''The Guns of Loos'' is a 1928 British silent

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 ...

directed by

Sinclair Hill Sinclair Hill (10 June 1896 – 6 March 1945) was a British film director, film producer, producer and screenwriter. He directed nearly fifty films between 1920 and 1939. He was born as George Sinclair-Hill in London in 1894. He was awarded an OB ...

and starring

Henry Victor Henry Victor (2 October 1892 – 15 March 1945) was an English-born character actor who had his highest profile in the film silent era, he appeared in numerous film roles in Britain, before emigrating to the US in 1939 where he continued ...

Madeleine Carroll Edith Madeleine Carroll (26 February 1906 – 2 October 1987) was an English actress, popular both in Britain and America in the 1930s and 1940s. At the peak of her success in 1938, she was the world's highest-paid actress. Carroll is rememb ...

, and

Bobby Howes Bobby Howes (4 August 1895 – 27 April 1972) was a British entertainer who was a leading musical comedy performer in London's West End theatres in the 1930s and 1940s. Biography Born in Battersea, Surrey, his parents were Robert William H ...

Plot

A blind veteran of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

returns home to run his family's industrial empire.

Cast

as John Grimlaw *

as Diana Cheswick *

as Danny *

Hermione Baddeley Hermione Youlanda Ruby Clinton-Baddeley (13 November 1906 – 19 August 1986) was an English actress of theatre, film and television. She typically played brash, vulgar characters, often referred to as "brassy" or "blowsy".Folkart, Burt, "Noted ...

as Mavis * Donald Macardle as Clive *

Adeline Hayden Coffin Adeline Maria Elisabeth Hayden Coffin (née de Leuw; 20 June 1862 – 31 March 1939) was a German-born British actress. In an advertisement for her professional availability in 1921 she described herself, or was described by her agent, as suita ...

as Lady Cheswick * Jeanne le Vaye as Arlette *

Philip Hewland Philip Hewland (12 December 1876, Gravesend, Kent, England – 1953, Ealing, London) was a British actor. He had one son Ivor and a granddaughter Domini. Selected filmography * '' The Christian'' (1915) * '' His Daughter's Dilemma'' (1916) * ''Ar ...

as Stevens * Frank Goldsmith as Colonel Jameson *

Tom Coventry Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

as Tubby *

William Freshman William Freshman (1 November 1902, in Sydney, Australia – 1980 in London, England) was an Australian-born actor, scriptwriter and director. He moved to England as a child and worked in the British film industry, writing over 20 screenplays an ...

as Officer *

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 *

Daniel Laidlaw Daniel Logan Laidlaw VC (26 July 1875 – 2 June 1950), nicknamed "The Piper of Loos", was a Scottish soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awar ...

VC as Himself

Production background

Carroll was selected for the role from 150 applicants to play her role. It was her first film role and helped launch her career. Daniel Laidlaw, an army piper who won the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

while rallying his company at the 1915

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas and the first mass engagement of New Army units. Th ...

, plays himself.

Score

In 2011, sheet music for

Richard Howgill Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

's score, meant to be performed live as the film was projected, was rediscovered in

Birmingham Central Library Birmingham Central Library was the main public library in Birmingham, England, from 1974 until 2013, replacing a library opened in 1865 and rebuilt in 1882. For a time the largest non-national library in Europe, it closed on 29 June 2013 and was ...

Notes

References

* Kelly, Andrew (1998). ''Filming All Quiet on the Western Front''. I.B. Tauris & Co. * Wise, James E. Jr.; Baron, Scott (2002). ''International Stars at War''. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. .

External links

* 1928 films British war films British silent feature films Stoll Pictures films 1920s English-language films Films directed by Sinclair Hill Films set in the 1910s Films set in England British World War I films British black-and-white films 1928 war films Silent war films 1920s British films {{WWI-film-stub