Oh! What a Lovely War

Oh! What a Lovely War

138 mins | Comedy, War, Music | March 10, 1969

Satire about the First World War based on a stage musical of the same name, portraying the "Game of War" and focusing mainly on the members of one family (last name Smith) who go off to war. Much of the action in the movie revolves around the words of the marching songs of the soldiers, and many scenes portray some of the more famous (and infamous) incidents of the war, including the assassination of Duke Ferdinand, the Christmas meeting between British and German soldiers in no-mans-land, and the wiping out by their own side of a force of Irish soldiers newly arrived at the front, after successfully capturing a ridge that had been contested for some time.

Oh! What a Lovely War

138 mins | Comedy, War, Music | March 10, 1969

Oh! What a Lovely War
Satire about the First World War based on a stage musical of the same name, portraying the "Game of War" and focusing mainly on the members of one family (last name Smith) who go off to war. Much of the action in the movie revolves around the words of the marching songs of the soldiers, and many scenes portray some of the more famous (and infamous) incidents of the war, including the assassination of Duke Ferdinand, the Christmas meeting between British and German soldiers in no-mans-land, and the wiping out by their own side of a force of Irish soldiers newly arrived at the front, after successfully capturing a ridge that had been contested for some time.
IMDb rating 7.0
Producers Paramount, Accord Productions
Original title Oh! What a Lovely War
Directors Richard Attenborough
Writers Joan Littlewood, Len Deighton

Cast

Laurence Olivier

as Field Marshal Sir John French

Vanessa Redgrave

as Sylvia Pankhurst

Maggie Smith

as Music Hall Star

John Mills

as Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig

Corin Redgrave

as Bertie Smith

Maurice Roëves

as George Smith

Ian Holm

as President Poincare

Juliet Mills

as Nurse

Michael Bates

as Drunk Lance Corporal

Edward Fox

as Aide to Field-Marshal Haig

Dirk Bogarde

as Stephen

Jean-Pierre Cassel

as French Colonel

John Clements

as Gen. von Moltke

John Gielgud

as Count Leopold Von Berchtold

Jack Hawkins

as Emperor Franz Josef

Kenneth More

as Kaiser Wilhelm II

Michael Redgrave

as Gen. Sir Henry Wilson

Ralph Richardson

as Sir Edward Grey

Susannah York

as Eleanor

Robert Flemyng

as Staff Officer in Gassed Trench

Paul Daneman

as Czar Nicholas II

Guy Middleton

as Gen. Sir William Robertson

Angela Thorne

as Elizabeth May 'Betty' Smith

Wendy Allnutt

as Florence Victoria 'Flo' Smith

Colin Farrell

as Harry Arnold Smith

Malcolm McFee

as Frederick Percy 'Freddie' Smith

John Rae

as Grandpa Smith

Paul Shelley

as Jack Henry Smith

Kim Smith

as Richard 'Dickie' Smith

Mary Wimbush

as Mary Emma Smith

John Owens

as Seamus Moore

Vincent Ball

as Australian Soldier

Penelope Allen

as Solo Chorus Girl

Pia Colombo

as Estaminet Singer

Isabel Dean

as Sir John French's Lady

Joe Melia

as The Photographer

Nanette Newman

as Nurse

Cecil Parker

as Sir John

Natasha Parry

as Sir William Robertson's Lady

Gerald Sim

as Chaplain

Thorley Walters

as Staff Officer

Anthony Ainley

as 3rd Aide

Geoffrey Davies

as Aide to Haig

Fanny Carby

as Mill Girl

Peter Gilmore

as Pte Burgess

Ben Howard

as Pte Garbett

Norman Jones

as Scottish Soldier

Angus Lennie

as Scottish Soldier

Paddy Joyce

as Irish Soldier

Harry Locke

as Heckler

Ron Pember

as Corporal

Marianne Stone

as Mill Girl

Christine Noonan

as Mill Girl (uncredited)

Derek Newark

as Shooting Gallery Proprietor

Clifford Mollison

as Heckler

Norman Bird

as Training Sgt (uncredited)

Jeremy Child

as Wealthy Young Man (uncredited)

Richard Davies

as Sergeant in Burial Party (uncredited)

Stanley Lebor

as Soldier (uncredited)

