The White Cliffs of Dover

Director: Clarence Brown Clarence Brown

Overview

The White Cliffs of Dover is one of those overlong MGM wartime films that everyone seems to have seen a part of, but no one can remember the film as a sum total. Based on a poem by Alice Duer Miller, the story chronicles the trials and tribulations of one courageous woman through two world wars. Irene Dunne plays an American girl who, in 1914, falls in love with titled Englishman Alan Marshal. At the end of World War 1 in 1918, it is painfully clear that Marshal will not be returning from the battlefields. Remaining loyal to her husband, Irene vows to raise their child in England. Played by Roddy McDowell in his early scenes, Irene's son grows up to be Peter Lawford. At the outbreak of World War 2, Irene despairs at the thought of losing another loved one, but Lawford convinces her that his dad would have wanted him to answer his country's call to the colors. While working as a Red Cross volunteer, Irene finds that she must tend her own mortally wounded son. Unable to save his life, she is grief-stricken, but is gratified with the notion that neither her husband nor her boy have died in vain. Like many films of its ilk and era, White Cliffs of Dover struck a responsive chord with filmgoers, to the tune of a $4 million profit. Watch for a touching scene between Roddy McDowell and 12-year-old Elizabeth Taylor; 19 years later, lifelong friends Roddy and Liz would be playing mortal enemies in Cleopatra (1963).

Product Details

Release Date:	01/19/2010
UPC:	0883316228289
Original Release:	1944
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[Full Frame]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	2:06:00

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Irene Dunne	Susan Ashwood
Alan Marshal	Sir John Ashwood
Frank Morgan	Hiram Porter Dunn,Actor
Roddy McDowall	John Ashwood II as a Boy
Peter Lawford	John Ashwood II at Age 24
May Whitty	Nanny
C. Aubrey Smith	Colonel
Gladys Cooper	Lady Jean Ashwood
Van Johnson	Sam Bennett
John Warburton	Reggie
Jill Esmond	Rosamund
Brenda Forbes	Gwennie
Norma Varden	Mrs. Bland
Elizabeth Taylor	Betsy, at Age 10
June Lockhart	Betsy, at Age 18
Charles Irwin	Farmer Kenney
Jean Prescott	Mrs. Kenney
Tom Drake	American Soldier
Isobel Elsom	Mrs. Bancroft
Edmund Breon	Major Bancroft
Miles Mander	Major Loring
Ann Curzon	Miss Lambert
Steven Muller	Gerhard,Dietrich
Molly Lamont	Helen
Lumsden Hare	The Vicar
Arthur Shields	Benson
Emily Fitzroy	Spinster in Boarding House
Emily Massey	Elegant Lady in Boarding House
Guy D'Ennery	Curate in Boarding House
Lal Chand Mehra	Indian Student in Boarding House
Clifford Brooke	Indian Major in Boarding House
Ethel Griffies	Woman on Train
Elton Burkett	Twins in Boarding House,Twins in Boarding House
Herbert Evans	Footman
Ian Wolfe	Skipper
Alec Craig	Billings
Clyde Cook	Jennings
Bunny Gordon	John, at 6 Months
Leo Mostovoy	Bandmaster
Arthur Gould-Porter	Capt. Portage
Gavin Muir	Capt. Griffiths
Charles Coleman	Capt. Davis
Kay Deslys	Blonde
George Davis	Boots
Vera Graaf	Duchess
Anita Sharp Bolster	Miller
Wilson Benge	Chauffeur
Harry Allen	English Cabby
Nelson Leigh	British Naval Officer
Mabel Row	Housemaid
James Menzies	Telegraph Boy
George Kirby	Old Man
Matthew Boulton	Immigration Officer
Doris Lloyd	Plump Lady at Boarding House
Keith Hitchcock	Duke of Waverly
Anita Bolster	Miller
Herbert Stothart	Composer

Technical Credits

Claudine West

Jan Lustig

George Froeschel

Clarence Brown	Director
Claudine West	Screenwriter
Jan Lustig	Screenwriter
George Froeschel	Screenwriter
Sidney Franklin	Producer
A. Arnold Gillespie	Special Effects
Warren Newcombe	Special Effects

Editorial Reviews

The White Cliffs of Dover undoubtedly struck very responsive chords with its audience when released in 1944. On a more modern take, Dover is decent entertainment, but the of-its-era tendency toward propaganda makes it less effective (and affecting) as a drama. The screenplay simply tries too hard, and the manipulations become wearing after a while, even though individual sequences are quite moving. Fortunately, Dover has an exceptionally fine cast, led by the perennially underappreciated Irene Dunne. Looking smashing, Dunne delivers one of her customarily sterling performances, one that calls upon her to move through a wide range of emotions which she does with ease. (One of Dunne's nicest qualities is that she does everything with ease, giving an effortlessness to her work that is a welcome relief from the show-stopping histrionics of more obvious performers.) Dunne gets very able support from the always-entertaining Frank Morgan, as well as from such marvelous players as Dame May Whitty and Gladys Cooper. Lumsden Hare and Clarence Brown direct with appropriate sensitivity, and Cedric Gibbons' and Randall Duell's designs are detailed and, when necessary, stunning. Dover is dated and goes on a bit too long, but Dunne makes it well worth the time.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler