The battle of #RorkesDrift ended 144 years ago today. A distant battle in a long gone war, its place in popular history relies as much on a film as it does the gallantry rewarded with 11 VCs.
But there's more to the story of the #VictoriaCross and cinema. A thread.
THREAD 1/14
The idea for ZULU (1964) came when Cy Endfield picked up a copy of Lilliput. John Prebble's article "Slaughter in the Sun" became #Zulu a few years later - recounting an underdog action which yielded 11 VCs and launched the career of a cinema great along the way.
THREAD 2/14
ZULU DAWN (1979) sought to cash in on the success of its predecessor by depicting the Battle of #Isandlwana. Some big names make up a strong ensemble cast, share the story of two more VCs (Melvill and Coghill), and put the events at #RorkesDrift into wider context.
THREAD 3/14
Context is key too in THE DAM BUSTERS (1955), depicting the last in a series of operations that would win Guy Gibson the #VictoriaCross.
As much about technical ingenuity and teamwork as individual valour, #Dambusters showcases the remarkable men of #617Squadron.
THREAD 4/14
Playing a small part in a much bigger story is the raid which earned Geoffrey Keyes a posthumous VC. THE DESERT FOX (1951) names neither Operation Flipper nor the commando commander of its opening engagement as Holywood does its bit to push the #Rommel myth.
THREAD 5/14
John Baskeyfield gets full billing in the independently made short BASKEYFIELD VC (1969). Filmed over three years, Bill Townley accurately depicts the determination of a brave NCO during the Battle of Arnhem.
THREAD 6/14
Not all VC winners are so unambiguously depicted. Staying in Arnhem, the epic A BRIDGE TOO FAR (1977) gives us Major Carlyle. Presented as an umbrella wielding eccentric, he is an amalgamation of two real officers - Digby Tatham-Warter and VC winner, John Grayburn.
THREAD 8/14
THE GIFT HORSE (1952) goes further. It gives HMS Campbeltown a new name and replaces skipper Stephen Beattie with Trevor Howard's Fraser. While the scriptwriters enjoyed licence with their fictitious crew, the events that won Beattie his VC at St Nazaire remain.
THREAD 9/14
Donald Cameron is another naval VC who'd be forgiven for not recognising himself on screen. John Mills' ABOVE US THE WAVES (1955) and James Caan's SUBMARINE X-1 (1968) loosely use his operation as their source material.
THREAD 9/14
Fictional VC portrayals give filmmakers liberty to explore different issues. In RYAN'S DAUGHTER (1970), David Lean uses the shell-shocked Maj Doryan VC to remind viewers that medal winners are human and that conspicuous gallantry takes place amid the horrors of war.
THREAD 10/14
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP (1943) gives a depiction of the way a VC and the unwanted "celebrity" it can bring can change people's expectations and attitudes - "You're Candy!" exclaims an otherwise dismissive officer upon seeing the medal.
THREAD 11/14
Reverence, honour, and even jealousy are all responses explored in CARRINGTON VC (1954), a court room drama in which - in keeping with theatrical tradition that fake decorations should not be worn - David Niven is seen wearing the VC won by Arthur Cross in 1918.
THREAD 12/14
Perhaps surprisingly, given the drama involved with winning a Victoria Cross, cinema isn't awash with depictions.
Maybe there's a degree of reverence towards those who have shown gallantry of the highest order - something picked up in CONDUCT UNBECOMING (1975)
THREAD 13/14
Perhaps, though it's that those who win the VC are often "ordinary" men, with otherwise uncinematic lives, but who have shown the capacity for extraordinary valour.
At least one - Daniel Laidlaw VC - got the chance show why he wasn't ordinary in THE GUNS OF LOOS (1928).
OTD in 1944, the real "#GreatEscape" was launched.
In time, it inspired a Hollywood epic, but while #TheGreatEscape (1963) is a heavily fictionalised look at the break out of Stalag Luft III, some of those involved knew something of the reality behind their portrayal...