Jane Seymour

as Chorus Girl (uncredited)

Wensley Pithey

as Archduke Ferdinand (uncredited)

Meriel Forbes

as Lady Pamela Grey

David Lodge

as Recruiting Sergeant at Music Hall

Maurice Arthur

as Soldier Singer at Chaplain's Address

Freddie Ascott

as 'Whizzbang' Soldier

Cecilia Darby

as Sir Henry Wilson's Lady

George Ghent

as Heckler at Pankhurst Speech

Dorothy Reynolds

as Heckler at Pankhurst Speech

John Trigger

as Officer at Railway Station

Kathleen Wileman

as Emma Smith - Age 4

Phyllis Calvert

as Lady Dorothy Haig

Pamela Abbott

as Czarina Alexandra (uncredited)

Charlotte Attenborough

as Emma Smith - Age 8 (uncredited)

Roy Beck

as American GI (uncredited)

Annie Bee

as Girl Friend in 'Goodbyee' (uncredited)

Joanne Brown

as Singer (uncredited)

Christopher Cabot

as Soldier in Shell Hole (uncredited)

Frank Coda

as Soldier in 'Goodbyee' (uncredited)

Ambrose Coghill

as His Father (uncredited)

Stella Courtney

as Poincaré's Lady (uncredited)

Sheila Cox

as Chorus Girl (uncredited)

Elizabeth Craven

as Kaiserin Augusta (uncredited)

John Dunn-Hill

as Irish Soldier (uncredited)

Ray Edwards

as 3rd Staff Officer in Ballroom (uncredited)

Charles Farrell

as Policeman (uncredited)

Hermione Farthingale

as Chorus Girl (uncredited)

Frank Forsyth

as President Woodrow Wilson (uncredited)

Joyce Franklin

as Chorus Girl (uncredited)

John Gabriel

as Nikolai Lenin (uncredited)

Zeph Gladstone

as Sir John's Chauffeuse (uncredited)

Ruth Gower

as General von Moltke's Lady (uncredited)

Kim Grant

as Soldier in 'Goodbyee' (uncredited)

Carole Gray

as Chorus Girl (uncredited)

Paul Hansard

as German Officer (uncredited)

Kathleen Helme

as Berchtold's Lady (uncredited)

Richard Howard

as Young Soldier at Mons (uncredited)

John Hussey

as Soldier on Balcony (uncredited)

Dinny Jones

as Chorus Girl (uncredited)

Lind Joyce

as Scoreboard Girl (uncredited)

Dolores Judson

as Haig's Girlfriend (uncredited)

Ruth Kettlewell

as Duchess Sophie (uncredited)

Delia Linden

as Chorus Girl (uncredited)

Richard Loring

as Soldier in 'Goodbyee' (uncredited)

Tom Marshall

as Soldier in 'Goodbyee' (uncredited)

Stanley McGeagh

as Soldier in Gassed Trench (uncredited)

Isabelle Metcalfe

as Girl Friend in 'Goodbyee' (uncredited)

Jenny Morgan

as Girl Friend in 'Goodbyee' (uncredited)

Anthony Morton

as Italian Military Attaché (uncredited)

Steve Plytas

as Turkish Military Attaché (uncredited)

Andrew Robertson

as 2nd Scottish Soldier (uncredited)

Sue Robinson

as Chorus Girl (uncredited)

David Scheuer

as French Soldier (uncredited)

Valerie Smith

as Girl Friend in 'Goodbyee' (uncredited)

Guy Standeven

as American Officer (uncredited)

Pippa Steel

as Scoreboard Girl (uncredited)

P.G. Stephens

as Irish Soldier (uncredited)

Tony Thawnton

as Officer on Telephone (uncredited)

Christian Thorogood

as Irish Soldier (uncredited)

Brian Tipping

as 4th Scottish Soldier (uncredited)

Bette Vivian

as Heckler at Pankhurst Speech (uncredited)

Tony Vogel

as German Soldier (uncredited)

Arthur White

as Sergeant in Dugout (uncredited)

Michael Wolf

as German Officer (uncredited)

John Woodnutt

as British Officer (uncredited)

Julia Wright

as Haig's Secretary (uncredited)

Mary Yeomans

as Scoreboard Girl (uncredited)

Norman Shelley

as Staff Officer in Ballroom