The Way Ahead (NL) ( The Immortal Battalion )

The Way Ahead (NL) (DVD) (*)

~~$22.99~~ $16.97

Original Title: The Immortal Battalion
Language Selections:
Dutch ( Subtitles )
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )

Product Origin/Format:
Netherlands ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
110 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Uncut
Black & White

Movie filmed in 1944 and produced in:
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )

Directed By:
Carol Reed

Written By:
Carol Reed
Eric Ambler

Actors:
David Niven ..... Lieutenant Jim Perry
Stanley Holloway ..... Pvt. Ted Brewer
James Donald ..... Pvt. Lloyd
John Laurie ..... Pvt. Luke
Leslie Dwyer ..... Pvt. Sid Beck
Hugh Burden ..... Pvt. Bill Parsons
Jimmy Hanley ..... Pvt. Geoffrey Stainer (as Jimmie Hanley)
William Hartnell ..... Sgt. Ned Fletcher (as Billy Hartnell)
Reginald Tate ..... The Training Company Commanding Officer
Leo Genn ..... Captain Edwards
John Ruddock ..... Old Soldier
A. Bromley Davenport ..... Old Soldier (as Bromley Davenport)
Renée Asherson ..... Marjorie Gillingham (as Renee Asherson)
Mary Jerrold ..... Mrs. Gillingham
Tessie O'Shea ..... Herself (singer)

Synopsis:

The Immortal Battalion has a bit of a convoluted history. It started life as a training film, The New Lot, which ran 44 minutes. When Winston Churchill approached David Niven about creating a film that would do for the British Army what In Which We Serve had done for the Royal Navy, he contacted Carol Reed and suggested expanding The New Lot. The result, written by Eric Ambler and Peter Ustinov, was the acclaimed The Way Ahead. For its U.S. release, Way Ahead was edited to a shorter length and retitled The Immortal Battalion. In either of its feature length forms, the film is concerned with the training of a bunch of raw recruits into a capable and efficient fighting regiment. Niven stars as Jim Perry, a lieutenant and former ordinary guy who finds that he must learn to take a tough line in order to make his wildly diverse crew come together and understand the importance both of the war and of their place in it. Although it takes time and constant effort on the part of Perry and his sergeant, the eight men eventually overcome their different backgrounds and feelings, and transform themselves into a unit which performs its tasks with admirable skill and dexterity, preparing them for their battle against the Desert Fox in Africa. Told in a semi-documentary style, Battalion also features the screen debut of Trevor Howard.

World War II is impending, but most Britons don't believe it; while a few, including petrol-pumper Jim Perry, are busily training for the new British army. After Dunkirk, Lieut. Perry finds himself training others, mostly recruits who as yet don't take the war seriously. They soon learn that training under Perry and Sergeant Fletcher is serious business. Our platoon secretly embarks on an eventful voyage to North Africa, and contact with the enemy nears...

This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 30 April, 2009.