A British Corporal in France finds himself responsible for the lives of his men when their officer is killed. He has to get them back to Britain somehow. Meanwhile, British civilians are being dragged into the war with Operation Dynamo, the scheme to get the French and British forces back from the Dunkirk beaches. Some come forward to help, others were less willing.
Acting
John Mills' quietly desperate everyman leadership.
Direction
Leslie Norman balances three desperate timelines.
Practical Effects
Real boats, real beaches, real exhaustion.
Director
Leslie Norman
John Mills
Cpl Tubby Binns
Richard Attenborough
John Holden
Bernard Lee
Charles Foreman
Robert Urquhart
Mike
Ray Jackson
Barlow
Ronald Hines
Private Miles
Sean Barrett
Frankie
Roland Curram
Harper
Meredith Edwards
Dave Bellman
Michael Bates
Froome
Michael Shillo
Jouvet
Eddie Byrne
Commander (Tough's Yard)
Maxine Audley
Diana
Lionel Jeffries
Colonel (Medical Officer)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Richard Attenborough was so affected by filming that he later produced and directed Gandhi, his anti-war masterpiece.
Released just 18 years after the actual evacuation, this was made for survivors who remembered—the emotional equivalent of making a 9/11 film in 2019.
US
GB
