Went The Day Well was released on 7 December 1942. The film was taken from a story which was written by Graham Greene. Went The Day Well is a British war film portraying the story of an English village, which was being captured by German Paratroopers. The movie shows the violence according to the media of that time. The movie also directly or indirectly affected the war of that era. As this movie is based on real-life situations, it is important to know where were the filming locations of Went The Day Well set.
Before knowing the actual filming locations of Went The Day Well, let us name those who were involved in making this war movie. Cavalcanti was the director of Went the Day Well, John Dighton along with Angus MacPhail, and Diana Morgan was the writer. Michael Balcon has produced the film.
Went The Day Well Filming Locations
Went The Day Well was filmed in the era of the 40s, due to which the filming was not done at several places. The most important filming location was the village of Bramley End, located in Turville Buckinghamshire. This is the place where the village got captured by German Paratroopers.
The place where the cottage of policeman and the cottage of Oliver Wilsford was also located was filmed in Bramley End. The policeman cottage house was filmed in The Old Schoolhouse, and Oliver Wilsford’s cottage was filmed in The Old Bakehouse.
The shooting location of the village church was St Mary the Virgin, which is located in Turville, Buckinghamshire.
Went The Day Well Plot
The story starts when one of the villagers conveys the story of war. He starts by praising the earlier life of villagers how they were living so happily without any interruption. There was not any kind of traffic. One day some people enter the village. They seemed innocent at first. So the villagers help them in every possible way.
After a few days, they got to know that they were Germans, and their motive was to capture the village. After this, the German Soldiers hold them in the church. Vicar tried to warn the villagers by sounding the bell but was shot dead by the German soldiers.
The villagers did not give up. They did every possible thing that they could for contacting the outer world, but each time they got shot. For instance, a villager wrote some message on an egg and ordered the paperboy to give to his mother but without noticing Mrs. Fraser’s cousin crushed them.
Another plan got failed when Mrs. Fraser gave a chit to Edward, but his dog chewed them. Mrs. Collin then killed a member of a German soldier and called someone for help using a telephone. But the girl on the opposite side did not receive. This attempt took the life of Mrs. Collin.
Who Won the Battle?
The village squire was also involved with the German soldiers and did not help the Home Guard. German soldiers shoot the person who tried to escape from the church. They started killing one after another. A boy George, who tried to escape from the church, got a shot in his leg. But he did not give up and called the British Army and informed everything to them.
The British Army reached with several other groups. This led to the war between German Soldiers and British Army. The war took the life the vast majority of the people of the village. Mrs. Fraser got killed in protecting the children from granite. Village squires were shot dead by the daughter of Vicar. The war comes to an end with the defeat of German Soldiers. After the war, the British army arrived at the Bramley End.
The villager ended his story by looking at the German’s Grave at the Churchyard and saying that they got only that much of England.
Cast and Characters
The list of cast and character of stars who were involved in the filming of Went The Day Well goes like this. Leslie Banks played the character of Oliver Wilsford, C.V France played the role of the Reverend Aston, Valerie Taylor played the character of Nora Ashton, and Marie Lohr starred as Mrs Fraser. Basil Sydney played the character of Kommandant Ortler. David Farra worked as Lt Jung. and Harry Fowler played the character of George Truscott. Elizabeth Allan had played the role of Peggy Pryde. Frank Lawton played the role of Tom Sturry. Thora Hird played the character of Ivy Dawkins and many others.
Also Read: Where is Malory Towers Filmed? All About The Shooting Locations