''The Years Between'' (1946) is a British film directed by

Compton Bennett Herbert William Compton Bennett (15 January 1900 – 11 August 1974), better known as Compton Bennett, was an England, English film director, writer and producer. He is perhaps best known for directing the 1945 film ''The Seventh Veil'' and the ...

and starring

Michael Redgrave Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Mourning Becomes Elect ...

Valerie Hobson Babette Louisa Valerie Hobson (14 April 1917 – 13 November 1998) was a British actress whose film career spanned the 1930s to the early 1950s. Her second husband was John Profumo, a British government minister who became the subject of the Pro ...

and

Flora Robson Dame Flora McKenzie Robson (28 March 19027 July 1984) was an English actress and star of the theatrical stage and cinema, particularly renowned for her performances in plays demanding dramatic and emotional intensity. Her range extended from q ...

in an adaptation of the 1945 play '' The Years Between'' by

Daphne du Maurier Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather was Geor ...

. It was shot at the

Riverside Studios Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production. Having closed for redevelopment in ...

Plot

Diana Wentworth is told her husband, Michael, a British

MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

officer, who had been working with the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

is dead, killed by the nazis in France during the

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 ...

. She struggles to accept this but is helped by the family nanny (

). The nanny encourages her to stand for parliament in her late husband's seat and is supported by Sir Ernest Foster. She lives in rural middle England on a large country estate, where her husband had supported local interests. She decides she can fill several of his roles. Not everyone supports a female in this capacity. She is pursued by a neighbouring landowner, Richard Llewelyn, who, during a V-1 attack, kisses her and proposes. At the end of the war, as PoW camps are liberated, Michael Wentworth is rediscovered. Sir Ernest phones Diana to inform her and she has to shelve her plans with Richard. She is about to marry again, and has become an MP, and all must now readjust to the new situation. Back home, Michael is somewhat estranged from his son Rodney ("Robin"). He finds his wardrobe empty: passed to charity. Diana has to explain to Richard that she loves him but must stay with Michael. Michael is particularly shocked to find she is an MP and is effectively doing his job. He asks her to stop and let him have his role back. He wants to turn back time. He eventually finds out about Richard but is less concerned about this than gaining his seat back in the House of Commons. They decide to split and Nanny tries to arbitrate. Ultimately she returns to Michael in both heart and mind. The film ends with them both in the House of Commons.

Cast

as Col. Michael Wentworth *

as Diana Wentworth *

as Nanny *

James McKechnie James McKechnie VC (June 1826 – 5 July 1886) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Details H ...

as Richard Llewellyn *

Felix Aylmer Sir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones, OBE (21 February 1889 – 2 September 1979) was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television. Aylmer made appearances in films with comedians such as Will Hay and George Formby. Early ...

as Sir Ernest Foster *

Dulcie Gray Dulcie Winifred Catherine Savage Denison, (''née'' Bailey; 20 November 1915 – 15 November 2011), known professionally as Dulcie Gray, was a British actress, mystery writer and lepidopterist. While at drama school in the late 1930s she met ...

as Judy *

John Gilpin John Gilpin (18th century) was featured as the subject in a well-known comic ballad of 1782 by William Cowper, entitled '' The Diverting History of John Gilpin''. Cowper had heard the story from his friend Lady Austen. Gilpin was said to be ...

as Robin Wentworth *

Edward Rigby Edward Coke MC (5 February 1879 – 5 April 1951), known professionally as Edward Rigby, was a British character actor. Early life Rigby was born at Ashford, Kent, England, the second son of Dr William Harriott Coke and his wife, Mary Elizab ...

as Postman *

Esma Cannon Esma Ellen Charlotte Littmann (née Cannon) (27 December 1905 – 18 October 1972), credited as Esme or Esma Cannon, was a diminutive () Australian-born character actress and comedian, who moved to Britain in the early 1930s. Although she freque ...

as Effie *

Lyn Evans Lyn Evans CBE (born Lyndon Rees Evans in 1945), is a Welsh scientist who served as the project leader of the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. Based at CERN, in 2012 he became the director of the Linear Collider Collaboration, an internatio ...

as Ames *

Wylie Watson Wylie Watson (6 February 1889 – 3 May 1966) (born John Wylie Robertson) was a British actor. Among his best-known roles were those of "Mr Memory", an amazing man who commits "50 new facts to his memory every day" in Alfred Hitchcock's film ' ...

as Venning *

Yvonne Owen Maire Yvonne Owen (28 July 1923 – December 1990) was a British stage and film actress. Life and career Born in London in 1923, she was married to Alan Badel for 40 years; they had a daughter Sarah. In 1946 she appeared in the West End melo ...

as Alice *

Muriel Aked Muriel Aked (9 November 1883 – 21 March 1955) was an English film actress. Early life, family and education Aked was born in Bingley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England to George Henry Aked and his wife Emma (née Bairstow). She was a student ...

as Mrs. May *

Joss Ambler Joss Ambler (23 June 1900 – 1959) was an Australian-born British film and television actor. He usually played somewhat pompous and irascible figures of authority, particularly in comedy films. He was an effective foil to George Formby in both ...

as Atherton *

Ernest Butcher Edward Ernest Butcher (7 April 1885 – 8 June 1965) was a British actor, on stage from 1935, and with many film and TV appearances. He was the second husband of the actress Muriel George, and stepfather to her son, the critic John Davenpor ...

as Old Man * Katie Johnson as Old Man's wife

Release

According to trade papers, the film was a "notable box office attraction" at British cinemas.

