Millions Like Us

This is a super little compendium of stories that celebrates the roles performed by women in Britain during WWII. Patricia Roc is "Celia" who is called up to help out - ending up in an aircraft factory making a vital, but somewhat unglamorous, contribution to the war effort. It's here that she makes lots of new friends and starts courting with young airman "Fred Blake" (Gordon Jackson). As a production, it's a bit ropey - plenty of balsa wood model sets etc. but it was made in 1943 so just about everything was at a premium in Britain then, so taken in context this is largely forgivable. Messrs. Gilliat & Launder direct this story of humanity and determination with aplomb (OK, maybe not with much style) and we do get a sense of the terror lived through by the families and soldiers alike during this most hideous of times. Eric Portman, and the rather dryly witty pairing of Basil Bradford and Naunton Wayne add a little diversion to the gloom as they plant land mines on a beach somewhere as if preparing for a game of cricket.