''The Foreman Went to France'' (released in the USA as ''Somewhere in France'' ) is a 1942 British

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 opposin ...

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 ...

starring Clifford Evans,

Tommy Trinder Thomas Edward Trinder CBE (24 March 1909 – 10 July 1989) was an English stage, screen and radio comedian whose catchphrase was "You lucky people!". Described by cultural historian Matthew Sweet as "a cocky, front-of-cloth variety turn", he was ...

Constance Cummings Constance Cummings CBE (May 15, 1910 – November 23, 2005) was an American-British actress with a career spanning over 50 years. Early life Cummings was born in Seattle, Washington, the only daughter and younger child of Kate Logan (née Cu ...

and Gordon Jackson. It was based on the real-life wartime exploits of Welsh munitions worker Melbourne Johns, who rescued machinery used to make guns for Spitfires and Hurricanes. It was an

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ...

film made in 1941 with the support of the War Office and the Free French Forces. All of the 'heroes' are portrayed as ordinary people caught up in the war.

Plot

In 1940, Welsh armaments factory foreman Fred Carrick goes to France on his own initiative to retrieve three large pieces of machinery for making cannon for Spitfires before the German army arrives. In Bivary, he requests the aid of two soldiers and, more importantly, use of their army lorry. He also gets the help of the company secretary in France, an American woman who needs to go north to find her sister who is a nurse. While in France, Carrick learns about the rôle of the fifth column, and that even those in positions of authority such as the town mayor cannot always be trusted. During the race to the coast with the machines, he encounters a huge number of refugees fleeing the advancing Nazis and many more obstacles to hinder his progress. They take half-a-dozen orphaned children on their journey, entertaining the children with humorous songs.

Cast

* Clifford Evans as Fred Carrick, the foreman *

as Tommy Hoskins *

as Anne Stafford the American *

Robert Morley Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE (26 May 1908 – 3 June 1992) was an English actor who enjoyed a lengthy career in both Britain and the United States. He was frequently cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment, of ...

as Mayor Coutare of Bivary * Gordon Jackson as Alastair 'Jock' MacFarlane * Ernest Milton as the stationmaster in La Tour *

Charles Victor Charles Victor (10 February 1896 – 23 December 1965) was a British actor who appeared in many film and television roles between 1931 and 1965. He was born Charles Victor Harvey. Born in Southport, Lancashire, England, Victor was a fourth ...

as the aircraft spotter on the Works roof *

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

as the 'English' army captain *

Paul Bonifas Paul Bonifas (3 June 1902 – 9 November 1975) was a French actor, born in Paris. Career In the 1920s, while working for the French customs service, Bonifas took classes in acting at the Conservatoire de Paris in his spare time. He left wit ...

as the

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of Rouville * Anita Palacine as a La Tour barmaid *

Francis L. Sullivan Francis Loftus Sullivan (6 January 1903 – 19 November 1956) was an English film and stage actor. Early life Francis Loftus Sullivan attended Stonyhurst, the Jesuit public school in Lancashire, England, whose alumni include Charles Laughton ...

as a French skipper *

Mervyn Johns Mervyn Johns (born David Mervyn John; 18 February 18996 September 1992) was a Welsh stage, film and television character actor who became a star of British films during the Second World War. Johns was known for his "mostly mild-mannered, lugubrio ...

as Official, Passport Office * Sidney Adams as Driver * Owen Reynolds as Collins, Burns & Fawcett Works Manager *

Ronald Adam General Sir Ronald Forbes Adam, 2nd Baronet, (30 October 1885 – 26 December 1982) was a senior British Army officer. He had an important influence on the conduct of the British Army during the Second World War as a result of his long tenure ...

as Sir Charles Fawcett, Managing Director in Wales *

Eric Maturin Eric Bagot Maturin (30 May 1883 – 17 October 1957) was a British actor whose acting career began in 1905 and whose first film appearance was in 1919 during the era of silent films. Early life Maturin was born in Nainital, India in 1883,

as Older Man (uncredited)

Production

Filmed during the war, location shooting for the scenes set in France was done in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, and

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

Reception

Dr. Keith M. Johnston, lecturer in Film & Television Studies at the University of East Anglia, described it as "a strange little propaganda piece, a flashback-structured film that dramatises the 'true' story of Melbourne Johns ... Overall, this is a nicely done little film, but it survives largely because of a committed cast and some strong narrative elements."

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Foreman Went To France 1942 films 1942 war films 1940s biographical films British war films British biographical films British black-and-white films World War II films made in wartime World War II films based on actual events Films set in 1940 Films set in France Ealing Studios films Films directed by Charles Frend Films produced by Michael Balcon Films scored by William Walton 1940s English-language films 1940s British films