined in bawdy music-hall terms, beginning with a verbal free-for-all involving the Crowned Heads of Europe. The war is presented as… More Oh! What a Lovely War is an every-man-for-himself adaptation of Charles Chilton's 1963 play, as staged in London by Joan Littlewood. The tragedy of World War I is redefined in bawdy music-hall terms, beginning with a verbal free-for-all involving the Crowned Heads of Europe. The war is presented as the "new attraction" at the Brighton Amusement Pier, complete with syrupy cheer-up songs, shooting galleries, free prizes and a scoreboard toting up the dead. Throughout the proceedings, the camera concentrates on a middle-class family, whose five sons end up as cannon fodder. The final image is a veddy proper British picnic on a graveyard. Of the many fleeting satiric images parading past the camera, one of the most indelible is the sight of several generals playing leapfrog as the world all around them goes to hell in a handbasket. The awesome all-star cast includes Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Maggie Smith, John Gielgud, Michael Redgrave, Jack Hawkins, John Mills, Susannah York, Dirk Bogarde and Phyllis Calvert. We haven't seen this many Englishmen in one place since the last Wimbledon match. The whole affair was supervised by Richard Attenborough, making his directorial debut (a question: why was he up to the challenge of this musical extravaganza, yet seemed helpless in the face of 1985's A Chorus Line?). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: G, 2 hr. 24 min.
Directed By: Richard Attenborough
Written By: Charles Chilton, Len Deighton
Genres: Drama, Musical & Performing Arts, Classics

In Theaters: Oct 3, 1969 Wide
On DVD: Nov 7, 2006
Studio: Paramount Pictures

Critic Reviews

Wesley Lovell, Oscar Guy
An anti-war musical whose originality has never been successfully repeated.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Remains the most interesting and daring film Attenborough ever made.

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Cast

            Ralph Richardson as Sir Edward Grey

            Meriel Forbes as Lady Grey

            Wensley Pithey as Archduke Franz Ferdinand

            Ruth Kettlewell as Duchess Sophie

            Ian Holm as President Poincare

            John Gielgud as Count Berchtold

            Kenneth More as Kaiser Wilhelm II

            Paul Daneman as Nicholas II

            Joe Melia as Photographer

            Jack Hawkins as Emperor Franz Josef

            Kim Smith as Dickie Smith

            Mary Wimbush as Mary Smith

            Paul Shelley as Jack Smith

            Wendy Allnutt as Flo Smith

            John Rae as Grandpa Smith

            Corin Redgrave as Bertie Smith

            Colin Farrell as Harry Smith

            Maurice Roëves as George Smith

            Angela Thorne as Betty Smith

            John Mills as Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig

            Jean-Pierre Cassel as French Colonel

            Maggie Smith as Music Hall Star

            David Lodge as Recruiting Sergiant

            Michael Redgrave as General Sir Henry Wilson

            Laurence Olivier as Field Marshal Sir John French

            Peter Gilmore as Private Burgess

            Juliet Mills as First Nurse At Station

            Nanette Newman as Second Nurse At Station

            Susannah York as Eleanor

            Dirk Bogarde as Stephen

            Cecil Parker as Sir John

            Robert Flemyng as Staff Officer

            Isabel Dean as Sir John French's Lady

            Guy Middleton as Gen. Sir. Wm. Robertson

            Natasha Parry as Sir Wm. Robertson's Lady

            Norman Shelley as Staff Officer

            Thorley Walters as Staff Officer

            Phyllis Calvert as Lady Haig

            Vanessa Redgrave as Sylvia Pankhurst

            Clifford Mollison as First Heckler

            Harry Locke as Third Heckler

            Michael Bates as Drunken Corporal

            Vincent Ball as Australian Singer

            Gerald Sim as Clergyman

            Dorothy Reynolds as Second Heckler

            Marianne Stone as 2nd Mill Girl

            John Clements
            
            Wendy Alnutt
            
            Malcolm McFee
            
See full cast

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