Critical reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote, "an intimate and sometimes touching tale...Intelligently handled by

who directed the drama with an eye toward distilling character and perception from his cast...But it is rather unfortunate that the cast's intense and genuine portrayals are not matched by the over-all effect of this serious but heavy vehicle." It was the 22nd most popular film at the British box office in 1946 after ''

The Wicked Lady ''The Wicked Lady'' is a 1945 British costume drama film directed by Leslie Arliss and starring Margaret Lockwood in the title role as a nobleman's wife who becomes a highwayman for the excitement. The film had one of the top audiences for a f ...

'', ''

The Bells of St. Mary's ''The Bells of St. Mary's'' (1945) is an American musical comedy-drama film, produced and directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman. Written by Dudley Nichols and based on a story by McCarey, the film is about a priest ...

'', ''

Piccadilly Incident ''Piccadilly Incident'' is a 1946 British drama film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding, Coral Browne, Edward Rigby and Leslie Dwyer. Wilcox teamed his wife Anna Neagle with Michael Wilding for the first time, e ...

'', ''

The Captive Heart ''The Captive Heart'' is a 1946 British war drama, directed by Basil Dearden and starring Michael Redgrave. It is about a Czechoslovak Army officer who is captured in the Fall of France and spends five years as a prisoner of war, during which ...

'', ''

Road to Utopia ''Road to Utopia'' is a 1946 American semi-musical comedy film directed by Hal Walker and starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour. Filmed in 1943 but not released until 1946, ''Road to Utopia'' is the fourth film of the "''Road to …' ...

'', ''

Caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...

'', ''

Anchors Aweigh "Anchors Aweigh" is the fight song of the United States Naval Academy and unofficial march song of the United States Navy. It was composed in 1906 by Charles A. Zimmermann with lyrics by Alfred Hart Miles. When he composed "Anchors Aweigh", Zim ...

'', ''

The Corn Is Green ''The Corn Is Green'' is a 1938 semi-autobiographical play by Welsh dramatist and actor Emlyn Williams. The play premiered in London at the Duchess Theatre in September 1938; with Sybil Thorndike as Miss Moffat and Williams himself portraying Mo ...

'', ''

Gilda ''Gilda'' is a 1946 American film noir directed by Charles Vidor and starring Rita Hayworth in her signature role and Glenn Ford. The film is known for cinematographer Rudolph Maté's lush photography, costume designer Jean Louis's wardrobe fo ...

'', ''

The House on 92nd Street ''The House on 92nd Street'' is a 1945 black-and-white American spy film directed by Henry Hathaway. The movie, shot mostly in New York City, was released shortly after the end of World War II. ''The House on 92nd Street'' was made with the full c ...

'', '' The Overlanders'', ''

Appointment with Crime ''Appointment with Crime'' is a 1946 British crime film directed by John Harlow and starring William Hartnell, Raymond Lovell, Joyce Howard and Robert Beatty. Plot Leo Martin (Hartnell) works for a criminal gang run by Gus Loman (Lovell) tha ...

'', ''

The Bandit of Sherwood Forest ''The Bandit of Sherwood Forest'' is a 1946 American Technicolor adventure film directed by Henry Levin & George Sherman and starring Cornel Wilde, Anita Louise, Jill Esmond and Edgar Buchanan. Plot Robin Hood's son (Cornel Wilde) returns to ...

'', '' Kitty'', '' Spellbound'', ''

Scarlet Street ''Scarlet Street'' is a 1945 American film noir directed by Fritz Lang. The screenplay concerns two criminals who take advantage of a middle-aged painter in order to steal his artwork. The film is based on the French novel ''La Chienne'' (literal ...

'', ''

Men of Two Worlds ''Men of Two Worlds'' is a 1946 British Technicolor drama film directed by Thorold Dickinson and starring Robert Adams, Eric Portman and Phyllis Calvert. The screenplay concerns an African music student who returns home to battle a witch doctor ...

'', ''

Courage of Lassie ''Courage of Lassie'' is a 1946 Technicolor MGM feature film starring Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Morgan, and dog actor Pal in a story about a collie named Bill and his young companion, Kathie Merrick. When Bill is separated from Kathie following a v ...

'', ''

Mildred Pierce ''Mildred Pierce'' is a psychological drama by James M. Cain published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1941. A story of “social inequity and opportunity in America" set during the Great Depression, ''Mildred Pierce'' follows the trajectory of a lower- ...

'', '' The Spiral Staircase'' and ''

Brief Encounter ''Brief Encounter'' is a 1945 British romantic drama film directed by David Lean from a screenplay by Noël Coward, based on his 1936 one-act play ''Still Life''. Starring Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, and Joyce Carey, ...

''.

References

External links

*
Review of film
at ''Variety'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Years Between, The 1946 films 1946 drama films Films based on works by Daphne du Maurier British films based on plays Films directed by Compton Bennett British drama films Films with screenplays by Sydney Box Films produced by Sydney Box Films with screenplays by Muriel Box Films produced by Betty Box Films scored by Benjamin Frankel British black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films