🧵 1/12
Donald Pleasence (Blythe) knew first hand the lot of a prisoner of war.
A Wireless Operator/Air Gunner in the RAF, he was shot down on a daylight raid over France and, after enduring a long march to the Baltic, found himself in a POW camp alongside American airmen.
🧵 2/12
Richard Attenborough (Bartlett) couldn't draw on the same experience, but he had flown over wartime Europe.
A member of the Royal Air Force Film Production Unit, he flew with Bomber Command and filmed the whirlwind being reaped from the exposed turret of a rear gunner.
It's 65 years since the first "Carry On" film, CARRY ON SERGEANT (1958), was released.
The film that spawned an iconic franchise drew on the then familiar experience of national service. Indeed, many of the cast had their own military backgrounds. A thread... 👇
🧵 1/11
The film's star, Bob Monkhouse (Pte Sage), received his call-up papers in 1948, completing his national service with the RAF.
But he wasn't the only former airman to where army khaki for the film...
🧵 2/11
Terence Longdon (Pte Heywood) saw wartime service high above the Atlantic as a Fleet Air Arm pilot, while Gerald Campion (Pte Galloway) had spent his war in Kenya as navigator with the RAF.
OTD 75 years ago, the killing of three plantation managers led to the declaration of a state of emergency in #Malaya.
Often overlooked now, the "#MalayanEmergency" was a major event and inspired a number of big screen features.
A thread on those often forgotten films...
🧵 1/9
To depict the plight of planters defending their rubber crop from Communist rebels, Rank enlisted Jack Hawkins and Claudette Colbert for THE PLANTER'S WIFE (1952).
A morally unambiguous take on the conflict, the film was nonetheless popular with the public.
🧵 2/9
WINDOM'S WAY (1957) was willing to explore moral ambiguity, as Peter Finch's titular doctor finds himself stuck between a belligerent British planter, the local police and rebels.
Far from perfect - it tries to do too much - but an illustration of a complex situation.
80 years ago today, WE DIVE AT DAWN hit UK cinemas. A look at HM Submarines at war, this put British submariners centre stage, but it isn't the only depiction of the silent service on the silver screen...
🧵 1/11
WE DIVE AT DAWN (1943) includes scenes of domestic life and boys' own adventure, but it was nautical realism that mattered to star John Mills.
He wanted to know what it felt like when a submarine crash-dived for real. He got his wish, turning green in the process.
🧵 2/11
This real-life experience and a believable set gave the film an air of authenticity, something shared by another 1943 releae, CLOSE QUARTERS.
A documentary feature, it received relatively little popular attention.
On this day in 1945, 1st Bn Manchester Regiment was in action outside Rethem. It was, according to their CO, "an ideal Machine Gunners battle" and AFPU cameramen were there to capture it...
🧵 1/6
Rather than being with the infantry brigades and battalions of 53rd (Welsh) Division, their usual practice, the Manchesters were under direct command of their own CO, Lt Col Bill Crozier.
He positioned #VickersMG and mortar platoons on the west bank of the River Aller.
The decision was sound, as the good positions and flat, open ground on the enemy held eastern side provided ideal conditions for supporting the advancing infantry.
Difficult to spot amidst the din and confusion of battle, the Vickers' beaten zones would become deadly.
I WAS MONTY’S DOUBLE (1958) gave M E Clifton James the opportunity to re-live his wartime experiences on the big screen. But what if his co-stars had done the same, and who were their movie doubles? A thread...
🧵 1/13
Great War veteran, Clifton James, was serving with the Royal Army Pay Corps when, in 1944, he received a call from David Niven, which led him to Operation Copperhead. The Hollywood star didn't appear in the film. Instead, John Mills was Niven's (almost) double...
🧵 2/13
John Mills (Maj Harvey) had his name in lights for most of the war. Not only did he portray all three services on screen - in many ways, Mills was everyone's double - he also served with RE and RA (Monmouthshire Regt) searchlight units in Britain before being discharged.