- Medal for the General
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Medal for the General 
Godfrey Tearle (second from left) and Petula Clark (third from left) in a scene from the filmDirected by Maurice Elvey Produced by Louis H. Jackson Written by Elizabeth Baron
Based on the novel by James RonaldStarring Godfrey Tearle
Jeanne De Casalis
Petula ClarkMusic by William Alwyn Cinematography Arthur Grant
James WilsonEditing by Grace Garland Studio British National Films Company Distributed by Anglo-American Film Corporation (UK)
Four Continents Films (US)Release date(s) 23 July 1944 [1] Running time 100 minutes (UK)
84 minutes (US)Country United Kingdom Language English Medal for the General is a 1944 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey. The screenplay by Elizabeth Baron is based on the novel of the same title by James Ronald.
Contents
Plot
The title character is Victor Church, a World War I veteran who becomes despondent when his advancing age prevents him from playing an active role in the battles of World War II. Feeling unwanted and useless, he retreats to his country estate and plans his suicide. He finds a new purpose in life when he opens his home to six rambunctious Cockney children evacuated from the London slums and tries to keep the mischievous group under control.
Production
Director Maurice Elvey was still searching for a young girl to portray the precocious orphan Irma when he attended a charity concert to benefit the National Fire Service at Royal Albert Hall. On the bill was eleven-year-old Petula Clark, who in addition to singing appeared in a comedy sketch written by her father. Elvey was so impressed by her performance he went backstage and offered her the role in his film.[2] The following year he cast her in I Know Where I'm Going!, and the two reunited for the 1954 film The Happiness of Three Women.
Cast
- Godfrey Tearle ..... Gen. Victor Church
- Jeanne De Casalis ..... Lady Frome
- Morland Graham..... Bates
- Mabel Constanduros..... Mrs. Bates
- John Laurie ..... McNab
- Patric Curwen..... Dr. Sargeant
- Thorley Walters ..... Andrew
- Alec Faversham..... Hank
- Michael Lambart..... Lord Ottershaw
- Irene Handl ..... Mrs. Famsworth
- Rosalyn Boulter..... Billetting Officer
- Petula Clark ..... Irma
Critical reception
The Times said, "Medal for the General is hardly a subtle or intellectual film, but it is warmhearted and the acting and direction show tact and good sense throughout." [1]
The Daily Telegraph thought the story "is hardly promising material, and the sentimental way in which it is treated does nothing to make it more palatable." [1]
References
- ^ a b c Petula Clark Film Companion London: Meeting Point Publications 1998
- ^ Kon, Andrea, This is My Song: A Biography of Petula Clark. London: W.H. Allen 1983. ISBN 0-491-02898-9. pp. 44-45
External links
The films of Maurice Elvey 1910s Popsy Wopsy (1913) • Maria Marten, or: The Murder in the Red Barn (1913) • The White Feather (1914) • Her Luck in London (1914) • The Loss of the Birkenhead (1914) • The Idol of Paris (1914) • The Suicide Club (1914) • Honeymoon for Three (1915) • There's Good in Everyone (1915) • Gilbert Dying to Die (1915) • Home (1915) • Her Nameless Child (1915) • Love in a Wood (1915) • From Shopgirl to Duchess (1915) • Gilbert Gets Tiger-Itis (1915) • Midshipman Easy (1915) • Fine Feathers (1915) • Florence Nightingale (1915) • A Will of Her Own (1915) • Charity Ann (1915) • When Knights Were Bold (1916) • Driven (1916) • Mother Love (1916) • Meg the Lady (1916) • Esther (1916) • Trouble for Nothing (1916) • Vice Versa (1916) • The Princess of Happy Chance (1916) • The King's