The Worst Film Ever

Don't Believe the Hype

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

I am only giving a 5 due to the performance of Irene. But yet again through the years the projection of America as all there is to this world is ridiculous. As if any Scot or Englishman would actually accept the words mentioned in the film. Disgusting. On the other hand its more of a romance novel than a war movie as war is like a sidewalk into this film. The story line overall is nice but it should be filmed in a difference scene than use the theme of war to input this romance story. presenting the power of actors and words in the art of cinema is one thing, but using it as political brainwashing a propaganda is another. As a scene from the film America is a circus just like the band marches when war is announced by them.

I really liked this movie. Although much is predictable about the plot, I found the music, cinematography, the history, aristocracy etc. very enjoyable. This clearly is a propaganda piece, but you can't help but find yourself swept away in the patriotism willingly.It reminds us of how our great country was once heroes to the world. We were the great saviors of freedom. It is a little sad now, some 60+ years later, that our country has lost favorable opinion in the eyes of the world. The parade scenes where Irene Dunne's character watches the US troops arriving and marching through town can bring tears to your eyes.The characters are all quite endearing and believable. Dunne is quite sweet. Marshal is so dashing. As a woman, I can imagine myself being swept up in such a man at the onset of WWI ( as Dunne was) or WWII (which the viewers themselves were in the midst of).The intertwining of US & British history is a nice reminder that we are really made from the same beginnings in our country. Even though we eventually sought our freedom from the British, which is pointed out in the movie, it also points out our common heritage in being derived from Sir Walter Raleigh & the Mayflower. Our countries have been great allies over the past century. I'm sure there have been prejudices between yanks & Brits, as pointed out in the scene where Dunne breaks down over her future in-laws prejudices of Americans. But clearly the movie is designed to foster a common bond among the US & Britain, while acknowledging our differences.My absolute favorite scene is at the end. It is especially poignant - the dying son is relaying to his mother about an American soldier that said before he died : "God would never forgive us, neither England or America, if we break the faith with our dead again", that he would "really start to fight the day the war ended, for a good peace, a peace that would stick." Wow - what a message that must have truly resonated with the WWII audience, especially those who had also lived through WWI. I don't think my generation can relate to having been through 2 such costly wars back to back. Women who lost husbands in the first war were now faced with the loss of sons in the 2nd war, as Dunne's character was. What tremendous sacrifice was made by that generation! We should be forever grateful!

The only reference to the White Cliffs of Dover comes in at the beginning of the film as we watch Susan and her friend, Sam Bennet, as they are approaching England by sea. The magnificent cliffs are seen in the distance in all their splendor. Susan, clearly moved by the sight, revels on the many things that await her in London where she and her father are going to spend two weeks vacation.Alas, when they arrive, they are treated to the typical rainy weather, that puts a damp, no pun intended, in her enjoyment of a city and all things English she has always admired. Instead of finding a place that meets all her expectations, Susan has to endure the weather and the prospect of going back without seeing the sights and places she really wanted to see.Enter the kind Colonel, the man living in the modest hotel where the Dunns are staying. He invites Susan to a society ball where she meets Sir John Ashwood, the man who will become her husband. John is instrumental in her staying in England. Susan never expected to be married into the rich gentry that John belongs to. In fact, the beginning of her life in the family country estate convinces her she doesn't belong.It's 1915 and WWI arrives without warning. Susan sees in horror how John goes to his regiment and to the front. He eventually dies, but the son that arrives for her is, in a way, a painful reminder of the great loss she suffered. Like his father, the boy grows up and has to go to war, as it's expected of his kind."The White Cliffs of Dover" was directed by Clarence Brown, who gave it a great look. Irene Dunne makes a good impression as Susan, the courageous woman who stays in a strange country and has to make a new life for herself and her new family. Alan Marshal is perfect as the dashing John Ashwood.In minor roles we see Roddy McDowall, who plays the young John Ashwood. Harry Morgan is Susan's father. Gladys Cooper, May Witty, Peter Lawford, Van Johnson, C. Aubrey Smith, and the rest of the cast do good work. The young Elizabeth Taylor is seen as the young Betsy and June Lockhart appears as the grown up girl in uncredited roles."The White Cliffs of Dover" is about loyalty for one's country and how tradition plays a role in the lives of all the people one meets in the story, even during the difficult times these characters had to live.

Irene Dunne stars as the American woman who is romanced by an Englishman (Alan Marshall), then loses him to the first World War and who decides to raise her son (Roddy McDowell) in England, only to have him go to war once he grows up (as Peter Lawford) and die in battle. A little too weepy at times, the movie tries to convey its message of the dangers of Germany in the scene where the two teenage boys proclaim an almost fervent admiration for their own country and that they most definitely have not lost the war (and their pride) yet.A salute to the British and American soldiers who fought World War II, THE WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER features a massive cast of established actors and rising stars: Gladys Cooper, Van Johnson, Dame May Witty, an uncredited June Lockhart, Peter Lawford, and Elizabeth Taylor. A good movie that only was Oscar nominated in technical categories that has Irene Dunne aptly playing her role as if Greer Garson would have; it's a shame that she never received a recognition for her body of work and here her work makes watching the movie worth the effort even if it goes on for a little too much.