Went the Day Well? (1942)

Crappy film

Brilliant and touching

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

I first saw WTDW a few years ago, on TV. I found it quite engrossing, especially as it was made during the war, when there had been grave concerns about the possibility of an actual 5th column invasion. It was well put together with a cast of interesting actors. Some of the characters seemed, perhaps, a little wooden, but the style and speech may have had as much to do with that particular impression.In 2010, the movie was fully restored and then re-released on Blue Ray. The production qualities are remarkable, given the restrictions of re- processing almost 70-year old film stock. I found that watching it again proved to be very worthwhile.It's also interesting to consider the similarities between a later movie, The Eagle has Landed, and this one. The basic premise of the later film is quite different, but many of the other elements are very similar.I can strongly recommend this movie to viewers of all ages. It has sufficient realism and drama to keep one's attention throughout.

This film is certainly well worth the view of seeing.The citizens of a remote British town find themselves visited by an English army there for engineering reasons and through an accident, they discover that they're dealing with Germans disguised as British. When this is discovered, the Germans hold everyone at bay, take hostages and plan to execute young children when they encounter resistance.This excellent film details the brave stalwarts of the town who fought back against the enemy and as a cohesive force, they were able to repel the Nazis. Brutality is the name of the game here, as it is practiced in the usual Nazi way of doing things with occupied people.

English villagers take in some soldiers during WWII, thinking they are English. Turns out they are Nazis planning an invasion. When one of the villagers catches on, the Nazis round them all up as prisoners. Now the villagers have to figure out how to escape or get word out about what's going on, which surprisingly leads to many deaths. This is a good one. A tense, exciting, mature wartime thriller. You'll find yourself rooting for these incredibly likable villagers, which makes it all the more sad (and realistic) that so many of them don't make it out of the movie alive. Some very strong scenes, such as the pepper scene and the grenade scene, among many others. Terrific acting, writing, and directing. Just a remarkable film all around. One of the best WWII movies I've seen.

Oh, its got its problems - most of all the terrible wooden acting and mock fighting from the real soldiers used in the battle scenes, plus it was made quick and cheap and as a propaganda piece. But, to really understand this film you have to watch it as though it is 1942. Firstly, the German invasion was still a real possibility, that and the genuine fear of 5th columnists infiltrating England, must have given the film a true sense of foreboding. Secondly, the nation was used to watching 1930s Hollywood and Pinewood films where violence was usually implied or low key and invariably the good guys win and don't die. The shock of this film is the scenes that must of have been way outside the comfort zone of a 1942 British audience; the village vicar been shot in the back, the Home Guard villagers being mown down, the village Constable stabbed in the back by the village war hero who turns out to be a Nazi sympathizer, the cheeky young boy shot as he tried to escape, the matronly lady of the manor throwing herself on a hand grenade to save the children, and surely most shocking of all, a little old lady postmistress who serves her German guard tea and sausages before cleaving his head in two with a firewood hatchet and then being bayoneted in the back herself by another German. The Germans are cartoon Nazis of course, but there are some nice subtle 'nazi-isms' like the posh 'English' Lieutenant having afternoon tea and stuffing the cake in his mouth like a beastly German would, while the two matronly ladies are discussing recipes for zoo animals during the Siege of Paris, and the German who dismisses the idea of Nazi's bayoneting babies, not because it would be amoral but because he could see no rational reason for doing so. It is a great film, especially if you can get yourself in the mind set of 1942