Daughter (1916) • The Woman Who Was Nothing (1917) • The Grit of a Jew (1917) • Smith (1917) • Justice (1917) • The Gay Lord Quex (1917) • Flames (1917) • Mary Girl (1917) • The Life Story of David Lloyd George (1918) • Hindle Wakes (1918) • Nelson (1918) • The Greatest Wish in the World (1918) • Goodbye (1918) • Adam Bede (1918) • Comradeship (1919) • God's Good Man (1919) • Mr. Wu (1919) • The Elusive Pimpernel (1919) • Quinneys (1919) • The Rocks of Valpre (1919) • Keeper of the Door (1919) • The Swindler (1919) • Dombey and Son (1919)1920s The Tavern Knight (1920) • The Victory Leaders (1920) • A Question of Trust (1920) • At the Villa Rose (1920) • The Hundredth Chance (1920) • The Amateur Gentleman (1920) • Bleak House (1920) • Innocent (1921) • The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1921) • A Gentleman of France (1921) • A Romance of Wastdale (1921) • The Fruitful Vine (1921) • Dick Turpin's Ride to York (1922) • A Debt of Honour (1922) • Running Water (1922) • Man and His Kingdom (1922) • The Hound of the Baskervilles (1922) • Don Quixote (1923) • Guy Fawkes (1923) • The Royal Oak (1923) • The Wandering Jew (1923) • The Sign of Four (1923) • The Passionate Friends (1923)• Sally Bishop (1924) • Henry, King of Navarre (1924) • Slaves of Destiny (1924) • The Love Story of Aliette Brunton (1924) • My Husband's Wives (1924) • Folly of Vanity (1924) • Curlytop (1924) • She Wolves (1925) • Every Man's Wife (1925) • The Woman Tempted (1926) • The Flag Lieutenant (1926) • Human Law (1927) • Roses of Picardy (1927) • Hindle Wakes (1927) • The Flight Commander (1927) • Quinneys (1927) • Mademoiselle Parley Voo (1928) • Balaclava (1928) • Mademoiselle from Armentieres (1928)• Palais de danse (1928) • You Know What Sailors Are (1928) • The Glad Eye (1929) • High Treason (1929)1930s School for Scandal (1930) • Potiphar's Wife (1931) • Sally in Our Alley (1931) • A Honeymoon Adventure (1931) • Frail Women (1932) • The Marriage Bond (1932) • The Water Gipsies (1932) • Diamond Cut Diamond (1932) • The Lodger (1932) • The Lost Chord (1933) • I Lived with You (1933) • This Week of Grace (1933) • The Wandering Jew (1933) • Lily of Killarney (1934) • Love, Life and Laughter (1934) • Princess Charming (1934) • Soldiers of the King (1934) • My Song for You (1934) • Road House (1934) • In a Monastery Garden (1935) • Heat Wave (1935) • The Clairvoyant (1935) • The Tunnel (1935) • Spy of Napoleon (1936) • Man in the Mirror (1936) • A Romance in Flanders (1937) • Change for a Sovereign (1937) • Who Killed John Savage? (1937) • Melody and Romance (1937) • Lightning Conductor (1938) • Who Goes Next? (1938) • The Return of the Frog (1938) • A People Eternal (1939) • Sword of Honour (1939) • Sons of the Sea (1939)1940s Under Your Hat (1940) • The Spider (1940) • For Freedom (1940) • Room for Two (1940) • Salute John Citizen (1942) • The Lamp Still Burns (1943) • Strawberry Roan (1944) • Medal for the General (1944) • Beware of Pity (1946)1950s The Third Visitor (1951) • The Late Edwina Black (1951) • My Wife's Lodger (1952) • The Great Game (1953) • Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary? (1953) • The Harassed Hero (1954) • The Happiness of Three Women (1954) • What Every Woman Wants (1954) • The Gay Dog (1954) • You Lucky People (1955) • Room in the House (1955) • Fun at St. Fanny's (1956) House of Blackmail (1956) • Dry Rot (1956) • Second Fiddle (1957) • Stars in Your Eyes (1957)Categories:- British films
- English-language films
- 1944 films
- 1940s drama films
- World War II films
- Black-and-white films
- Films directed by Maurice Elvey
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