This was one of several freebies in a newspaper with the catch-all title 'War Films' (Tunes Of Glory takes place entirely in peacetime, A Matter Of Life And Death is only peripherally concerned with war) and I put off watching it based on a vague feeling it would turn out to be jingoistic crap. Having watched it at last I've been disabused of that prejudice; formulaic it may be (it follows the tried and true formula of introducing a group of conscripts at a train station and remaining with them through basic training until they wind up in North Africa pitted against Rommel's panzers. In other words it's our old friends the Hollywood bomber crew with English accents. Peter Ustinov had a hand in the script and also takes part as a sort of cut-rate Akim Tamiroff in Five Graves To Cairo and acquits himself as well as any in the fine cast. David Niven fails to steal it as the one 'name' on view and gives basically an unselfish performance allowing the likes of Stanley Holloway and Leslie Dwyer to polish their lovable cockney sparrer images. Carol Reed handles it well and it stands up remarkably well.
Review of The Way Ahead
