More WWII stuff

I spent this weekend watching Went the Day Well? a 1942 Ealing studio war movie about a Nazi invasion of a small British village with the help of a fifth columnist, and the village's efforts to thwart them. This was in contrast the first 4 episodes of Danger: UXB that I watched, a PBS mini-series set in the same time period, with Anthony Edwards as a new leftenant assigned to a bomb disposal squad.

Went the Day Well? is part of the British War Collection DVD package. I found it very interesting -- it was framed as being filmed after the war ended, but was actually filmed during the war. The villagers are initially taken in by the German soldiers disguised as British troops, and are fooled by the plausable and charming fifth columnist, but work to resist the invasion and warn the outside world. The characters are great. The soldiers are little typecast as nasty Germans, but the villagers go a little beyond the stereotypes. One of the characters was probably the inspiration for the Tessie O'Shea's role as the telephone operator in The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming, but was a much stronger character.

Danger: UXB (UXB = unexploded bomb) was entertaining, but not as riveting as Went the Day Well?. By the end of the 4th episode, though, it seemed pretty clear that any member of the bomb squad (other than the lead, Anthony Edwards as Lt. Ash) who as given a back story would be blown up at the end of an episode. I will continue to watch the series, and it will be interesting to see if this holds true.

I wouldn't rate Danger: UXB: as highly as Foyle's War, the mystery set in the same time period, with Michael Kitchen as Christopher Foyle, a police officer solving crimes in the south coast town of Hastings.