It Happened Here (1965)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Directors:

Kevin Brownlow
Andrew Mollo

Writers:

Kevin Brownlow (story) and
Andrew Mollo (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

8 August 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

What would have happened if the German army had crossed the English channel

Plot:

It is the Second World War. The Nazis have invaded Britain. There is a split between the resistance...

Plot Keywords:

Resistance | Nazi | Nurse | Adolf Hitler | Friend

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Pauline Murray	...	Pauline
Sebastian Shaw	...	Doctor Richard Fletcher
Bart Allison	...	Skipworth
Reginald Marsh	...	IA Medical Officer
Frank Bennett	...	IA Political Leader
Derek Milburn
Nicolette Bernard	...	IA Woman Commandant
Nicholas Moore	...	IA Group Leader Moorfield
Rex Collett	...	IA NCO
Michael Passmore
Peter Dineley	...	German Officer
Barrie Pattison
Honor Fearson	...	Honor Hutton
Ronald Phillips
Frank Gardner

Runtime:

USA:93 min | USA:97 min (director's cut)

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Belsize Square, Hampstead, London, England, UK

Company:

Rath Films

Trivia:

Kevin Brownlow was 19 years old and Andrew Mollo was 16 when they began work on this film.

Quotes:

Doctor Richard Fletcher: The appalling thing about fascism is that you've got to use fascist methods to get rid of it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in It Happened Here Again (1976)

Thank god it didn't!

Being a Londoner, and born but a few months after England declared war on

Germany, this film has always held a special significance for me. I originally saw it when it opened in London: a mere twelve years after the worst war in living memory, had ended. I saw it for the second time recently at a friend's house. To me, it is still the best film about the occupation of a country by a foreign army. In his book, "How It Happened Here", co-director, Kevin Brownlow explains how he got the idea to

make this film. He just happened to be walking down a London street, at the

moment when a car screeched to a halt outside a shop. Four or so heavyset

men piled out of the car. They were dressed, recalls Brownlow, in grey

overcoats in a style reminiscent of Russian KGB agents. All were bulky and

acted in a furtive manner. It got Brownlow thinking: "what if....."

On a budget that can only be described as miniscule, it took Brownlow and his co-director, Andrew Mollo, eight years to complete the film. It's shot in a

quasi-documentary style, which makes it even more realistic. Their attention to detail is amazing considering the paucity of funds available - every uniform the actors wore was sewn by Mrs. Mollo. While I can't claim to personally 'remember' those years when London was

bombed constantly, I can recall the sound, or should I say lack of it (we were all inside a bomb shelter), when a German V-2 rocket (nicknamed a doodle-bug),

ran out of fuel and plummeted to the ground. We were lucky: it landed but a few streets away, killing many, many people, breaking windows, shaking chimneys and covering all our possesions in a thick layer of soot!