ALL-TIME CLASSIC MOVIE FAVOURITES – IN WHICH WE SERVE (1942)

“In Which We Serve” is a World War II drama, written by Noël Coward   and Directed by Noël Coward and David Lean.

It tells the story of a British Naval Destroyer, H.M.S. Torrin, from its construction on the Clyde to its sinking during action in the Mediterranean Sea in World War II, and is told in flashbacks by the survivors as they cling to a life raft.

Among them are the ship's commanding officer Captain E.V. Kinross (Noël Coward), Ordinary Seaman Shorty Blake (John Mills), Chief Petty Officer Walter Hardy (Bernard Miles), Stoker (Richard Attenborough) and Flags (Michael Wilding).

But although the men have served valiantly and heroically in their time aboard the Torrin we also get to see the stoic and determined women behind them, Alix Kinross (Celia Johnson), Freda Lewis (Kay Walsh), Kath Hardy (Joyce Carey) and Maureen (Penelope Dudley Ward).

 

“In Which We Serve” is a shameless story about naval heroism and was based on Lord Mountbatten's wartime experiences, and is a compelling and highly rated piece of British cinema history.