alexanderdavies-99382 "Went the Day Well" is the kind of War film which I hadn't heard of or seen until yesterday as it happens. My word, had I been missing out! The story is actually quite lowkey but a lot happens all the same. A group of undercover Nazi soldiers plan to infiltrate a sleepy English village with the intention of occupying it and all the residents. Initially, the enemy attempts to pass itself off as being Allied soldiers but their cover is soon blown. The tension is stretched to breaking point as the village residents are held in a deadly grip of fear during their occupation. With each failed attempts at liberating themselves, I found myself urging them on to win the day against their adversaries. This isn't the kind of film which is tailor-made for any one particular actor but that is to the film's advantage. The Italian director isn't one I've heard of before but he does a marvellous job with "Went the Day Well." The violence for a film of this period is quite brutal and unyielding as innocent people become the victims to the cold-blooded and tyrannical Nazis Having a fairly brief running time is a considerable benefit as it helps to maintain the strong narrative. Leslie Banks and Basil Sydney give the better performances but no one comes off poorly.

peter-woodhart Although the film was made at the height of WW2 and clearly aimed at keeping up British morale, it is an immensely impressive film. At its heart, it's the story of very normal people doing extraordinary heroic things. A typical middle-age post-mistress, clubs a German to death with an axe. Middle aged men (who had presumably fought in WW1) face and kill German soldiers. A sailor, on leave to get married, leads the fight against the German infiltration. The 'lady of the manor' throws herself onto a hand grenade to save the children. Although this may sound blood thirsty, it's handled in a typically low- key manner. Whether today's population could do the same is questionable.

pingshar Combine wooden acting, an improbably plot, a flashback spoiler and caricatures for the enemy, and what have you got? A boring movie.I'm not sure which is more annoying, the stilted ladies' voices, the deafening din of chirping birds (are British birds always louder than human voices?), the sneering German soldiers, or the absurdity of assembling a bunch of German soldiers in a British country village who, all but one, speak perfect British English, complete with British military trucks and gear.There is some brief mention of German parachutists being sighted earlier. So why isn't the military out searching for them? Yes, they are going to get tripped up, but do you seriously expect them to bring Austrian chocolate bars with them? If the purpose of this film was to make the British public suspicious of anything and everything, then it did a fine job. But if you are looking for an entertaining wartime movie set in England, you would be far better off with "Mrs. Miniver." Frankly, I've seen more interesting public service announcements. The only way someone could view this as a great movie is if they are British, and praising British war movies was a required.The prospect of a German invasion was real for awhile, primarily after Dunkirk. The British government prepared detailed written plans for what to do if the Germans invaded successfully -- and these plans were made into a detailed re-enactment documentary. The possibility of a single German dropping in was entirely real. Private Schulz tells the fictional story of what happened to one -- he was spotted almost the moment he walked into a pub.It was wartime, and it was OK to turn the German soldiers into detestable caricatures. But did they have to turn the British women into caricatures, too? The only one that seemed human was Nora.I'm glad this movie is still available, as a historical document. But it seems almost like amateur hour. Perhaps the best British filmmakers were in war service. Unless you are very interested in WWII or are British, you can skip this and you won't have missed a thing.

Leofwine_draca An ahead-of-its-time film if ever there was one, WENT THE DAY WELL? is still a chilling wartime thriller even watched today. It begins deceptively genteel, with Mervyn Johns talking to the camera (a great device) and leading us into a story which times out to be both hard hitting and inspirational.Like the later film, THE EAGLE HAS LANDED, this fictional movie poses the 'what if?' question - what if the much-mooted Nazi invasion of England had really taken place? The answer is limited to a single rural village in the English countryside which soon finds itself taken over by ruthless German soldiers.What follows is expertly paced and supremely directed, with the villagers harried, hassled and murdered and eventually fighting back against their oppressors. It's still a violent and grim film, with axe murders, knifings and all manner of shootings put on the screen, although in my mind a scene involving a hand grenade marks the most shocking moment. An excellent cast, topped by THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME's Leslie Banks as a sinister collaborater, help make this a British classic.