''The High Command'' is a 1937 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 ...

directed by

Thorold Dickinson Thorold Barron Dickinson (16 November 1903 – 14 April 1984) was a British film director, screenwriter, film editor, film producer, and Britain's first university professor of film. Dickinson's work received much praise, with fellow directo ...

and starring

Lionel Atwill Lionel Alfred William Atwill (1 March 1885 – 22 April 1946) was an English stage and screen actor. He began his acting career at the Garrick Theatre. After coming to the U.S., he subsequently appeared in various Broadway plays and Hollywood f ...

Lucie Mannheim Lucie Mannheim (30 April 1899 – 17 July 1976) was a German singer and actress. Life and career Mannheim was born in Köpenick, Berlin, where she studied drama and quickly became a popular figure appearing on stage in plays and musicals. Among ...

and James Mason. It was shot at

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 ...

and on location on the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

. The film's sets were designed by the art director Holmes Paul. It is an adaptation of the 1936 novel ''The General Goes Too Far'' by Lewis Robinson.

Plot

This is the tale of an English officer who murders a man in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

for chivalrous reasons. Years later, he has risen to the rank of Major-General, and is stationed in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

. There, his old crime is discovered, and he allows himself to be murdered rather than involve his daughter in his own disgrace.Greene, Graham.
The Graham Greene Film Reader: Reviews, Essays, Interviews & Film Stories
', p. 208 (Hal Leonard Corporation, 1994).

Cast

as Maj. Gen. Sir John Sangye, VC *

as Diana Cloam * Steven Geray as Martin Cloam * James Mason as Capt. Heverell *

Leslie Perrins Leslie Perrins (7 October 1901 – 13 December 1962) was an English actor who often played villains. After training at RADA, he was on stage from 1922, and in his long career, appeared in well over 60 films. Hobbies Perrins and wife Violet w ...

as Maj. Carson *

Allan Jeayes Allan John Jeayes (19 January 1885 – 20 September 1963) was an English stage and film actor. Jeayes was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire, the son of Isaac Herbert Jeayes, archivist and Assistant Keeper of Manuscripts at the British Museum. ...

as H.E., the Governor *Michael Lambart as Lorne *

Kathleen Gibson Kathleen Gibson (born Kitty Stride, 1915-1974) was a British actress who developed her craft in repertory theatre. In 1932, Gibson played one of the friends of the character D'Recamier (Pearl Argyle) in the Frederick Ashton ballet "Magic Nights". ...

as Belinda * Tom Gill as Daunt *

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 Crawford *Archibald Batty as Capt. Coates (the prosecutor) * Henry Hewitt as Defence counsel *

Drusilla Wills Drusilla Wills (14 November 18846 August 1951) was a British stage and film actress. After making her stage debut in 1902, she played character roles in many films, including as a jury member in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Murder!'' (1930). Selected ...

as Miss Isabella Hobson Tuff *Cyril Howe as Julius Caesar (servant) *

Evan Thomas Evan Welling Thomas III (born April 25, 1951) is an American journalist, historian, and author. He is the author of nine books, including two ''New York Times'' bestsellers. Early life and career Thomas was born in Huntington, New York, and r ...

as Chief Justice *Aubrey Pollock as Judge Advocate *Deering Wells as Escort *

Philip Strange Philip Strange (4 June 1884 – 5 January 1963) was a British actor. Selected filmography * '' The Ace of Cads'' (1926) * ''Broadway Nights'' (1927) * ''Nevada'' (1927) * ''Wall Street'' (1929) * ''The Unholy Night'' (1929) * '' The Rescue'' (19 ...

as Maj. Challoner * Frank Atkinson as Corporal *

Skelton Knaggs Skelton Barnaby Knaggs (27 June 1911 – 30 April 1955) was an English stage actor who also appeared in films, especially in horror films. Biography Knaggs was born in the Hillsborough district of Sheffield, England. Knaggs moved to Lond ...

as Fazerack

Reception

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

'' wrote of this film: "Its avoidance of reality and its slowness make it a first-class soporific in this sultry weather." Despite the film's faults, the novelist and author

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

opined that the directing work by Thorold Dickinson made the film much better than it otherwise would have been. Greene also pointed out that Fanfare was a newly emerging British film company that was constrained by its budget, and that it still managed to use "lyric imagination" to produce memorable scenes well designed to portray the degree of "human crisis" especially at the climax when the General's secret is revealed. Greene described the "glib" review from The Sunday Times as "rather shocking" in light of the production's efforts with their financial limitations. (reprinted in: )

References

External links

*
''The High Command'' (1937)
at BFI Film Forever British drama films 1937 drama films 1937 films British black-and-white films Ealing Studios films Films based on British novels Films directed by Thorold Dickinson Films set in the British Empire Films set in Africa Films set in Ireland Films set in 1921 Films shot in Ghana Films shot in Nigeria 1930s English-language films 1930s British films {{1930s-UK-film-stub