News from the Front
Encyclopedia
News from the Front is the second episode of the fourth series of the period drama
Upstairs, Downstairs
. It first aired on 21 September 1974 on ITV
.
, was the son of director
Derek Bennett. The plot has some similarity to the Shell Crisis of 1915
in which the Liberal Government was brought down because it was widely perceived that the production of artillery shells
for use by the British Army
was inadequate, with the story being reported in The Times
.
on leave following the Second Battle of Ypres
. On his first night home, he has dinner with Richard, Hazel, Sir Geoffrey Dillon and General Nesfield. During the evening, he talks about the incompetent running of the war, saying the Army is "being squandered by a lot of amateurs who don't know their job". Sir Geoffrey, who is the lawyer for newspaper baron Lord Northcliffe
, wants to use James' comments to bring down Asquith's
Liberal Government
, and days later a report of James' account is published in The Daily Mail
, which is owned by Lord Northcliffe. While the account does not name James, his commanding officer, Colonel Buchanan, soon works out it can only have been him, and he is transferred, against his wishes, to the post of General Staff Officer
, miles behind the front line. James is furious with the decision, but there is nothing he can do to stop it.
Meanwhile, downstairs, Edward, now Private Barnes, comes back to Eaton Place for the weekend after training on Salisbury Plain
. He proposes to Daisy while in a picture palace
, and she says yes. The night before he goes back to camp, they make love for the first time, after both admitting they are still virgins
.
.
Period piece
-Setting:In the performing arts, a period piece is a work set in a particular era. This informal term covers all countries, all periods and all genres...
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a...
. It first aired on 21 September 1974 on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
.
Background
News from the Front had the working title of Straight from the Horse's Mouth and it was recorded on 18 and 19 April 1974, with the location work being filmed on 8 April 1974. Miles Bennett, who made a brief appearance as a telegraph boyTelegraphy
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages via some form of signalling technology. Telegraphy requires messages to be converted to a code which is known to both sender and receiver...
, was the son of director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
Derek Bennett. The plot has some similarity to the Shell Crisis of 1915
Shell Crisis of 1915
The Shell Crisis of 1915 was a shortage of artillery shells on the front lines of World War I, which largely contributed to weakening public appreciation of government of the United Kingdom because it was widely perceived that the production of artillery shells for use by the British Army was...
in which the Liberal Government was brought down because it was widely perceived that the production of artillery shells
Shell (projectile)
A shell is a payload-carrying projectile, which, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot . Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used...
for use by the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
was inadequate, with the story being reported in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
.
Cast
- Angela BaddeleyAngela BaddeleyAngela Baddeley, CBE , born Madeline Angela Clinton-Baddeley, was an English actress best remembered for her role as Mrs Bridges in the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs...
- Mrs Bridges - Gordon JacksonGordon Jackson (actor)Gordon Cameron Jackson, OBE was a Scottish Emmy Award-winning actor best remembered for his roles as the butler Angus Hudson in Upstairs, Downstairs and George Cowley, the head of CI5, in The Professionals....
- HudsonAngus HudsonAngus Hudson was a fictional character in the ITV drama Upstairs, Downstairs, portrayed by actor Gordon Jackson from 1971 until 1975.-Biography:... - Meg Wynn OwenMeg Wynn OwenMeg Wynn Owen is a Welsh actress, who is best known for her role as Hazel Bellamy, née Forrest, in the television series Upstairs, Downstairs....
- Hazel Bellamy - Simon WilliamsSimon Williams (actor)Simon Williams is an English actor known for playing James Bellamy in the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs. Frequently playing upper-class roles, he is also known for playing Dr...
- James BellamyJames BellamyMajor The Honourable James Rupert Bellamy MC is a fictional character in the ITV period drama Upstairs, Downstairs, that was originally broadcast for five series from 1971 to 1975... - David LangtonDavid LangtonDavid Muir Langton was a British actor who is best remembered for playing Richard Bellamy in the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs.-Early years:...
- Richard Bellamy - Raymond HuntleyRaymond HuntleyRaymond Huntley was an English actor who appeared in dozens of British films from the 1930s through to the 1970s...
