Two Thousand Women
Encyclopedia
Two Thousand Women is a 1944
British comedy-drama
war film
about a camp of interned British women in Occupied France. Three RAF aircrew
men whose bomber had been shot down enter the camp and are hidden by the women from the Germans. It was released in the USA in 1951 in a severely cut-down version under the title of House of 1,000 Women.
) is arrested by the French as a fifth column
ist during the 1940 Battle of France
. While she is imprisoned the Germans occupy France and she is sent (without her habit) to an internment camp in a grand hotel
at a spa. She journeys to the camp with Freda (a journalist
played by Phyllis Calvert
), Bridie (a stripper
played by Jean Kent
), Muriel (Flora Robson
) and her female companion Miss Meredith (Muriel Aked
). At the camp they meet Maud (Renee Houston
) and Mrs Burtshaw (Thora Hird
).
The women soon settle into a routine that seems to consist of cleaning the corridors and playing cards.
However, during an air raid
an RAF bomber is shot down and two RAF (James McKechnie and Reginald Purdell
) and one RCAF (Robert Arden
) aircrewmen escape the Germans by entering the hotel. The women hide the airmen and devise a plan for the men to escape during a concert. In the meantime, one of the internees is revealed to be a Nazi spy.
, the film was released in the USA in 1951 in a severely cut-down version under the title of House of 1,000 Women. The American version of the film available on DVD ignores Patricia Roc's adventures as well as several subplots and starts the film with the transport to the internment hotel.
1944 in film
The year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.-Events:*July 20 - Since You Went Away is released....
British comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
about a camp of interned British women in Occupied France. Three RAF aircrew
Aircrew
Aircrew are the personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of the crew depends on the type of aircraft as well as the purpose of the flight.-Civilian:*Aviator** Pilot-in-command** First officer** Second officer** Third officer...
men whose bomber had been shot down enter the camp and are hidden by the women from the Germans. It was released in the USA in 1951 in a severely cut-down version under the title of House of 1,000 Women.
Plot
An English novice nun (Patricia RocPatricia Roc
Patricia Roc , born Felicia Miriam Ursula Herold, was a British film actress, popular in the Gainsborough melodramas such as Madonna of the Seven Moons and The Wicked Lady , though she only made one film in Hollywood, Canyon Passage...
) is arrested by the French as a fifth column
Fifth column
A fifth column is a group of people who clandestinely undermine a larger group such as a nation from within.-Origin:The term originated with a 1936 radio address by Emilio Mola, a Nationalist General during the 1936–39 Spanish Civil War...
ist during the 1940 Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
. While she is imprisoned the Germans occupy France and she is sent (without her habit) to an internment camp in a grand hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
at a spa. She journeys to the camp with Freda (a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
played by Phyllis Calvert
Phyllis Calvert
Phyllis Calvert was an English film, stage and television actress. She was one of the leading stars of the Gainsborough melodramas of the 1940s....
), Bridie (a stripper
Stripper
A stripper is a professional erotic dancer who performs a contemporary form of striptease at strip club establishments, public exhibitions, and private engagements. Unlike in burlesque, the performer in the modern Americanized form of stripping minimizes the interaction of customer and dancer,...
played by Jean Kent
Jean Kent
Jean Kent is a British film actress who appeared in a number of the Gainsborough melodramas of the 1940s.-Biography:Jean Kent was born in Brixton, London as Joan Mildred Summerfield. She started her theatrical career as a dancer in 1931. Initially, she used the stage name of Jean Carr when she...
), Muriel (Flora Robson
Flora Robson
Dame Flora McKenzie Robson DBE was an English actress, renowned as a character actress, who played roles ranging from queens to villainesses.-Early life:...
) and her female companion Miss Meredith (Muriel Aked
Muriel Aked
Muriel Aked was a British film actress. She was a student at Liverpool Repertory Theatre for six months but left to do war work. She made her screen debut in 1920 in A Sister to Assist 'Er...
). At the camp they meet Maud (Renee Houston
Renee Houston
Renée 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,...
) and Mrs Burtshaw (Thora Hird
Thora Hird
Dame Thora Hird DBE was an English actress.-Early life and career:Hird was born in the Lancashire seaside town of Morecambe. She first appeared on stage at the age of two months in a play her father was managing...
).
