Summary: Fictional episode portraying the response of its characters to the Dunkirk emergency.
Description: A sailing club receives a telephone message from the Admiralty calling for small vessels to assist the evacuation. The elderly, ex-naval caretaker who takes the call goes to the only vessel available, a motor yacht, The Wanderer. The boat sets out, crewed by the caretaker, a young man, and the wife of the owner, who is himself in France with the BEF. The wife disguises herself as a man. En route they are joined by a soldier with a Bren gun. They arrive at Dunkirk and ferry men to larger transport ships. The wife inquires repeatedly for her husband's unit, but without success. The soldier fires upon circling German aircraft - with no apparent effect - and he is eventually shot, dying after a few words with the woman, herself on the verge of collapse, exhausted and distraught. There are no further soldiers to be taken away, however, and mission completed, the caretaker steers the boat home. Later the woman is seen scouring the returning troops for her husband - he is among the wounded.
Alternative Title:
Colour:B&W
Digitised:Yes
Object_Number:COI 492
Sound:Sound
Access Conditions:IWM
Featured Period:1939-1945
Production Date:1940-09
Production Country: GB
Production Details: Ministry of Information (Production sponsor)
Denham and Pinewood Studios (Production company)
Asquith, Anthony19021968British film director. Son of Herbert H Asquith, PM. (Production individual)
Asquith, Anthony19021968British film director. Son of Herbert H Asquith, PM. (Production individual)
Irving, Stanley (Production individual)
Bartimeus (Production individual)
Knowles, Bernard (Production individual)
Bower, Dallas (Production individual)
Kemplen, Ralph (Production individual)
Watkins, A W (Production individual)
Ashcroft, Edith Margaret Emily19071991British actress. (Production cast)
Harker, Gordon18851967British actor (Production cast)
Newton, Robert (Production cast)
Griffith, Kenneth1921-10-122006-06-25Kenneth Griffith was known for being one of the most awkward, difficult actors and documentary makers of his time. He left school before he turned 16 and went to the stage. When the Second World War interrupted his acting career he served in the RAF, mainly in Canada. However he contracted scarlet fever and was invalided out of the army in 1942. He returned to acting. In the course of the next 50 years he appeared in more than 80 films, including some hits such as 'The Wild Geese' (1978) and 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' (1994). However, from the mid 1960s he made less films and concentrated more on his documentaries. His favourite subjects were those he knew would upset the British establishment, with subjects such as the Boer War, Hitler and Napoleon. He was married three times, all three ended in divorce, and he had children with all three, producing three sons and two daughters. (Production cast)
Personalities, Units and Organisations:
Keywords: English Channel (geography)
Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W
Sound format: Sound
Soundtrack language: English
Title language: English
Subtitle language: None
Technical Details: Format: 35mm
Number of items/reels/tapes: 1
Footage: 851 ft; Running time: 9 mins