- Sir Geoffrey Dillon - Christopher BeenyChristopher BeenyBorn in London, Beeny began his career at the age of six when he danced for the ' Ballet Rambert. He spent several years at the ' Arts Educational School before later progressing to 'RADA.His first screen role was in the 1952 film The Long Memory...
- Edward - Jacqueline TongJacqueline TongJacqueline Tong is an English actress who is best known for playing Daisy Barnes in the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs from 1973 to 1975. In 1975, she was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in the Primetime Emmy Awards.-Early life:Tong was born in Bristol,...
- Daisy - Jenny TomasinJenny TomasinJenny Tomasin is an English actress best known for her roles in Upstairs, Downstairs and Emmerdale.-Career:Tomasin became well known in the early 1970s when she joined the cast of Upstairs, Downstairs as kitchen maid Ruby. She stayed with the series until the end in 1975, appearing in 41 episodes...
- Ruby - Barrie Cookson - Colonel Buchanan
- Edward UnderdownEdward UnderdownEdward Underdown was an english theatre, cinema and television actor. He was born in London.Early theatre credits include: Words and Music, Nymph Errant, Stop Press and Streamline ....
- General Nesfield - Miles Bennett - The Telegraph Boy
- Ena BagaEna BagaEna Baga was a British pianist and theatre organist. She is best known for improvising accompaniments to silent films, both in the 1920s and during the revival of interest in silent films that began in the 1970s....
- Kinema Pianist
Plot
News from the Front is set in April 1915. Hazel receives a telegram, something which everyone dreads as it usually brings bad news. However, it merely says that James is coming home from the Western FrontWestern 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...
on leave following the Second Battle of Ypres
Second Battle of Ypres
The Second Battle of Ypres was the first time Germany used poison gas on a large scale on the Western Front in the First World War and the first time a former colonial force pushed back a major European power on European soil, which occurred in the battle of St...
. On his first night home, he has dinner with Richard, Hazel, Sir Geoffrey Dillon and General Nesfield. During the evening, he talks about the incompetent running of the war, saying the Army is "being squandered by a lot of amateurs who don't know their job". Sir Geoffrey, who is the lawyer for newspaper baron Lord Northcliffe
Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe
Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe rose from childhood poverty to become a powerful British newspaper and publishing magnate, famed for buying stolid, unprofitable newspapers and transforming them to make them lively and entertaining for the mass market.His company...
, wants to use James' comments to bring down Asquith's
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC, KC served as the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916...
Liberal Government
Liberal Government 1905-1915
With the fall of Arthur Balfour's Conservative government in the United Kingdom in December 1905, the Liberals under Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman were called in to form a government. In the subsequent election, the Liberals won an enormous majority...
, and days later a report of James' account is published in The Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, which is owned by Lord Northcliffe. While the account does not name James, his commanding officer, Colonel Buchanan, soon works out it can only have been him, and he is transferred, against his wishes, to the post of General Staff Officer
General Staff
A military staff, often referred to as General Staff, Army Staff, Navy Staff or Air Staff within the individual services, is a group of officers and enlisted personnel that provides a bi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer and subordinate military units...
, miles behind the front line. James is furious with the decision, but there is nothing he can do to stop it.
Meanwhile, downstairs, Edward, now Private Barnes, comes back to Eaton Place for the weekend after training on Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in central southern England covering . It is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, with a little in Hampshire. The plain is famous for its rich archaeology, including Stonehenge, one of England's best known...
. He proposes to Daisy while in a picture palace
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
, and she says yes. The night before he goes back to camp, they make love for the first time, after both admitting they are still virgins
Virginity
Virginity refers to the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. There are cultural and religious traditions which place special value and significance on this state, especially in the case of unmarried females, associated with notions of personal purity, honor and worth...
.
Reception
News from the Front was reviewed in The Daily Mail by Shaun Usher, who called the programme "distinguished" and said how John Hawkesworth "takes pains to show what it was like to live half a century ago". However, Usher would later go on to be critical of Upstairs, Downstairs after the episode Missing Believed KilledMissing Believed Killed
Missing Believed Killed is the eleventh episode of the fourth series of the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs. It first aired on 23 November 1974 on ITV.-Background:...
.