Welcome to Britain

September 30, 2021 10:58 PM

In 1943, film star Burgess Meredith hosts a U.S. Army training film instructing soldiers departing for service what to expect when they arrive in Britain, exploring the generosity of British people suffering under war time privation, the local pub, differences in attitudes about race, and other topics of import for visiting soldiers.

Previously: Why We Fight.

posted by chrchr (23 comments total)

At first I was confused to see a young Mickey Goldmill explaining Britain, but then I realized it was actually the Penguin, and it's really no surprise that supervillains would be well travelled.
posted by fairmettle at 11:34 PM on September 30, 2021 [6 favorites]

A bit of a detail, but I think it’s important for all the youngsters to know this is also Burgess Meredith.
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 12:18 AM on October 1, 2021 [8 favorites]

"I'm Boijess Meredith"
posted by GallonOfAlan at 1:00 AM on October 1, 2021 [2 favorites]

If you're a train nerd and would like to know more about the railway station he visits at 22:25, Geoff Marshall has got you covered.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 3:30 AM on October 1, 2021 [4 favorites]

I saw this on Talking Pictures TV ages ago, and it's a gem.

Sometimes I think they should show it on all flights coming into England, just so people visiting don't take all the butter and jam, buy me drinks at the pub, and treat me kindly on the train.
posted by Katemonkey at 3:37 AM on October 1, 2021 [8 favorites]

Meredith was an acclaimed theater actor in the '30s, Maxwell Anderson even wrote a play with Meredith in mind as the lead, so they tried to make a star of him in film, but for sorta obvious reasons that never took, though he worked in movies and TV off and on for a long, long time. What I really want to see, or rather hear, from Meredith though is his 1937 radio production of Hamlet, where he evidently played the melancholy prince. Perhaps needless to say, but I have a hard time reconciling his voice with that of Hamlet.
posted by gusottertrout at 3:40 AM on October 1, 2021 [2 favorites]

the railway station he visits at 22:25

Damn, damn, damn. I almost bought one of those "BEWARE OF TRAINS" signs on eBay, but missed the end of the auction. I should see if any more are available...and then figure out where to put it. :P
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 4:33 AM on October 1, 2021

My Welsh in-laws love this.
posted by doctornemo at 5:28 AM on October 1, 2021

Mr Bad Example : I think you should hold out for one of these signs instead.
posted by rongorongo at 6:27 AM on October 1, 2021 [1 favorite]

Say what you will; for me, he will always be Harry Bemis.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 6:57 AM on October 1, 2021 [2 favorites]

Well, I guess the US had to arrange to have this done, since God knows the English would never dream of being nice to newcomers, even those arrived specifically to save their bacon.
posted by praemunire at 8:06 AM on October 1, 2021

I would never trust that pompous, waddling master of foul play!
posted by unreason at 8:10 AM on October 1, 2021 [3 favorites]

Meredith and Zero Mostel in Waiting for Godot. One of my childhood introductions to ART. I still remember it.
posted by njohnson23 at 8:33 AM on October 1, 2021 [1 favorite]

The Bob Hope cameo was like watching a contemporary Tom Hanks appearance. I think Hanks has done some studying.

This was amazing relic to watch. The race relations part hit like a bucket of ice water, though. Thanks.
posted by SoberHighland at 8:38 AM on October 1, 2021 [3 favorites]

I would never trust that pompous, waddling master of foul play!

Is that what led to this?
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 8:41 AM on October 1, 2021

Great period novel about US soldiers in Britain: The Chequer Board by Nevil Shute from 1947. As for Burgess Meredith, yeah, Henry Beamis^* forever, as well as George in Of Mice And Men (from 1939, don't miss!)

*His marriage came up on my wedding day, in private discussion with my Best Man, pre-ceremony, as a worst-case outcome (which happily hasn't come to pass).
posted by Rash at 9:09 AM on October 1, 2021 [2 favorites]

You're right: Henry Bemis. His name somehow got solidified incorrectly into my 10-year-old brain.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 9:20 AM on October 1, 2021 [1 favorite]

In thematically related, there's also A Canterbury Tale (hey full movie on YT!) about mostly polite allies visiting with locals in 1944 Southern England. Actually my favourite of the Powell/Pressburger war projects, which are all interesting.
posted by ovvl at 9:39 AM on October 1, 2021

Perhaps made in the aftermath of the Battle of Bamber Bridge, an outbreak of racial violence between Black and White American servicemen in 1943.
posted by scruss at 9:47 AM on October 1, 2021 [4 favorites]

It's always fun to see clips like this, of stars who had a quite successful movie career long before they became tv icons, often playing characters wildly at odds with their "serious" acting career.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:09 AM on October 1, 2021

Fascinating to think of my grandfather watching this when he was younger than my daughter is now, on his way to a posting at a field hospital in the English countryside. His time there inspired a fondness for all things British that lasted his whole life (despite his Irish heritage!). He was lucky enough to win a lottery the base held so that he could get leave to go into London on VE day. Here is is. Thanks for posting.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:21 PM on October 1, 2021 [7 favorites]

Really interesting what they said explicitly and what they said implicitly, such as "don't mess with the local girls, they're all probably taken!"

Interesting comment about "we don't get over our prejudices that easy".

Love the couple watching him scarf all their rations.
posted by freethefeet at 2:40 AM on October 2, 2021 [1 favorite]

This reminds me of another film I saw on YT for American troops stationed in Australia (with some awfully inaccurate views about the quality of Australian coffee!).
posted by thaths at 12:57 PM on October 4, 2021