Tomorrow We Live
Encyclopedia
Tomorrow We Live, also called At Dawn We Die, is a 1943
British film
, directed by George King
, and starring John Clements
, Godfrey Tearle
, Greta Gynt
, Hugh Sinclair
and Yvonne Arnaud
.
Tomorrow We Live was made during the Second World War, and the action is set in a small town in occupied France
. The film portrays the activities of members of the French Resistance
and the Nazi tactic of taking and shooting innocent hostages in reprisal for acts of sabotage. The opening credits acknowledge "the official co-operation of General de Gaulle and the French National Committee".
Dorothy Hope is credited with "original story", and the storyline bears a striking similarity to her other wartime film, Candlelight in Algeria
, in which an exceptionally strong heroine comes to the aid of a dashing fighter of tyranny.
, a major port and base of operations for the German Navy, particularly their U-boat
s, on the Atlantic coast. Baptiste tells a member of the French Resistance
that "I come from Saint-Nazaire. I've details of the submarine base, the docks and power plant. If I can get them to England..."
The first half of the film often has a lighthearted tone; the Germans are portrayed as bumbling and easily outwitted. The German commandant is overweight and gullible. However, after the Resistance successfully sabotage a German armaments train, the SS take charge of the town, and the occupation takes a brutal turn.
, an English composer who was much in demand as an arranger, orchestrator, and copyist of the music of others, notably Ralph Vaughan Williams
and William Walton
. However it is possible that Nicholas Brodszky actually contributed very little. In a memoir in the William Walton Archive, Roy Douglas claimed, "Brodsky was a so-called composer: I had actually composed entire film scores for him, which went under his name." In a letter to Roy Douglas dated 23 December, 1943, William Walton wrote, "I'm delighted about your picture. I'll have a good deal to tell you about Brodsky when I see you. In my capacity as music adviser to Two Cities [a film company] it is going to be my duty to have to tick him off!"
1943 in film
The year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
British film
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
, directed by George King
George King (film director)
George King was an English actors' agent, film director, producer and screenplay writer. He helmed several of Tod Slaughter's melodramas, including 1936's The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.-Career:...
, and starring John Clements
John Clements
Sir John Selby Clements, CBE was an English actor and producer who worked in theatre, television and film.Clements attended St Paul's School and St John's College, Cambridge University then worked with Nigel Playfair and afterwards spent a few years in Ben Greet's Shakespearean Company. He made...
, Godfrey Tearle
Godfrey Tearle
Sir Godfrey Seymour Tearle was a British actor who portrayed the quintessential Englishman on stage and in both English and US films.-Biography:...
, Greta Gynt
Greta Gynt
Greta Gynt , born Margrethe Woxholt, was a Norwegian singer, dancer and actress. -Biography:Greta Gynt was born Margrethe Woxholt in Oslo, Norway. As a child, she came with her parents to England and started dancing lessons at the age of 5. Eventually, they moved back to Norway...
, Hugh Sinclair
Hugh Sinclair
Admiral Sir Hugh Francis Paget Sinclair KCB , nicknamed "Quex", was a British intelligence officer. Between 1919 and 1921, he was Director of British Naval Intelligence, and helped to set up the Secret Intelligence Service before the Second World War.-Career:Sinclair joined the Royal Navy in the...
and Yvonne Arnaud
Yvonne Arnaud
Yvonne Arnaud was a French-born pianist, singer and actress.Germaine Yvonne Arnaud was born in 1892. She entered the Paris Conservatoire at age 9, studying piano under Alphonse Duvernoy and other teachers...
.
Tomorrow We Live was made during the Second World War, and the action is set in a small town in occupied France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The film portrays the activities of members of the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
and the Nazi tactic of taking and shooting innocent hostages in reprisal for acts of sabotage. The opening credits acknowledge "the official co-operation of General de Gaulle and the French National Committee".
Dorothy Hope is credited with "original story", and the storyline bears a striking similarity to her other wartime film, Candlelight in Algeria
Candlelight in Algeria
Candlelight in Algeria is a 1944 British war film directed by George King and starring James Mason, Carla Lehmann and Raymond Lovell....
, in which an exceptionally strong heroine comes to the aid of a dashing fighter of tyranny.
Plot
A young French idealist (John Clements), who gives his name as Jean Baptiste, arrives in "St Pierre-le-Port", a small town near Saint-NazaireSaint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire , is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.The town has a major harbour, on the right bank of the Loire River estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. The town is at the south of the second-largest swamp in France, called "la Brière"...