The women soon settle into a routine that seems to consist of cleaning the corridors and playing cards.
However, during an air raid
Strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability and public will to wage war rather than destroying its land or naval forces...
an RAF bomber is shot down and two RAF (James McKechnie and Reginald Purdell
Reginald Purdell
Reginald Purdell was an English actor and screenwriter who appeared in over 40 films between 1930 and 1951...
) and one RCAF (Robert Arden
Robert Arden
Robert Arden was an English-born film, television and radio actor who worked and lived mostly in the United States....
) aircrewmen escape the Germans by entering the hotel. The women hide the airmen and devise a plan for the men to escape during a concert. In the meantime, one of the internees is revealed to be a Nazi spy.
Cast
- Phyllis CalvertPhyllis CalvertPhyllis Calvert was an English film, stage and television actress. She was one of the leading stars of the Gainsborough melodramas of the 1940s....
as Freda Thompson - Flora RobsonFlora RobsonDame Flora McKenzie Robson DBE was an English actress, renowned as a character actress, who played roles ranging from queens to villainesses.-Early life:...
as Muriel Manningford - Patricia RocPatricia RocPatricia Roc , born Felicia Miriam Ursula Herold, was a British film actress, popular in the Gainsborough melodramas such as Madonna of the Seven Moons and The Wicked Lady , though she only made one film in Hollywood, Canyon Passage...
as Rosemary Brown / Mary Maugham - 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 Maud Wright - Reginald PurdellReginald PurdellReginald Purdell was an English actor and screenwriter who appeared in over 40 films between 1930 and 1951...
as Alec Harvey - Anne CrawfordAnne CrawfordAnne Crawford , born Imelda Crawford, was a British film actress, in films such as Millions Like Us...
as Margaret Long - Jean KentJean KentJean Kent is a British film actress who appeared in a number of the Gainsborough melodramas of the 1940s.-Biography:Jean Kent was born in Brixton, London as Joan Mildred Summerfield. She started her theatrical career as a dancer in 1931. Initially, she used the stage name of Jean Carr when she...
as Bridie Johnson - James McKechnie as Jimmy Moore
- Robert ArdenRobert ArdenRobert Arden was an English-born film, television and radio actor who worked and lived mostly in the United States....
as Dave Kennedy (as Rob Arden) - Carl JaffeCarl JaffeCarl Jaffe was a German Jewish actor. Jaffe trained on the stage in his native Hamburg, Kassel and Wiesbaden before moving to Berlin, where his career took off....
as Sergeant Hentzner - Muriel AkedMuriel AkedMuriel Aked was a British film actress. She was a student at Liverpool Repertory Theatre for six months but left to do war work. She made her screen debut in 1920 in A Sister to Assist 'Er...
as Clairen Meredith - Kathleen Boutall as Mrs. Hadfield
- Hilda Campbell-Russell as Mrs. Cornelia Hope Latimer
- Christiana Forbes as Frau Holweg
- Thora HirdThora HirdDame Thora Hird DBE was an English actress.-Early life and career:Hird was born in the Lancashire seaside town of Morecambe. She first appeared on stage at the age of two months in a play her father was managing...
as Mrs. Burtshaw - Dulcie GrayDulcie GrayDulcie Gray, CBE was a British singer and actress of stage, screen and television, a mystery writer and lepidopterist.-Early life and career:...
as Nellie Skinner - Joan Ingram as Mrs. Tatmarsh
- Betty Jardine as Teresa King
- Christiane De Maurin as Annette
- Guy Le Feuvre as Monsieur Boper (as Guy Lefeuvre)
- Paul Sheridan as French Officer
Production
Frank Launder stated later that he "should have treated the subject more seriously...that it would have been a bigger film if I concentrated less on the comedy and more on the drama".American release
Perhaps due to the success of Three Came HomeThree Came Home
Three Came Home is a post-war film made by Twentieth Century-Fox, based on the memoirs of the same name by writer Agnes Newton Keith. It depicts Keith's life in North Borneo in the period immediately before the Japanese invasion in 1942, and her subsequent internment and suffering, separated from...
, the film was released in the USA in 1951 in a severely cut-down version under the title of House of 1,000 Women. The American version of the film available on DVD ignores Patricia Roc's adventures as well as several subplots and starts the film with the transport to the internment hotel.