Hope and Glory is a 1987 comedy-drama war film written, produced, and directed by John Boorman based on his own experiences growing up in London during World War II. It was distributed by Columbia Pictures. The title is derived from the patriotic British song "Land of Hope and Glory". The film tells the story of the Rohan family and their experiences, as seen through the eyes of the son, Billy (Sebastian Rice-Edwards).
A critical and commercial success, the film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay (all for Boorman). It also received 13 BAFTA Award nominations, winning for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Susan Wooldridge).
Plot[]
The film begins on 3 September 1939, the day Britain declared war on Germany. It tells the story of the Rohan family (Billy, his sisters Sue and Dawn, and his parents Grace and Clive), who live in a suburb of London. Clive joins the army, leaving Grace alone to watch over the children. She almost sends Billy and Susie away from London, but pulls them back on the train platform when she realizes she cannot bear to be apart from them. Thus, Billy stays in London for the first years of the war.
Seen through the eyes of 10-year-old Billy, the "fireworks" provided by the Blitz (September 1940 – May 1941) every night are as exciting as they are terrifying, and the ruins they leave are a fascinating playground for Billy and other boys his age, who are largely unsupervised. The nightly raids do not provide the only drama, as Billy's older sister, Dawn, falls for Canadian soldier Bruce, becomes pregnant, and, finding her life turned upside down, discovers the value of her family.
When the Rohans' house burns down (due to an ordinary fire), the family moves to the bucolic Thames-side home of Grace's parents. This provides an opportunity for Billy to spend more time with his curmudgeonly Grandfather George, who teaches him "the ways of the river".
In the autumn of 1942, Winston Churchill delivers his famous "end of the beginning" speech. Bruce returns from his secret posting and goes AWOL to find Dawn. Immediately after they are married in the village church, MPs take Bruce away. That afternoon in the living room of her grandparents' house, Dawn gives birth to a son.
Although Grace has rented a house for the family just down the river, Billy must go back to London until he can get into the local school. George drives the boy to his old school, only to find the block filled with ecstatic children, as a stray bomb has destroyed the building. George drives Billy home. The adult Billy recalls: "In all my life, nothing ever quite matched the perfect joy of that moment. My school lay in ruins, and the river beckoned with the promise of stolen days." The credits roll over imagery of the river, to the music of "Land of Hope and Glory".
Cast[]
- Sarah Miles as Grace
- David Hayman as Clive
- Derrick O'Connor as Mac
- Susan Wooldridge as Molly
- Ian Bannen as Grandfather George
- Sammi Davis as Dawn
- Jean-Marc Barr as Bruce
- Sebastian Rice-Edwards as Bill
- Geraldine Muir as Sue
- Annie Leon as Grandma
- Gerald James as Headmaster
- Nicky Taylor as Roger
- Sara Langton as Pauline
John Boorman provides the voice of the film's narrator. Boorman's daughter, Katrine Boorman, appears as Charity (one of Grace's sisters), while his son, Charley Boorman, appears as the downed Luftwaffe pilot.