, a major port and base of operations for the German Navy, particularly their U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s, on the Atlantic coast. Baptiste tells a member of the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
that "I come from Saint-Nazaire. I've details of the submarine base, the docks and power plant. If I can get them to England..."
The first half of the film often has a lighthearted tone; the Germans are portrayed as bumbling and easily outwitted. The German commandant is overweight and gullible. However, after the Resistance successfully sabotage a German armaments train, the SS take charge of the town, and the occupation takes a brutal turn.
Cast
- John ClementsJohn ClementsSir John Selby Clements, CBE was an English actor and producer who worked in theatre, television and film.Clements attended St Paul's School and St John's College, Cambridge University then worked with Nigel Playfair and afterwards spent a few years in Ben Greet's Shakespearean Company. He made...
as Jean Baptiste - Godfrey TearleGodfrey TearleSir Godfrey Seymour Tearle was a British actor who portrayed the quintessential Englishman on stage and in both English and US films.-Biography:...
as Mayor Pierre DuSchen - Hugh SinclairHugh Sinclair (actor)Hugh Sinclair was a British actor born in London, England, the son of a clergyman. He was educated at Charterhouse School and a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. His first marriage was to the actress Valerie Taylor...
as Major von Kleist - Greta GyntGreta GyntGreta Gynt , born Margrethe Woxholt, was a Norwegian singer, dancer and actress. -Biography:Greta Gynt was born Margrethe Woxholt in Oslo, Norway. As a child, she came with her parents to England and started dancing lessons at the age of 5. Eventually, they moved back to Norway...
as Marie DuSchen - Judy Kelley as Germaine Bertan
- Yvonne ArnaudYvonne ArnaudYvonne Arnaud was a French-born pianist, singer and actress.Germaine Yvonne Arnaud was born in 1892. She entered the Paris Conservatoire at age 9, studying piano under Alphonse Duvernoy and other teachers...
as Madame L. Labouche - Karel StepanekKarel ŠtěpánekKarel Štěpánek was a Czech actor who spent many years in Austria and generally played German roles onscreen. In 1940 he fled to Britain and spent much of the rest of his career acting there.-Selected filmography:...
as Seitz - Bransby WilliamsBransby WilliamsBransby Williams was a British actor, comedian and monologist. He became known as "The Irving of the Music Halls".-Early years:...
as Matthieu - Fritz Wendhausen as Commandant Frissette (as F.R. Wendhausen)
- Allan JeayesAllan JeayesAllan Jeayes was a British stage and movie actor.He starred as Howard Joyce in the original 1927 Broadway production of The Letter and played Sir Lawrence Wargarve in the 1943 London production of And Then There Were None.Jeayes made his film debut in the 1918 Nelson as Sir William Hamilton...
as Pogo - Gabrielle BruneGabrielle Brune-Selected filmography:* He Found a Star * Tomorrow We Live * A Run for Your Money * Mandy * The Wedding of Lilli Marlene * The Titfield Thunderbolt * Three Steps to the Gallows...
as Madame Frissette - Margaret YardeMargaret Yarde-Selected filmography:* Michael and Mary * The Man from Toronto * Matinee Idol * Tiger Bay * Widow's Might * It Happened in Paris * Scrooge * Queen of Hearts...
as Fauntel - David KeirDavid Keir-Selected filmography:* The Howard Case * The Arsenal Stadium Mystery * The Ghost of St. Michael's * Salute John Citizen * Let the People Sing * Meet Sexton Blake...
as Jacquier - Anthony HollesAnthony Holles (actor)-Selected filmography:* The Missing Rembrandt * The Midshipmaid * The Star Reporter *Loyalties * Britannia of Billingsgate * Brewster's Millions * This'll Make You Whistle...
as Stationmaster - Olaf Olsen as Sergeant Major
Music
Nicholas Brodszky is credited with the music for Tomorrow We Live, while the orchestration is credited to Roy DouglasRoy Douglas
Roy Douglas is a British composer and arranger. He worked with Ralph Vaughan Williams and Richard Addinsell.-Works as composer:*Oboe quartet [1932]...
, an English composer who was much in demand as an arranger, orchestrator, and copyist of the music of others, notably Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
and William Walton
William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...
. However it is possible that Nicholas Brodszky actually contributed very little. In a memoir in the William Walton Archive, Roy Douglas claimed, "Brodsky was a so-called composer: I had actually composed entire film scores for him, which went under his name." In a letter to Roy Douglas dated 23 December, 1943, William Walton wrote, "I'm delighted about your picture. I'll have a good deal to tell you about Brodsky when I see you. In my capacity as music adviser to Two Cities [a film company] it is going to be my duty to have to tick him off!"