Went the Day Well? Trivia

1. The film begins in the churchyard, with the verger, Charles Sims, welcoming the audience, and pointing out an unusual grave marker. What is unusual about it?

From Quiz Went the Day Well?

Answer: The names on it are German.

The marker is in the form of a large cross, with several names on the base, all of them of German soldiers. Sims comments that "they wanted England", then sweeps his arm over the grave and says, "This is all they got." Charles Sims is played by Welsh actor Mervyn Johns. He goes on to describe what has happened in the village.

From Quiz British Cinema - 'Went The Day Well?'

Answer: Graham Greene

This film was adapted from a short story by Graham Greene called 'The Lieutenant Died Last' which had been published in the United States during June 1940. In the original story, a retired Boer War veteran turned poacher foils a Nazi plan to infiltrate and capture an English village. In this original form the main character, the poacher, is called Bill Purves whereas the character in the film is known as Bill Purvis and his role was considerably diminished to that of a small supporting role. Like many stories adapted from the written word and onto the big screen, the final result often bears little resemblance to the original written work and 'Went The Day Well?' is no different in this respect.

From Quiz Went the Day Well?

Answer: Whitsun

Sims mentions Whitsun weekend in his introduction to the action that follows, and later an onscreen title reminds us of the fact, also giving the information that it takes place in late May. Bramley End is the village the Germans try to take over as a prelude to a planned invasion of England, scheduled for that Monday evening.

From Quiz British Cinema - 'Went The Day Well?'

Answer: Bramley End

Much of 'Went The Day Well' was filmed on location in or around the picturesque Buckinghamshire village of Turville, nestled in the Hambleden Valley. At the very beginning of the film the image settles on an old road sign positioned at a road junction; a turn to the right will lead the viewer to the village of Upton Ferrars, a journey of some six and one half miles distant. As the film leads us to the left and toward the peaceful village of Bramley End, we are joined by the narrator, church warden Charles Sims played by Mervyn Johns, who takes us on a short stroll through the graveyard in which he sets the scene for the remainder of the film. It is here within its Norman church, The Church of Saint Mary The Virgin, that much of the tale takes place. Interestingly, Turville was to be the location selected by the BBC for its amusing and very successful religious comedy 'The Vicar of Dibley', some fifty years later.

From Quiz Went the Day Well?

Answer: Royal Engineers

Major Hammond (real name Ortler) and Captain Maxwell (Leutnant Jung) roll into the village with a couple of truckloads of soldiers, all pretending to be members of the Royal Engineers. At first they are friendly with the villagers, finding billets for themselves and their men and dining with the vicar and his daughter, and later with Mrs Fraser (Marie Lohr) at the Manor. Hammond/Ortler makes contact with a fifth columnist (traitor) in the village, Oliver Wilsford, whom all the villagers trust. Men of the Gloucestershire Regiment are given a credit for appearing in the movie, by permission of the War Office. Hammond/Ortler is played by Basil Sydney, Maxwell/Jung by David Farrar and Wilsford by Leslie Banks.

From Quiz British Cinema - 'Went The Day Well?'

Answer: Saturday

During the Cold War, whilst I was serving in BAOR, it was always said that if the Russians wanted to guarantee victory, they should invade over a weekend. Things were no different back in 1942 when this film was made and the Germans had the same idea; catch the British at a weekend when they were relaxing! It was Whitsun weekend, Saturday 23rd of May 1942 as stated during the church warden's monologue, when the Nazis arrived in Bramley End with the mission to sabotage a nearby military radio installation prior to the major invasion that had been planned for the following Monday morning.

From Quiz Went the Day Well?

Answer: Upton Ferrars

Harry Drew is the baker from the next village, known by most in Bramley End simply as "Upton". The full name is shown on a road sign early in the movie. Drew is making deliveries in Bramley End on the day the Germans arrive, and they dupe him into explaining his plans for defending that village to them, believing them to be British soldiers. He also tells them about a Home Guard exercise planned for the next day, which allows the Germans to prepare an ambush for the Bramley End members of the unit. Harry Drew is played by Ellis Irving.

From Quiz British Cinema - 'Went The Day Well?'

Answer: Sappers

"Good morning sir... Oh, I'm afraid I didn't realise, I'm disturbing you." "Not at all" replied the Reverend Ashton. "My name's Hammond, I'm in charge of a party of sappers. We've been sent to do a job of work down here." The British commander Major Hammond, played by Basil Sydney and his Second in Command, Lt Maxwell, played by David Farrar, are searching the village for quarters for their soldiers; unbeknown to the villagers at this time, they were both German officers. In this early scene, Major Hammond is visiting the Reverend at home while he is breakfasting in order to obtain permission to billet his soldiers, numbering around sixty, in the village hall. Sappers, strictly speaking are military engineers, but the word has also been used to apply to Pioneers in times gone by; the word being taken from the French word 'saper' which means 'to undermine'. It was the sapeur who would dig under the walls of castles during the medieval period. In the British military, Sapper is an actual rank, being the Royal Engineer equivalent of a private soldier.

