''Bless 'Em All'' is a 1948 British

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

second feature (

B movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

) film directed by

Robert Jordan Hill Robert Jordan Hill was a British director, writer, editor and producer of films. He had a partnership with John Guillermin for a time. Filmography References External links Robert Jordan Hillat IMDb IMDb, historically known as the ...

and starring

Hal Monty Hal Monty (born Albert Sutan; 21 December 1907 – 17 November 1967) was a British comedian and actor. Life and career Sutan was born in Glasgow, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, and grew up in London. In the late 1920s, he performed as ...

and

Max Bygraves Walter William "Max" Bygraves (16 October 1922 – 31 August 2012) was an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, sometimes performing comedy sketches between songs. He made twenty ''Roya ...

. It was written by Aileen Burke, Leone Stewart and Arthur Dent.

John Guillermin Yvon Jean Guillermin (11 November 192527 September 2015), known as John Guillermin, was an English film director, writer and producer. Working both in the United Kingdom and the United States, he was most active in big-budget, action-adventure f ...

was an associate producer.

Plot

In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Skimpy, Tommy and Jock meet at their army call-up medical and are assigned to the same unit. Tommy is soon in trouble with bad-tempered Sergeant Willis. Later Tommy falls for

ENSA The Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) was an organisation established in 1939 by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during World War II. ENSA operated as part of the Navy, ...

singer Val, then discovers she has a date with Willis. Posted to France, Skimpy takes a fancy to Lisette, to find that Willis used to be her admirer. Returning to France after the 1940 retreat, the friends meet again.

Cast

as Skimpy *

as Tommy * Jack Milroy as Jock *Sybil Amiel as Lisette *Les Ritchie as Sergeant Willis *Stan White as Corporal *Pat Linova as Val * Peter Williams as army doctor

Production

It was the first of two Adelphi Films to star Hal Monty as Skimpy. It was also the screen debut of Max Bygraves.

Music

The film contains the songs "Bless 'Em All", "I'll be Seeing You", "Siegfried Line", "Boom", "All's Well Mademoiselle", "Hi-Di-Hi", "Victory Waltz", "Maggie Cock-A-Bendy", I'm Afraid to Love You" and "What More Can I Say".

Reception

The film appears to have been reasonably popular. ''

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "The film is a skit on the old Army life, and is extremely funny in the parts which are not too-long-drawn-out. Army entertainments serve to provide the three friends with a reason for doing individual variety acts which are really the best part of the film. Hal Monty's impersonation of a silent film audience is particularly good; but the film as a whole is amateurish and technically below average. Les Ritchie is excellent as the sergeant, but Hal Monty, Max Bygraves and Jack Milroy, as the three friends, are wasted in a badly photographed, sketchy production." ''

Kine Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. Etymology The word Kinematograph was derived from the Greek ' Kinumai ', (to move, to be in motion, to ...

'' wrote: "Wildly incoherent but cheery low comedy musical extravaganza, dealing with Army life. Hal Monty, the popular radio and music-hall comic, is given his head and his lively interpretations effectively link the crazy strip of stock gags. A trifle long, but funny for the most part, it's a reliable rib-tickler for the industrial masses."

Preservation status

The film was included on the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

's 75 Most Wanted list of

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

s, with only a two-and-a-half minute trailer known to survive. In 2012 the BFI reported that they had been notified of a cut-down version titled ''Be Kind Sergeant'' available on

eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...

References

External links

BFI 75 Most Wanted entry
with extensive notes *{{IMDb title, 0171123 British musical comedy films British black-and-white films Military comedy films British World War II films 1948 musical comedy films 1948 films 1940s rediscovered films Rediscovered British films 1940s British films