Blighty (film)
Encyclopedia
Blighty is a 1927 British World War I silent film
melodrama, directed by Adrian Brunel
and starring Ellaline Terriss
, Lillian Hall-Davis
and Jameson Thomas
. The film was a Gainsborough Pictures
production with screenplay by Eliot Stannard
from a story by Ivor Montagu
.
. He had spent the intervening years making a series of satirical burlesque short films, the first few of which had impressed Michael Balcon
who offered him the opportunity to produce and distribute further examples through Gainsborough. In 1926 Balcon gave Brunel the chance to direct a full-length feature for Gainsborough and Blighty was the result. Although Brunel was initially said to be in two minds about directing a "war film" as he did not care for the genre on moral or aesthetic grounds, he agreed to go ahead with the proviso that there would be no material directly depicting the conflict, nor any appeal to jingoistic sentiment.
) and daughter Ann (Lillian Hall-Davis
) watch son of the household Robin {Godfrey Winn
) and family chauffeur David Marshall (Jameson Thomas
) go off to fight. David does well in the army and is quickly promoted through the ranks, while Robin falls in love with and marries a local girl. Robin is killed in action on the Western Front
, leaving his bride a young widow with a baby.
When David returns periodically to England on leave, he and Ann fall in love. Meanwhile Robin's wife (Nadia Sibirskaïa) finds her way as a refugee to England to seek out the Villiers and introduce them to their grandchild. Following the declaration of the Armistice with Germany, the romance between David and Ann has to conquer entrenched class-based attitudes, while Robin's wife at first feels overwhelmed and out-of-place in the Villiers household. Problems are eventually overcome, and the Villiers' welcome David and their daughter-in-law and grandchild into the family.
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
melodrama, directed by Adrian Brunel
Adrian Brunel
Adrian Brunel was an English film director and screenwriter. Brunel's directorial career started in the silent era, and reached its peak in the latter half of the 1920s...
and starring Ellaline Terriss
Ellaline Terriss
Ellaline Terriss, born Ellaline Lewin , was a popular English actress and singer, best known for her performances in Edwardian musical comedies...
, Lillian Hall-Davis
Lillian Hall-Davis
Lillian Hall-Davis was a British actress during the silent era.The daughter of a London taxi driver, her films included a part-color version of I Pagliacci , The Passionate Adventure , Quo Vadis , Blighty , The Ring and The Farmer's Wife , the latter two both directed by Alfred Hitchcock...
and Jameson Thomas
Jameson Thomas
Jameson Thomas was an English film actor. He appeared in 82 films between 1923 and 1939.He was born in London and died in Sierra Madre, California, it is said from Tuberculosis....
. The film was a Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, London. Gainsborough Studios were active between 1924 and 1951. Built as a power station for the Great Northern & City Railway it...
production with screenplay by Eliot Stannard
Eliot Stannard
Eliot Stannard , was an English screenwriter. He wrote for 147 films between 1914 and 1933, including eight films directed by Alfred Hitchcock.-Selected filmography:* Hindle Wakes * Build Thy House...
from a story by Ivor Montagu
Ivor Montagu
The Honorable Ivor Goldsmid Samuel Montagu was a British filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, film critic, writer, table tennis player and apparent Soviet spy...
.
Background
Blighty was Brunel's second feature-length directorial assignment, four years after The Man Without DesireThe Man Without Desire
The Man Without Desire is a 1923 British silent film fantasy drama, directed by Adrian Brunel and starring Ivor Novello, who also co-produced the film along with Miles Mander. The film was Brunel's feature-length directorial debut and has been described as "one of the stranger films to emerge from...
. He had spent the intervening years making a series of satirical burlesque short films, the first few of which had impressed Michael Balcon
Michael Balcon
Sir Michael Elias Balcon was an English film producer, known for his work with Ealing Studios.-Background:...
who offered him the opportunity to produce and distribute further examples through Gainsborough. In 1926 Balcon gave Brunel the chance to direct a full-length feature for Gainsborough and Blighty was the result. Although Brunel was initially said to be in two minds about directing a "war film" as he did not care for the genre on moral or aesthetic grounds, he agreed to go ahead with the proviso that there would be no material directly depicting the conflict, nor any appeal to jingoistic sentiment.