From Quiz Went the Day Well?

Answer: The vicar

The vicar, who appears to be a frail, white-haired gentleman, is made of sterner stuff, and is quite upset when Hammond/Ortler and his group barge into the church and disrupt the service. He refuses to follow the German officer's orders and walks slowly toward the bell rope, managing to ring it twice before the major shoots him in the back. The scene cuts to the fields, where one of the Home Guard tries to convince his mates that he heard the church bell, the signal that paratroops have landed. The others convince him he is hearing things, and soon afterward the Bramley End contingent are ambushed and killed as they ride home on their bicycles. The vicar is played by C.V. France.

From Quiz Went the Day Well?

Answer: George Truscott, a boy

The Germans wish to retain a semblance of normality in the village, so some people are allowed to return to their homes or jobs. The children are sent from the church to the manor house in the charge of Mrs Fraser and Nora. Peggy, who works at the dairy and is about to marry Tom Sturry, and Ivy write a message on the shell of an egg and give it to the paper boy when he calls, but the egg is broken. Mrs Fraser slips a note into her cousin Maude's pocket when she comes for tea, but the note is lost. Mrs Collins, at the telephone exchange, kills her guard with an axe but is discovered by another German as she attempts to reach the exchange at Upton and he bayonets her. Garbett gets away from the church through a coal hatch, with Wilsford, who kills him once they are out of sight of the others. George, who has learned stealth from his association with Bill Purvis, escapes from the manor house. He meets Purvis in the wood and the latter creates a diversion so George can get by the pickets on the edge of the village. Wounded in the leg and soaking wet from travelling through a thunderstorm, George reaches Harry Drew in Upton and the alarm is raised. Harry Fowler plays George, and Edward Rigby is Bill Purvis. Constable Garbett is played by Johnnie Schofield.

From Quiz British Cinema - 'Went The Day Well?'

Answer: Piccadilly

During a casual conversation with one of the soldiers, land girl Ivy Dawking, played by Thora Hird, asks a soldier where he comes from; he replies, Manchester. "Ah! Good old Piccadilly on a Saturday night" exclaimed Ivy. "I said I came from Manchester not London" replied the soldier. "I meant Piccadilly in Manchester, silly" said Ivy. "Ah I was forgetting, I left Manchester when I was a child" the soldier retorted. This was just one of a number of errors made by the Germans that begin to arouse the suspicions of the locals. Mrs Collins, the local post mistress played by Muriel George, had also misplaced a telegram and, after retrieving it from the village hall where the Germans were billeted, it was noticed that one of the soldiers had written on using a European style number seven; they had been using the back of the envelope whilst playing cards. Meanwhile, during a visit to the manor house and whilst prying through Major Hammond's pack, George Truscott discovers a bar of chocolate engraved with the words Chokolade Wien - Chocolate of Vienna.

From Quiz Went the Day Well?

Answer: Charles Sims and Tom Sturry

Sims, the verger, says he needs to tend to something in the church basement to restore the lights which have gone out. Whilst there he manages to drop something heavy on his guard's head. In the darkness, Tom sneaks up behind the other guard, who is in the pulpit, and takes care of him. They collect their weapons, and along with Tom's father, innkeeper Jim Sturry, they venture out to the telephone exchange, which they capture. They then get Daisy (Mrs Collins' assistant) to put them through to Upton, and find out that help is already being organised due to George's efforts. As they head for the manor house they find Wilsford in his home, but still think he is one of them. (He's so trusted that they choose him as their spokesman when the church is first taken.) Tom is played by Frank Lawton, and Jim by Norman Pierce. Patricia Hayes is Daisy. One of the Germans is recognisable (especially by his voice) as James Donald, whose later roles include the Senior British Officer in "The Great Escape" and Major Clipton in "The Bridge on the River Kwai".

From Quiz British Cinema - 'Went The Day Well?'

Answer: Parachute

Ortler informs the villagers that he and his men have work to do; work that they will carry out without interference. He also informs the congregation that if any attempt is made to inform the outside world or to escape, the perpetrators will be shot. Many people would consider that members of such elite units such as parachute troops, or Fallschirmjäger as the German airborne forces were known, would be young, fit men. In this film it would seem that the British propagandists selected those who were to play these troops from a much older age group and that they were required to look as physically menacing as possible. The use of lighting and camera angle most certainly helped to achieve this aim!

From Quiz Went the Day Well?

Answer: Nora shoots him.

