Product Description

Of all the propaganda films produced by Britain during the war, no motion picture was as shattering as this fictional — yet frighteningly real — story of heroes, traitors and graphic homeland terror. In the spring of 1942, the quaint rural village of Bramley End is occupied by a German platoon expertly disguised as friendly British troops. In the days that follow, the men, women and children of the isolated town must single-handedly outsmart and destroy the Nazi force before their invasion can spread to the rest of an unsuspecting nation. Leslie Banks, Thora Hird, Mervyn Johns and Basil Sydney star in this chilling thriller adapted from a short story by Graham Greene and produced by the legendary Ealing Studios that would later inspire both THE EAGLE HAS LANDED and RED DAWN. Rarely seen in America — where it received limited release under the title 48 HOURS — it remains as explicit and shocking a movie experience today as it was to wartime audiences more than 60 years ago.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #71677 in DVD
• Brand: STARZ HOME ENTERTAINMENT
• Released on: 2006-10-17
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 93 minutes

Customer Reviews

During WWII, the villagers of Bromley End do what they must to defend not just themselves, but England
Went the Day Well? is one of the British war movies made during WWII that were meant to strengthen morale and inspire steadfastness. The little English village of Bromley End welcomes a large number of Royal Engineers who are to work on a secret project. However, the Royal Engineers in reality are English-speaking German soldiers in British uniforms, parachuted into England to set up a counter radar apparatus which will disrupt England's radar network.

Gradually the villagers begin to suspect things aren't right, and then realize what they're dealing with. The Germans cordon off the village and show their true, ruthless nature. The villagers need to break through the cordon to alert authorities and get help. They also decide they must take action themselves to stop the Germans. This is complicated because the village houses a traitor. The climax is the Battle of Bromley End, with British Home Guard troops arriving while the Germans, attacking the manor house where they must set up their equipment, are held off by the brave men and women of the village.

If you're fond of older Brit movies you'll recognize some fine actors: Leslie Banks, David Farrar, Thora Hird, Basil Sydney, Mervyn Johns. The film is a well-constructed and effective bit of wartime home-front propaganda.

Went the Day Well?
Made in 1942, the film actually begins in the "future" after the end of the war. The narrator shows us a grave marker with the names of German soldiers engraved on it. The narrator proceeds to tell the story about how the village was invaded by Germans in 1942. The Germans were disguised as British Soldiers, but soon gave themselves away. The town found itself the prisoners of the Germans, and the film shows how the citizens coped with the situation. Even though we know what the ultimate end of the story is, the film does an excellent job of making us doubt the final outcome.

Brutality and everyday people
"Went the Day Well?" is incredibly suspenseful, historically fascinating, and surprisingly harsh. It is a no-nonsense film made for a wartime populace. While it incidentally packs in a lot of propaganda advice (how to spot suspicious activity, what to do in a military emergency, the importance of "doing your bit" for the country), the major drive of "Went the Day Well?" is to psychologically adapt a everyday people to wartime violence. This means that terrible things happen to kind and lovable people, and--what is perhaps more upsetting--that kind and lovable characters kill people brutally. It is a kind of cinema violence which I don't think that current cinema prepares us (the one contemporary film it reminds me of is "A History of Violence," in that both films take violence seriously). It probably owes a great deal of its touch to Graham Greene.

I'm surprised that one reviewer found the Germans portrayed sympathetically. I would say the film's single identifiable flaw is that all of the Germans are shown to be heartless pigs. It is always a shame when even propaganda that is "in the right" can't allow the fact that most people, even enemies, are fairly decent and civilized on a person-to-person level (the great message of Vonnegut's Mother Night).

"Went the Day Well?" is that really very rare thing, a genuinely troubling film. *And* it's exciting.