''Reluctant Heroes'' is a 1951

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, ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

filmed in

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

. It is based on the farce by Colin Morris. Directed by

Jack Raymond Jack Raymond (1886–1953) was an English actor and film director. Born in Wimborne, Dorset in 1886, he began acting before the First World War in '' A Detective for a Day''. In 1921 he directed his first film and gradually he wound down his a ...

, it stars

Ronald Shiner Ronald Alfred Shiner (8 June 1903 – 29 June 1966) was a British stand-up comedian and comedy actor whose career encompassed film, West End theatre and music hall. Career Early life and career When he was seventeen, Shiner joined the Royal Nor ...

as Sergeant Bell. It was produced by Henry Halsted and Byron Film. The play, which had premiered at the

Whitehall Theatre Trafalgar Theatre is a new West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. It is set to open in spring 2021 following a major multi-million pound restoration project aiming to reinstate it back to its ...

the previous year, was the first of the Brian Rix company's Whitehall farces.

Plot summary

This comedy is set in an army boot camp. It displays a drill sergeant who must somehow turn an inept group of recruits into real soldiers.

Cast

*Sergeant Bell -

*Michael Tone -

Derek Farr Derrick Capel Farr (7 February 191221 March 1986) was an English actor who appeared regularly in British films and television from 1938 until his death in 1986. His more famous roles include Group Captain John Whitworth in '' The Dam Busters' ...

*Gloria Dennis -

Christine Norden Christine Norden (born Mary Lydia Thornton; 28 December 1924 – 21 September 1988) was a British actress. Early life Norden was born in Mowbray Terrace, Sunderland. She was the daughter of a bus driver. Her childhood home was in Chester Ro ...

*Horace Gregory - Brian Rix *Trooper Morgan -

Larry Noble Larry L. Noble was an Iowa State Senator from the 35th District. He served in the Iowa Senate from 2007 until his resignation on December 17, 2010, to become Commissioner of the Iowa Department of Public Safety. He earned his BA in Criminal Ju ...

*Pat Thompson - Betty Empey *Penny Roberts - Angela Wheatland *Sgt. McKenzie - Anthony Baird *Capt. Percy - Colin Morris *Lt. Virginia -

Elspet Gray Elspet Jean Gray, Baroness Rix (née Gray; 12 April 1929 – 18 February 2013) was a Scottish actress, who first became known for her partnership with her husband, Brian Rix, and later was cast in many television roles in the 1970s and 1980s. S ...

Reception

Box office

The film is listed in the 12 most popular films at the British box-office in 1952, in an article in the Sydney ''Sunday Herald'' that cited Ronald Shiner as the UK's favourite film star of the year. Brian Rix asserts in his autobiography that it was the UK's top box office film of the year.Rix, B. (1975) My Farce From My Elbow, Secker & Warburg, London.

References

External links

* * * 1951 films 1951 comedy films British comedy films 1950s English-language films Films directed by Jack Raymond British films based on plays Military humor in film 1950s British films {{1950s-UK-comedy-film-stub