Main Cast: Dirk Bogarde, Tom Courtenay, Leo McKern, Barry Foster, James Villiers
Release Year: 1964
Country: UK
Run Time: 86 minutes
Plot
King and Country was adapted by Evan Jones from John Wilson's play Hamp. Misfit World War I British soldier Tom Courtenay, on trial for desertion, is defended by martinet officer Dirk Bogarde. Disgusted by the assignment, Bogarde wearily asks the dullwitted Courtenay the reasons for his actions. Courtenay replies that, after being the sole survivor of a battle and discovering that his wife had been cheating on him while he was serving his country, he didn't see any purpose in going on; thus, he "went for a little walk". Bogarde's dislike of his client melts into sympathy, which in turn leads to temporary indignation over the manner in which the average enlisted man is treated by his aristocratic superiors. Despite his pleas for leniency, Bogarde's client is sentenced to be shot; after all, an example must be made. On the day of the execution, the men on the firing squad are so drunk that they're unable to carry out the sentence. Once more incensed by the "rabble" that he's forced to deal with, Bogarde takes the law into his own hands. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
King and Country is a distinctive anti-war effort that won't be to all tastes but one which those in tune with director Joseph Losey's take on the material will find both fascinating and utterly involving. Those not on the director's wavelength -- or those who don't necessarily appreciate its anti-war message or its denunciation of class favoritism -- will have a different reaction and will most likely find King slow going and predictable. Indeed, it's the kind of story that has been told many times; but Losey and his writers believe there is still a great deal of truth in some familiar tales. What's interesting about Losey's technique is that he makes the piece somewhat Brechtian, raising some walls that make the audience aware that what it is watching is a distillation of real life rather than the real thing, an approach that works well with a court martial-themed piece, in that such trials are themselves distillations of real life that take place in a faux-theatrical setting, with the purported (though not always actual) aim of arriving at the truth. The artifice that Losey employs doesn't negate the drama, but somehow heightens it. He is helped by the adept performances of his cast. Dirk Bogarde turns in an expert performance that takes advantage of all opportunities to plumb the contradictions of his character. Leo McKern is magnificent as an immovable object battling an irresistible force. And above all, Tom Courtenay is pure gold as the Everyman who is a pawn in a game that he in no way understands. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Peter Copley - Colonel; Barry Justice - Lt. Prescott; Vivian Matalon - Chaplain; Jeremy Spenser - Pvt. Sparrow; James Hunter - Pvt. Sykes; David Cook - Private Wilson; Larry Taylor - Sergeant-Major; Jonah Seymour - Cpl. Hamilton, M.P.; Keith Buckley - Corporal of the Guard; Derek Partridge - Captain at Court-Martial; Brian Tipping - Lieutenant at Court Martial; Terry Palmer - Soldiers in Hamp's Platoon
Credit
Peter Mullins - Art Director, Roy Ponting - Costume Designer, Joseph Losey - Director, Reginald Mills - Editor, Larry Adler - Composer (Music Score), Richard Macdonald - Production Designer, Denys Coop - Cinematographer, Joseph Losey - Producer, Norman Priggen - Producer, Evan Jones - Screenwriter, James Lansdale Hodson - Screenwriter, John Wilson - Screenwriter, James Lansdale Hodson - Book Author, John Wilson - Play Author
During World War I, in the British trenches at Passchendaele, an army private, Arthur Hamp (Tom Courtenay), is accused of desertion. He is to be defended at his trial by Capt. Hargreaves (Dirk Bogarde), an upper-class officer. Hamp had been a volunteer at the outbreak of the war, and was the sole survivor of his company, but then decided to 'go for a walk': he had contemplated walking to his home in London, but after more than 24 hours on the road, he's picked up by the Military Police and sent back to his unit to face court-martial for desertion. Hargreaves is initially arrognat towards the simple-minded Hamp but comes to identify with his plight. With testimony from a doctor (Leo McKern), the soldier must be made an example of in front of the other soldiers. He is found guilty and is shot by a firing squad, but as he is still alive afterwards, he is then shot through the mouth. The action is confined to the mud-entrenched, rat-infested confines of the trenches and barracks. The film shows a grim picture of life in the trenches during the war.
Awards
Tom Courtenay received the award for the Best Actor for his role as Hamp at the 1964 Venice Film Festival, where the film was also nominated for the Golden Lion. The film was nominated for four 1965 BAFTA awards, including Best Film.
