''For Freedom'' is a 1940

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

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 Castleton Knight. It was made largely for propaganda purposes during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. It features Will Fyffe,

Guy Middleton Guy Middleton Powell (14 December 1906 – 30 July 1973), better known as Guy Middleton, was an English film character actor. Biography Guy Middleton was born in Hove, Sussex, and originally worked in the London Stock Exchange, before tu ...

, and

Terry-Thomas Terry-Thomas (born Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens; 10 July 19118 January 1990) was an English character actor and comedian who became internationally known through his films during the 1950s and 1960s. He often portrayed disreputable members of t ...

. Through its blending of fiction and documentary it was similar to ''

The Lion Has Wings ''The Lion Has Wings'' is a 1939 British, black-and-white, documentary-style, propaganda war film that was directed by Adrian Brunel, Brian Desmond Hurst, Alexander Korda and Michael Powell. The film was produced by London Film Productions and ...

'' produced by

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)London Films London Films Productions is a British film and television production company founded in 1932 by Alexander Korda and from 1936 based at Denham Film Studios in Buckinghamshire, near London. The company's productions included ''The Private Life o ...

. The film portrays the early events of the war, particularly the

Battle of the River Plate The Battle of the River Plate was fought in the South Atlantic on 13 December 1939 as the first naval battle of the Second World War. The Kriegsmarine heavy cruiser , commanded by Captain Hans Langsdorff, engaged a Royal Navy squadron, command ...

, from the point of view of a British

newsreel A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, inform ...

production company.

Cast

* Will Fyffe as Chief *

Anthony Hulme Anthony Hulme (1910–2007) was a British film actor. Filmography * ''A Yank at Oxford'' (1938) * '' The Body Vanished'' (1939) * ''The Frozen Limits'' (1939) * '' They Came by Night'' (1940) * '' Laugh It Off'' (1940) * '' For Freedom'' (1940) ...

as Steve * E.V.H. Emmett as Ted *

as Pierre *

Albert Lieven Albert Lieven (born Albert Fritz Liévin; 22 June 1906 – 22 December 1971) was a German actor. Early life Lieven was born in Hohenstein, East Prussia (Olszynek, Poland). His father was the head physician of the Tuberculosis sanatorium Ho ...

as Fritz * Hugh McDermott as Sam *

Arthur Goullet Arthur Goullet (1894–1978) was a British stage, film and television actor. He played the role of Sebastian Moran in the 1937 Sherlock Holmes film '' Silver Blaze''.Nollen p.298 Selected filmography * '' Down River'' (1931) * '' A Gentleman o ...

as Ivan *

as Newsreader * Captain Dove as himself * Captain Pottinger as himself * First Officer Murphy as himself * Engineer Walker as himself * Engineer Angel as himself *

John Ernest Harper Vice-Admiral John Ernest Troyte Harper (29 May 1874 – 27 May 1949) was a British Royal Navy officer. Biography Harper was born in New Zealand and educated there at Christ's College. In 1888 he joined the Royal Navy, being promoted to Li ...

as himself

References

Bibliography

* Chapman, James. ''The British at War: Cinema, State, and Propaganda, 1939-1945''. I.B. Tauris Publishers, 1998.

External links

* 1940 films British World War II propaganda films 1940s English-language films Films directed by Castleton Knight Films directed by Maurice Elvey 1940s war drama films British war drama films British black-and-white films Films set in London Gainsborough Pictures films Seafaring films Films set in Montevideo 1940 drama films Films scored by Walter Goehr {{war-drama-film-stub