Theirs Is the Glory

Please do not compare this film with the fictionalised Hollywood account in 'A Bridge Too Far'. My father was one of the survivors of Arnhem and my second cousin was killed there. My father told me how accurate this account was. A Bridge Too Far just made him angry.

This was one of the most harrowing battles of World War Two. The First Airborne were split and the two parts could not reach each other yet were near enough to hear their comrades being shot. It had a devastating effect on my father for the rest of his life. The Division was decimated trying to do the impossible.

(For me, born after the war it is horrifying to see what my family went through and frightening to realise by what a slim chance my father survived and I existed.) This is a real testament to those soldiers and I hope will ensure that they are never forgotten.

This film was made within a year or so after the real event with many "actors" being the actual survivors. It shows a very narrow slice of Operation Market Garden, but, think of it in the context of one of the participants - they had a very limited view of the big picture - they were just trying to survive and achieve objectives. Yes, a few errors, but what film doesn't? Some reviewers say the acting in stilted, but it was not acting, they look like real men doing real feats of staying alive and bravery, not some polished actor-twit. One of the most important reasons for keeping this film preserved as well as any supplemental film cuts, both real combat archival and re-enactments, is that the uniforms, personal gear, weapons are period correct. Nothing worse than seeing a 1950's rifle in a WWII film. The dialog is period correct, again, not some script writer's idea of what was said. Breathtaking film of close packed airborne formations, how tight they really were. The use of real film to show the parachutist sticks in close form, not the staged and safety mandated situations. It allows those of us who are history buffs or perhaps collectors of memorabilia a source where we can stop the film and closely inspect items of interest. And the re-enactments using real men versus stunt-men, were eerily dangerous and realistic, something that could not be pulled off in today's regulated world. The accuracy of the radio procedure, including the radio telegraph key proper usage and background code being actual message segments, is heartily appreciated. Some may say it is stilted, dry and not a real action "shoot-em up" but that is precisely this film's value. The big screen "A Bridge Too Far", with all of its faults, gives a better story line of the extent of the operation and lets viewers understand why the poor blokes in "Theirs Is the Glory" were seemingly left to be hung out and dry (die). I personally think for a modern student of military film, "A Bridge Too Far" should be viewed first, followed by "Theirs Is the Glory" and a few other earlier films to get the real nitty gritty close in action. The use of the field reporters and skewed information represent at-the-moment situations. No one has a hidden foregone conclusion. It just happens. Kudos to the Dutch civilians who were able to participate so soon after the horror, it brings a real sense of understanding to the trauma of their private war-hell. Love the classic and understated British "stiff upper lip" tenacity. The lines that may have seemed cheesy and poorly delivered - well, they are closer to reality than what most Hollywood directors would ever allow. (Incidentally, I am a Yank, not British - so I can slam Hollywood quackery all I want without a perceived national bias) After all, these were the men, the real men - "those filthy, grimy, wonderful gentlemen who dropped from the clouds to fight where they stand... ... ... Just ordinary men."

September 1944. Operation Market Garden, the Allied plan to advance into Germany via Holland through the use of three airborne divisions and an armour-lead corps, is underway. The point of furtherest Allied advance is the town of Arnhem, held by the British 1st Airborne Division. This is its story.

Easily the most famous depiction of Operation Market Garden is A Bridge Too Far (1977). Grand in scale, lavish in production and featuring an all-star cast, A Bridge Too Far is a superb war drama, covering all facets of the operation and combining historical accuracy, action and character engagement.

Much less known is this film, Theirs Is The Glory, made over 30 years previously. Made shortly after the end of World War 2 in Europe and about a year after the actual battle, it is far less ambitious in scale, focusing just on the Arnhem battle. It shows well the heroic stand of the 1st Airborne Division, holding out for several days against overwhelming odds.

Great dramatisation of the battle, so well done at times you think you're watching documentary footage, rather than a re-enactment. Very realistic, helped by having on hand actual German tanks, Tigers, Panthers, Panzer IVs. One of the advantages of filming within months of WW2 ending! A Bridge Too Far had to make do with the usual pre-CGI thing of using US tanks as German ones.