On Sunday night, after he kills the constable, Wilsford goes to the manor house to report. Nora and Mrs Fraser wonder why he can move about so freely, and Nora overhears at least part of the conversation. On Monday, Wilsford hangs behind the Sturrys and Sims, and contacts Ortler and Jung, letting them know what is happening. He is ordered to open the French windows to provide easy access for the attacking Germans. Tom, Charles, Ivy and Peggy are all helping to barricade the downstairs windows and preparing to fend off the assault until help can arrive. Wilsford is pulling down the barricade by the French windows when Nora enters, and asks what he is doing. Knowing that he is a traitor she has brought a pistol with her and she uses it before he can finish his task. As the battle progresses Peggy (Elizabeth Allan) and Ivy (Thora Hird) prove themselves to be quite good shots, and helpful to Tom who by now is wielding a submachine gun.

From Quiz British Cinema - 'Went The Day Well?'

Answer: The Reverend Ashton

After refusing to accept the authority of the Germans and to obey their orders, the Reverend Ashton, played by C V France in one of his final roles, calmly walks into the church tower and hauls down the bell rope sounding the bell before being shot by the German Second In Command. As he falls to the ground, dying, the bell rings again... Across the fields surrounding the village, a member of the Home Guard on exercise hears the bell and reports it to his commander. Meanwhile, in the church, the community decide to allow Oliver Wilsford to act as their spokesman; unbeknown to them, Wilsford is a traitor and in league with the Nazis.

From Quiz Went the Day Well?

Answer: Mrs Fraser

A German soldier throws a grenade through a window and into a bedroom where several youngsters are sheltering behind an overturned bed. Mrs Fraser picks it up and steps into the hall, where it explodes as soon as she has closed the door. We don't see it, but the impression is that she has given her life for the children. Soon afterward help arrives, just as the Germans appear to be winning the battle, and Bramley End is saved. The scene shifts back to Sims in the churchyard, telling the story and noting that we all know how the planned invasion turned out!

From Quiz British Cinema - 'Went The Day Well?'

Answer: A box of eggs

Ivy had written her message on the shell of one of the eggs that she had given to Charlie. Although the land girls are watched closely by one of the Germans, Ivy manages to get her message out without the soldier realising what she has done. As he makes his way back to Upton Ferrars, Charlie is forced to swerve off the road to avoid a collision; the box of eggs falls from his basket and is crushed under the wheels of the car that had almost hit him. Meanwhile, Mrs Fraser, played by Australian actress Marie Lohr, succeeds in smuggling out a handwritten message that she had placed into the jacket pocket of visitor to the manor, her cousin Maude played by Hilda Bayley. Unfortunately during her return home, cousin Maude inadvertently uses this note to wedge closed a loose window only to have it later eaten by her dog. Ironically, the car that had almost hit Charlie was that of Mrs Fraser's cousin Maude!

From Quiz British Cinema - 'Went The Day Well?'

Answer: An unusual recipe book

"They (the Parisians) were reduced to the most terrible straits", said Mrs Fraser... "And of course, horseflesh was unobtainable after the first few weeks" then, glaring at the German sat next to Maude, she said coldly, "Rats were quite a delicacy apparently". Maude is employed by the British Ministry of Food to travel the country giving cookery demonstrations and has called in to see Mrs Fraser between appointments. The recipe book belonged to Mrs Fraser's grandmother and dates from the period of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. The inhabitants of Paris had been under siege for months and were starving; consequently the animals in the zoos were all eaten and this book contained recipes for dishes such as elephant gallettes, parrot pie and antelope steak. Typically, as the subject of eating animals was raised, the German Second in Command, Leutnant Jung, was pictured in this scene greedily eating an éclair in an animal-like fashion.

From Quiz British Cinema - 'Went The Day Well?'

Answer: Bill Purvis, the local poacher

After explaining the situation in the village to Bill Purvis, George receives directions as to the safest route away from the village. After the youngster has left, Bill Purvis uses his poaching skills and local knowledge to cause a diversion, during which he shoots dead one German sentry before being shot and mortally wounded himself. Unfortunately, George is soon spotted by the Germans and is also shot and wounded although he eventually manages to reach safety with a couple living in Upton Ferrars where he reveals what is happening to the people of Bramley End.

From Quiz British Cinema - 'Went The Day Well?'

Answer: He stabbed him in the back.

The villagers trapped under guard in the church formulate a plan for an escape. Local policeman Joe Garbutt, played by Johnny Schofield, decides to make the attempt through a chute used to supply the church with its heating fuel. In the darkness and heavy rain, Wilsford draws a knife on Garbutt and whilst they are both crouched down taking cover behind the gravestones, stabs him in the back, killing him. Wilsford makes his way to the manor house and, whilst making his report to the Germans, he is overheard discussing future plans by Nora Ashton, the murdered vicar's daughter and Mrs Fraser who were eavesdropping from behind a heavy door. Unaware that he has been exposed, Wilsford moves into the drawing room and prepares to remove a barricade in order to make access to the house easier for the enemy's assault.

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