The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
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59% of users liked it
(169 ratings)
The White Cliffs of Dover is one of those overlong MGM wartime films that everyone seems to have seen a part of, but no one can remember the film as a sum total. Based on a poem by Alice Duer Miller, the story chronicles the trials and tribulations of one courageous woman through two world wars.… More The White Cliffs of Dover is one of those overlong MGM wartime films that everyone seems to have seen a part of, but no one can remember the film as a sum total. Based on a poem by Alice Duer Miller, the story chronicles the trials and tribulations of one courageous woman through two world wars. Irene Dunne plays an American girl who, in 1914, falls in love with titled Englishman Alan Marshal. At the end of World War 1 in 1918, it is painfully clear that Marshal will not be returning from the battlefields. Remaining loyal to her husband, Irene vows to raise their child in England. Played by Roddy McDowell in his early scenes, Irene's son grows up to be Peter Lawford. At the outbreak of World War 2, Irene despairs at the thought of losing another loved one, but Lawford convinces her that his dad would have wanted him to answer his country's call to the colors. While working as a Red Cross volunteer, Irene finds that she must tend her own mortally wounded son. Unable to save his life, she is grief-stricken, but is gratified with the notion that neither her husband nor her boy have died in vain. Like many films of its ilk and era, White Cliffs of Dover struck a responsive chord with filmgoers, to the tune of a $4 million profit. Watch for a touching scene between Roddy McDowell and 12-year-old Elizabeth Taylor; 19 years later, lifelong friends Roddy and Liz would be playing mortal enemies in Cleopatra (1963). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Clarence Brown
- Written By
- Claudine West, George Froeschel
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- May 11, 1944 Wide
- Studio
- Warner Home Video
Critic Reviews
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, TIME Magazine
It may well give genuine admirers of good cinema and credible Englishmen the jimjams.
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Variety Staff, Variety
Dunne gives an excellent performance, as does Alan Marshal, playing her husband, while Roddy McDowall stands out sharply as their son.
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Bosley Crowther, New York Times
A Cinderella story in sweet disguise.
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, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Alice Duer Miller's poem was the inspiration for this sentimental look at the ravages of war and at the courage of one woman who lost both her husband and son in the two world wars that dominated this century.
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Cast
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Irene Dunne
as Susan Dunn Ashwood
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Alan Marshal
as Sir John Ashwood
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Frank Morgan
as Hiram Porter Dunn
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Roddy McDowall
as John Ashwood II as a Boy
- Ralph Morgan
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Van Johnson
as Sam Bennett
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C. Aubrey Smith
as Colonel
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Peter Lawford
as John Ashwood II at age 24
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Elizabeth Taylor
as Betsy (age 10)
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Dame May Whitty
as Nanny
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Gladys Cooper
as Lady Jean Ashwood
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John Warburton
as Reggie
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Jill Esmond
as Rosamund
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Brenda Forbes
as Gwennie
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Norma Varden
as Mrs. Bland
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Harry Allen
as English Cabby
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Wilson Benge
as Chauffeur
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Anita Bolster
as Miller
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Matthew Boulton
as Immigration Officer
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Edmund Breon
as Maj. Bancroft
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Clifford Brooke
as Indian Major in Boarding House
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Charles Coleman
as Capt. Davis
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Clyde Cook
as Jennings
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Alec Craig
as Billings
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Guy D'Ennery
as Curate in Boarding House
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Kay Deslys
as Blonde
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Isobel Elsom
as Mrs. Bancroft
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Herbert Evans
as Footman
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Emily Fitzroy
as Spinster in Boarding House
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Arthur E. Gould-Porter
as Capt. Portage
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Ethel Griffies
as Woman on Train
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Lumsden Hare
as The Vicar
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Charles Irwin
as Farmer Kenney
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George Kirby
as Old Man
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Molly Lamont
as Helen
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Nelson Leigh
as British Naval Officer
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Doris Lloyd
as Plump Lady at Boarding House
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June Lockhart
as Betsy (age 18)
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Miles Mander
as Maj. Loring
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Emily Massey
as Elegant Lady in Boarding House
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Lal Chand Mehra
as Indian Student in Boarding House
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Leo Mostovoy
as Bandmaster
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Gavin Muir
as Capt. Griffiths
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Steven Muller
as Gerhard
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Jean Prescott
as Mrs. Kenney
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Arthur Shields
as Benson
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Ian Wolfe
as Skipper
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Keith Hitchcock
as Duke of Waverly
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James Menzies
as Telegraph Boy
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George Davis
as Boots
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Tom Drake
as American Soldier