Plot
With the outbreak of World War I, Sir Francis and Lady Villiers (Annesley Healey and Ellaline TerrissEllaline Terriss
Ellaline Terriss, born Ellaline Lewin , was a popular English actress and singer, best known for her performances in Edwardian musical comedies...
) and daughter Ann (Lillian Hall-Davis
Lillian Hall-Davis
Lillian Hall-Davis was a British actress during the silent era.The daughter of a London taxi driver, her films included a part-color version of I Pagliacci , The Passionate Adventure , Quo Vadis , Blighty , The Ring and The Farmer's Wife , the latter two both directed by Alfred Hitchcock...
) watch son of the household Robin {Godfrey Winn
Godfrey Winn
Godfrey Herbert Winn was a British journalist known as a columnist, and also a writer and actor.Born in Birmingham, England, he went to King Edward's School, Birmingham. His career as a theatre actor began as a boy actor at the Haymarket Theatre and appeared in many plays and films...
) and family chauffeur David Marshall (Jameson Thomas
Jameson Thomas
Jameson Thomas was an English film actor. He appeared in 82 films between 1923 and 1939.He was born in London and died in Sierra Madre, California, it is said from Tuberculosis....
) go off to fight. David does well in the army and is quickly promoted through the ranks, while Robin falls in love with and marries a local girl. Robin is killed in action on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
, leaving his bride a young widow with a baby.
When David returns periodically to England on leave, he and Ann fall in love. Meanwhile Robin's wife (Nadia Sibirskaïa) finds her way as a refugee to England to seek out the Villiers and introduce them to their grandchild. Following the declaration of the Armistice with Germany, the romance between David and Ann has to conquer entrenched class-based attitudes, while Robin's wife at first feels overwhelmed and out-of-place in the Villiers household. Problems are eventually overcome, and the Villiers' welcome David and their daughter-in-law and grandchild into the family.
Cast
- Ellaline TerrissEllaline TerrissEllaline Terriss, born Ellaline Lewin , was a popular English actress and singer, best known for her performances in Edwardian musical comedies...
as Lady Villiers - Lillian Hall-DavisLillian Hall-DavisLillian Hall-Davis was a British actress during the silent era.The daughter of a London taxi driver, her films included a part-color version of I Pagliacci , The Passionate Adventure , Quo Vadis , Blighty , The Ring and The Farmer's Wife , the latter two both directed by Alfred Hitchcock...
as Ann Villiers - Jameson ThomasJameson ThomasJameson Thomas was an English film actor. He appeared in 82 films between 1923 and 1939.He was born in London and died in Sierra Madre, California, it is said from Tuberculosis....
as David Marshall - Godfrey WinnGodfrey WinnGodfrey Herbert Winn was a British journalist known as a columnist, and also a writer and actor.Born in Birmingham, England, he went to King Edward's School, Birmingham. His career as a theatre actor began as a boy actor at the Haymarket Theatre and appeared in many plays and films...
as Robin Villiers - Nadia Sibirskaïa as The Little Refugee
- Annesley Healey as Sir Francis Villiers
- Wally PatchWally PatchWally Patch was a British character actor, who had supporting roles in many films. He was born Walter Sidney Vinnicombe in Willesden, London on 26 September 1888...
as Drill Sergeant - Dino Galvani as Poilou
- Renée HoustonRenee HoustonRenée Houston was a Scottish comedy actor and revue artist who appeared in television and film roles.Born in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, as Katherina Houston Gibbin, she toured music halls and revue with her sister Billie Houston as the Houston Sisters.In 1926, the sisters made a short musical film,...
as Typist - Billie Houston as Typist