In Which We Serve

"You'll Never Forget..."

1942 1h 55m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

🔥

90%

CERTIFIED FRESH

⭐

7.2

IMDB

★6.7TMDB · 108🍅90%Rotten Tomatoes★7.2IMDB · 6,880

DramaWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The story of the HMS Torrin, from its construction to its sinking in the Mediterranean during action in World War II. The ship’s first and only commanding officer is Captain E.V. Kinross, who trains his men not only to be loyal to him and the country, but—most importantly—to themselves.

“You'll Never Forget...”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Noël Coward
Captain E. V. Kinross R.N. / Captain 'D'
John Mills
Ordinary Seaman Blake / Shorty Blake
Bernard Miles
Chief Petty Officer Hardy / Walter Hardy
Celia Johnson
Mrs. Kinross / Alix
Kay Walsh
Freda Lewis / Freda
Joyce Carey
Mrs. Hardy / Kath
Derek Elphinstone
No. 1
Michael Wilding
Flags

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Noël Coward
Writers: Noël Coward
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $4M — a 17.8× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

84 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Noël Coward, shot by Ronald Neame. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Thelma Connell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Noël Coward and John Mills and Bernard Miles carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "You'll Never Forget...".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0034891 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Noël Coward directs. Ronald Neame behind the camera. Thelma Connell cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $4M — a 17.8× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
384 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Noël Coward, shot by Ronald Neame. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Thelma Connell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Noël Coward and John Mills and Bernard Miles carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "You'll Never Forget...".
8IMDB entry: tt0034891 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 18 themes, including "bravery", "world war ii", "bomber", "based on true story".

The technical file

Cinematography: Ronald Neame
Editing: Thelma Connell
Makeup / hair: Tony Sforzini
Runtime: 115 min · 1h 55m
Status: Released
Budget: $250,000
Box office: $4,450,000
Return: 1780% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: In Which We Serve (1942)
Rotten Tomatoes: 90% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 7.2/10 · 6,880 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Awards

Nominated for 2 Oscars. 9 wins & 3 nominations total

National Board of Review Award for Best Film
Academy Honorary Award
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Noël Coward

Blithe Spirit
1956 · ★ 8.0

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-26
★ 7/10
A film that continues to divide opinion even now as it recounts the exploits of HMS "Torrin" a Royal Navy destroyer during WWII. I have to say that I found this to be just a little too much of a propaganda instrument than I was comfortable with - but it was made during the war, and it is very easy to be sitting now judging the activities of those who were actually risking their lives on an hourly basis, and of those charged with maintaining morale. Noël Coward heads this up as an almost aristocratic and really rather wooden "Captain Kinross" but the ensemble cast - John Mills, Bernard Miles, Richard Attenborough, Kay Walsh and Joyce Carey are much more engaging as the nuts and bolts characters and their spouses. The story is related in flashback form as the ship has been torpedoed and the sailors are in the sea awaiting rescue (or death) and delivers a poignant and thought-provoking evaluation not just of wartime behaviour, but of attitudes too.

Production companies