On the downside, the acting is a bit wooden. The actors can be forgiven as they were often not professional actors but actual participants of the battle, playing themselves! The locations used were the actual locations of the battle, so you can't get much closer to the real thing: original participants playing themselves in the actual locations of the battle.

Overshadowed by A Bridge Too Far but still a good film to watch.

One of my fellow-contributors giggled at the stereotypical British calmness displayed in this film. I was born in the UK before World War 2 and I can attest that, rightly or wrongly, most British people of that time were brought up to show restraint under pressure. It was a characteristic that served this country pretty well for a long time (though largely abandoned in recent years). So I found the level-headed attitude of the Arnhem participants entirely convincing (even if the acting was not up to professional standard). I knew plenty of people of that generation for whom making a drama out of their difficulties would have been anathema. Theirs Is The Glory is far truer to life as it was than any number of Hollywood war epics.

Released in 1946 on the second anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem Theirs is the Glory became the biggest grossing war film for nearly a decade. It vividly recaptures the battle of Arnhem but there are no credits before or after the film. All we see at the start of the film is a short foreword Theirs is the Glory has been produced entirely without the use of studio sets or actors. Every incident was either experienced or witnessed by the people who appear in the film.

This is followed by a short statement by the narrator This film is a tribute to every man who fought at Arnhem and is an everlasting memorial to those who gave their lives.

Importantly and selflessly the men selected to star on the big screen received no individual credits as they were representing the 10,000 men of the 1st Airborne. The Director, Producer and crew also declined credits in the film for the same reason. Who were these men we see on screen? Did they really deserve the accolade Theirs is the Glory? The director of Theirs is the Glory was Brian Desmond Hurst, Northern Irelands greatest film director. As Brian's relative and biographer I have long realised the significance of Theirs is the Glory as both a piece of art (with film as the canvas as Brian was previously an artist) and a piece of military history (Brian was a veteran of the First Worl War) . Therefore at a blue plaque unveiling for Brian Desmond Hurst in Belfast (April 2011) I selected Theirs is the Glory as the film to be shown to help celebrate the event. The honour being bestowed on Hurst was only the fourth cherished blue plaque to be awarded by the Directors Guild of Great Britain. Before the film began I offered the audience one simple piece of advice Look into the eyes of the men as you watch the film unfold and those eyes will take you as close as you will get to experiencing Arnhem.

Interestingly A Bridge Too Far and Theirs is the Glory were compared in the battlefields magazine Against All Odds (published in October 2010) and the comparison is stark and revealing "A Bridge Too Far is a slow moving epic, well worth a viewing with some authentic scenes, but is unconvincing in its portrayal of the battle of Oosterbeek...'Theirs is the Glory' is the only feature film currently released that accurately portrays the events at Oosterbeek in atmospheric and chronological terms, despite its jerky portrayal of events. This is a film to watch.

Theirs is the Glory was jointly produced by the J. Arthur Rank Organization and the British Armys Film and Photographic Unit. The film had premiered on the second anniversary of the start of the battle, 17 September 1946, and became a blockbuster of its day. Dr Leo Enticknap based his thesis, in part, on Theirs is the Glory. During his research he discovered a poster for the 1956 film The Battle of the River Plate held by the British Film Institute describing it as The biggest-grossing was film since Theirs is the Glory implying that Theirs is the Glory held this distinction for a decade.

Brian, in his unpublished autobiography Travelling the Road, explains about the idea for the film. Castleton-Knight, head of Pathe News, came to me soon after the war ended and asked me if I would like to make a film about the Arnhem drop When I heard what the film company proposed to do with the story, using stock shots, and a few jokes, I said to myself: This is not on. It was also suggested to me by the producer of the Rank Organisation that we should use their most popular male star. I said No, he doesn't know one end of the rifle from another.

There was nobody who appeared in the film, officer or soldier, who had not fought at Arnhem it is a true documentary reconstruction of the event. In the scenario we just followed the battle day by day.

I hope you enjoy watching this film. As Brian Desmond Hurst said "it is a true documentary reconstruction of the event". Even more importantly I have had the pleasure of meeting many 1st Airborne veterans and they all agree! This is, indeed, a film to watch.

Allan Esler Smith