The Gentle Sex
The Gentle Sex is a 1943 British, black-and-white romantic comedy-drama war film, directed and narrated by Leslie Howard. It was produced by Concanen Productions, Two Cities Films and Derrick de Marney.[1] The Gentle Sex was Howard's last film before his death.[2]
| The Gentle Sex | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Leslie Howard |
| Produced by | Derrick de Marney |
| Written by | Moie Charles [1] additional dialogue: Aimée Stuart |
| Starring | Joan Gates Jean Gillie Joan Greenwood Joyce Howard Rosamund John Lilli Palmer John Justin |
| Narrated by | Leslie Howard |
| Music by | John D. H. Greenwood |
| Cinematography | Robert Krasker |
| Edited by | Charles Saunders |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | General Film Distributors |
Release date | 15 April 1943 |
Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Synopsis
The documentary-drama follows seven women from different backgrounds who meet at an Auxiliary Territorial Service training camp. "Gentle" British girls, they are now doing their bit to help out in World War II: driving lorries and manning ack-ack batteries. Leslie Howard provides ironic narration throughout the film.[3][4]
Cast
Best source is at BFI:
ATS volunteers
- Joan Gates as Gwen Hayden
- Jean Gillie as Dot Hopkins
- Joan Greenwood as Betty Miller
- Joyce Howard as Anne Lawrence
- Rosamund John as Maggie Fraser
- Lilli Palmer as Erna Debruski
- Barbara Waring as Joan Simpson
Other characters
- John Justin as Flying Officer David Sheridan
- Mary Jerrold as Mrs Sheridan
- John Laurie as Corporal Alexander Balfour
- Elliott Mason as Mrs Fraser
- Harry Welchman as Captain Ferrier
- Miles Malleson as train guard
- Jimmy Hanley as first soldier on train
- Meriel Forbes as Davis, junior commander
- Rosalyn Boulter as Sally, telephonist
- Tony Bazell as Ted
- Frederick Leister as Colonel Lawrence
- Everley Gregg as Miss Simpson
- Noreen Craven as convoy sergeant
- Frederick Peisley as second soldier on train
- Ronald Shiner (as Ronnie Shiner) as the racing punter in the pub
- Roland Pertwee as captain
- Nicholas Stuart (actor) as Canadian private
- Frank Atkinson (actor) as lorry driver
- Peter Cotes as Taffy
- Maud Dunham as Mrs Miller
- Leslie Howard as narrator ("observations of a mere man")
- and various appearances by members of HM Forces
Box Office
Kinematograph Weekly listed a series of films that were "runners up" in its survey of the most popular films in Britain in 1943: The Gentle Sex, The Lamp Still Burns, Dear Octopus and The Adventures of Tartu.[5]
Critical reception
TV Guide noted "some lucid and funny moments in a capable and intelligent production for its time";[6] and Billy Mowbray wrote, for Film 4, "if only social history was this good at school. Funny, fascinating and probably unlike any film you've seen before, The Gentle Sex is a bona fide cultural treasure." [7]
References
- "The Gentle Sex". BFI.
- "BFI Screenonline: Gentle Sex, The (1943)". screenonline.org.uk.
- "The Gentle Sex". britmovie.co.uk.
- "The Gentle Sex (1943) directed by Leslie Howard • Film + cast • Letterboxd". letterboxd.com.
- Lant, Antonia (1991). Blackout : reinventing women for wartime British cinema. Princeton University Press. p. 231.
- "The Gentle Sex". TV Guide.
- "The Gentle Sex". film4.com.
Further reading
- Lejeune, C. A. (1947) Chestnuts in her Lap. London: "Mädchen in Uniform: The Gentle Sex", pp. 95–96
External links
- The Gentle Sex at AllMovie
- The Gentle Sex at the British Film Institute's Film and TV Database
- The Gentle Sex on IMDb
- The Gentle Sex at BFI Screenonline