THE WAY AHEAD (U.S. title: IMMORTAL BATTALION) (1944) B/W 115m dir: Carol Reed

w/David Niven, Raymond Huntley, William Hartnell, Stanley Holloway, James Donald, John Laurie, Leslie Dwyer, Hugh Burden, Jimmy Hanley, Renee Asherson

From The Movie Guide: "Bracing, spirited and lovely. Carol Reed had already developed a reputation in Britain as an accomplished director by the time WWII broke out, so when he joined the Army it was no surprise that he was assigned to the film unit. His 1942 short instructional documentary THE NEW LOT and an idea by Lt. Col. David Niven provided the inspiration for THE WAY AHEAD (a.k.a. IMMORTAL BATTALION). Set in the aftermath of the Dunkirk evacuation, the story focuses on Lt. Jim Perry (Niven) as he whips a group of ordinary conscripts into soldiers and then leads them against Rommel's Afrika Korps at El Alamein. This pseudo-documentary was a big success in Britain, earning Reed even greater respect and leading to ODD MAN OUT, THE FALLEN IDOL and THE THIRD MAN, and serving as a patriotic contribution to the war effort."