''Balaclava'' is a 1928 British silent

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...

directed by

Maurice Elvey Maurice Elvey (11 November 1887 – 28 August 1967) was one of the most prolific film directors in British history. He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year. He a ...

and

Milton Rosmer Milton Rosmer (4 November 1881 – 7 December 1971) was a British actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern ...

and starring

Cyril McLaglen Cyril McLaglen (1899–1987) was a British actor who appeared in a variety of films between 1920 and 1951. He was born in London in 1899 and made his film debut in the 1920 film ''The Call of the Road''. He was the younger brother of the acto ...

Benita Hume Benita Hume (14 October 1907 – 1 November 1967) was an English theatre and film actress. She appeared in more than 40 films between 1925 and 1955. Life and career She was married to film actor Ronald Colman from 1938 to his death in 1958 ...

Alf Goddard Frank Henry "Alf" Goddard (28 November 1897 in Brentford, Middlesex – 25 February 1981 in Ealing, London) was an English film actor. Brother of a famous boxer, Alf Goddard was once a boxer too. He was also a trained athlete and a professio ...

Harold Huth Harold Huth (20 January 1892 – 26 October 1967) was a British actor, film director and producer. Biography Early life He was born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, in 1892. He was a nephew of Eva Moore and a cousin of the actor Roland Pertwee. Fo ...

, and

Wally Patch Walter Sydney Vinnicombe (26 September 1888 – 27 October 1970) was an English actor and comedian. He worked in film, television and theatre. Biography Vinnicombe was born in Willesden, Middlesex and began working on the music hall stages in ...

. A British army officer is

cashiered Cashiering (or degradation ceremony), generally within military forces, is a ritual dismissal of an individual from some position of responsibility for a breach of discipline. Etymology From the Flemish (to dismiss from service; to discard ...

, and re-enlists as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

to take part in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

and succeeds in capturing a top Russian spy. The film climaxes with the

Charge of the Light Brigade The Charge of the Light Brigade was a failed military action involving the British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. Lord Raglan had intended to se ...

. It was made by

Gainsborough Pictures Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, north London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The com ...

with

David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Widely considered one of the most important figures in British cinema, Lean directed the large-scale epics ''The Bridge on the River ...

working as a production assistant. The charge sequences were filmed on the Long Valley in

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

Cast

as John Kennedy *

as Jean McDonald *

as Nobby *

Miles Mander Miles Mander (born Lionel Henry Mander; 14 May 1888 – 8 February 1946), was an English character actor of the early Hollywood cinema, also a film director and producer, and a playwright and novelist. He was sometimes credited as Luther Mile ...

as Captain Gardner *

J. Fisher White Joseph John Fisher White (1 May 1865 – 14 January 1945) was a British stage and film actor. The eldest of four sons of Rev. John White, of Ampfield, of that family formerly of Hursley, by his wife Martha, daughter of Rev. John Fisher, he took ...

as Lord Raglan *

Henry Mollison Evelyn Henry Mollison (21 February 1905 – 19 July 1985) was a British theatre and film actor. He was the brother of the actor Clifford Mollison. During World War II, he was held as a Prisoner of War for five years by the Nazis, after his ...

as Prisoner's Friend *

Betty Bolton Betty Bolton (7 January 1906 – 2 April 2005) was a British actress, beginning as a child star during World War I and continuing her career in the 1920s and 1930s. She was one of the first performers to appear on early British television. Early ...

as Natasha * Robert Holmes as Father Nikolai *

as Captain Nolan, Adjutant *

as Trooper Strang * H. St. Barbe West as Prosecutor * Boris Ranevsky as Tsar *

Wallace Bosco Wallace Charles Bosco (31 January 1880 in St Pancras, London – 1973 in Richmond upon Thames, Surrey) was an English film actor and screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer ...

as Lord Palmerston * Marian Drada as Queen Victoria

Production

Portions of ''Balaclava'' were reshot under the direction of

with dialogue written by

Robert Stevenson Robert Stevenson may refer to: * Robert Stevenson (actor and politician) (1915–1975), American actor and politician * Robert Stevenson (civil engineer) (1772–1850), Scottish lighthouse engineer * Robert Stevenson (director) (1905–1986), Engl ...

and it was rereleased using a synchronized soundtrack in April 1930.
Balaclava
' at britmovie.co.uk

References

External links

*

1928 films 1920s historical films 1928 war films British historical films British war films British silent feature films Crimean War films 1920s English-language films Films based on works by Alfred, Lord Tennyson Films directed by Maurice Elvey Gainsborough Pictures films Films set in 1854 Films set in London Films set in Ukraine British black-and-white films Films based on poems Silent war films 1920s British films {{war-film-stub