''Tell England'' is a 1931 British

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-g ...

directed by

Anthony Asquith Anthony William Landon Asquith (; 9 November 1902 – 20 February 1968) was an English film director. He collaborated successfully with playwright Terence Rattigan on ''The Winslow Boy'' (1948) and '' The Browning Version'' (1951), among oth ...

and

Geoffrey Barkas Geoffrey Barkas (born Geoffrey de Gruchy Barkas, 27 August 1896 – 3 September 1979) was an English film maker active between the world wars. Barkas led the British Middle East Command Camouflage Directorate in the Second World War. His larges ...

and starring

Fay Compton Virginia Lilian Emmeline Compton-Mackenzie, (; 18 September 1894 – 12 December 1978), known professionally as Fay Compton, was an English actress. She appeared in several films, and made many broadcasts, but was best known for her stage per ...

, Tony Bruce and

Carl Harbord Carl Harbord (26 January 1908 – 18 October 1958) was an English stage, film and television actor. Stage When he was 19, Harbord appeared in the play ''The Happy Husband'', which was presented at the Criterion Theatre in London, England. ...

. It is based on the 1922 novel '' Tell England'' by

Ernest Raymond Ernest Raymond (31 December 1888 – 14 May 1974) was a British novelist, best known for his first novel, '' Tell England'' (1922), set in World War I. His next biggest success was ''We, the Accused'' (1935), generally thought to be a reworki ...

which featured two young men joining the army, and taking part in the fighting at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

. Both directors had close memories of Gallipoli, as did Fay Compton's brother,

Compton Mackenzie Sir Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie, (17 January 1883 – 30 November 1972) was a Scottish writer of fiction, biography, histories and a memoir, as well as a cultural commentator, raconteur and lifelong Scottish independence, Scottish nation ...

. Asquith's father

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...

had been Prime Minister at the time of the Gallipoli Landings, a fact which drew press attention to the film, while Barkas had personally fought at Suvla Bay in the Gallipoli campaign. In the United States it was released under the

alternative title An alternative title is a media sales device most prominently used in film distribution. Books and films are commonly released under a different title when they are screened or sold in a different country. This can vary from small change to the t ...

''The Battle of Gallipoli''.

Production

The film had originally been intended to be made as a

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

, but was delayed. It was made at

Welwyn Studios Welwyn Studios was a British film studio located at Broadwater Road, Welwyn Garden City, in Hertfordshire. The facility operated between 1928 and 1950. The studios were first constructed by British Instructional Films, and converted to make s ...

using the German Klangfilm process. Much of the film was shot on location in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, standing in for Gallipoli.

Cast

as Mrs. Doe * Tony Bruce as Rupert Ray *

as Edgar Doe *

Dennis Hoey Dennis Hoey (born Samuel David Hyams, 30 March 1893 – 25 July 1960) was a British film and stage actor, best known for playing Inspector Lestrade in six films of Universal's Sherlock Holmes series. Early life Hoey was born Samuel David ...

as The Padre * C.M. Hallard as The Colonel *

Gerald Rawlinson Gerald Rawlinson (1904–1975) was a British actor. Selected filmography *''The Hellcat'' (1928) *''Life's a Stage'' (1928) *'' The Rising Generation'' (1928) *'' Young Woodley'' (1928) *'' The Silent House'' (1929) *''The Devil's Maze'' (192 ...

as Lt. Doon * Frederick Lloyd as Capt. Hardy * Sam Wilkinson as Private Booth *

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 ...

as Sergeant *

Hubert Harben Leonard Hubert S Harben (12 July 1878 – 24 August 1941) was an English stage and film actor. He was married to the actress Mary Jerrold and father of celebrity chef Philip Harben. Selected filmography * ''Mr. Pim Passes By'' (1921) * ''Every ...

as Mr. Ray * Ian Hamilton as himself Napper L. (2015) Conclusion: ''Tell England''. In: The Great War in Popular British Cinema of the 1920s. Palgrave Macmillan, London

References

External links

''Tell England'' at IMDB
1931 films British war drama films British historical drama films 1930s war drama films 1930s historical drama films Films directed by Anthony Asquith Films directed by Geoffrey Barkas Films based on British novels Films set in the 1910s Films set in England Films set in Turkey British World War I films Works by A. P. Herbert British black-and-white films Films about the Gallipoli campaign 1930s English-language films 1930s British films {{WWI-film-stub