OH! WHAT A LOVELY WAR

(Redirected from Oh! What A Lovely War)

'''Oh! What a Lovely War''' is a stage musical and 1969 musical film. The title is derived from the music hall song ''Oh! It's a Lovely War'', which is one of the major numbers in the productions.
It began life at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, in 1963 as a production by Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop. It was based on ''The Donkeys'' by historian Alan Clark, with some scenes adapted from ''The Good Soldier Švejk'' by Czech humorist Jaroslav Hašek. The play was an ensemble production with no "stars" as such, but featured members of the company, such as Brian Murphy, Victor Spinetti and Glynn Edwards playing multiple roles. The production transferred intact to Wyndham's Theatre the same year.
This satire on World War I (and by extension against war in general), was a surprise hit. It was adapted by the BBC for radio more than once, and in 1969 Richard Attenborough transformed it into a film. His star-studded cast included Dirk Bogarde, John Gielgud, John Mills, Kenneth More, Laurence Olivier, Jack Hawkins, Corin Redgrave, Michael Redgrave, Vanessa Redgrave, Ralph Richardson, Maggie Smith, Ian Holm, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Nanette Newman, Edward Fox, Susannah York, John Clements, Phyllis Calvert and Maurice Roëves. This film has been released on DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment.
The stage show is traditionally performed in pierrot costumes, and features such World War I-era songs as ''It's a Long Way to Tipperary'', ''Pack up Your Troubles'' and ''Keep the Home Fires Burning''. Harsh images of war and shocking statistics are usually projected onto the backdrop, however, providing a stark contrast with the comedy of the action taking place before it.
The 1969 film transferred the ''mise-en-scene'' completely into the cinematic domain, with elaborate sequences shot at West Pier, Brighton, elsewhere in Brighton and on the South Downs, interspersed with motifs from the stage production. These included the 'cricket' scoreboards showing the number of dead, but Attenborough did not use the pierrot costumes. However, as many critics noted, including Pauline Kael^[1] the treatment diminshed the effect of the numbers of deaths, which appear only fleetingly. Nonetheless Attenborough's final sequence, ending in a crane shot of hundreds of war graves, each individually hammered into the South Downs chalk for the shot, is regarded as one of the most memorable of the film.

Contents

The Song

External links and References

References in popular culture

The Song

The song was originally part of the repetoire of music hall star Ella Shields. These are the lyrics:
:Oh, oh, oh, it's a lovely war,
:Who wouldn't be a soldier, eh?
:Oh, it's a shame to take the pay;
:As soon as reveille is gone,
:We feel just as heavy as lead,
:But we never get up till the sergeant
:Brings us breakfast up to bed.
:Oh, oh, oh, it's a lovely war,
:What do we want with eggs and ham,
:When we've got plum and apple jam?
:Form fours, right turn,
:How shall we spend the money we earn?
:Oh, oh, oh, it's a lovely war.
:Up to your waist in water,
:Up to your eyes in slush,
:Using the kind of language,
:That makes the sergeant blush.
:Who wouldn't join the army?
:That's what we all inquire;
:Don't we pity the poor civilian,
:Sitting beside the fire.
:Oh, oh, oh, it's a lovely war,
:Who wouldn't be a soldier, eh?
:Oh, it's a shame to take the pay;
:As soon as reveille is gone,
:We feel just as heavy as lead,
:But we never get up till the sergeant
:Brings us breakfast up to bed.
:Oh, oh, oh, it's a lovely war,
:What do we want with eggs and ham,
:When we've got plum and apple jam?
:Form fours, right turn,
:How shall we spend the money we earn?
:Oh, oh, oh, it's a lovely war.

External links and References

1. Kael, Pauline (1971) 'Off with the statues' heads!' in ''Deeper into Movies'', Calder Boyars


★

References in popular culture

★ BBC Radio 4's ''15 Minute Musical'' portrayed Tony Blair's premiership in the style of ''Oh! What a Lovely War'' in a September 2006 episode entitled "Oh! What a Lovely Blair"