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The Gentle Sex is a 1943 British black-and-white romantic comedy-drama war film, directed and narrated by Leslie Howard. It was produced by Concanen Productions, Two Cities Films, and Derrick de Marney.[1] The Gentle Sex was Howard's last film before his death.[2]

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The Gentle Sex
Directed by	Leslie Howard
Written by	Moie Charles[1] additional dialogue: Aimée Stuart
Produced by	Derrick de Marney
Starring	Joan Gates Jean Gillie Joan Greenwood Joyce Howard Rosamund John Lilli Palmer John Justin
Narrated by	Leslie Howard
Cinematography	Robert Krasker
Edited by	Charles Saunders
Music by	John D. H. Greenwood
Production companies	Derrick De Marney Productions Two Cities Films
Distributed by	General Film Distributors
Release date	15 April 1943
Running time	92 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Synopsis

The documentary-drama follows seven women from different backgrounds who meet at an Auxiliary Territorial Service training camp. "Gentle" British girls, they are now doing their bit to help out in World War II: driving lorries and manning ack-ack batteries. Leslie Howard provides slightly sarcastic narration throughout the film.[3][4]

The girls are allowed to socialise at organised dances with local male troops. Music is contemporary (big band sound) and dancing includes the jitterbug. Several of the girls find romance. The narrator points out that "war is never kind to lovers".

Cast

Best source is at BFI:

ATS volunteers

• Joan Gates as Gwen Hayden
• Jean Gillie as Dot Hopkins
• Joan Greenwood as Betty Miller
• Joyce Howard as Anne Lawrence
• Rosamund John as Maggie Fraser
• Lilli Palmer as Erna Debruski
• Barbara Waring as Joan Simpson

Other characters

• John Justin as Flying Officer David Sheridan
• Mary Jerrold as Mrs Sheridan
• John Laurie as Corporal Alexander Balfour
• Elliott Mason as Mrs Fraser
• Harry Welchman as Captain Ferrier
• Miles Malleson as train guard
• Jimmy Hanley as first soldier on train
• Meriel Forbes as Davis, junior commander
• Rosalyn Boulter as Sally, telephonist
• Tony Bazell as Ted
• Frederick Leister as Colonel Lawrence
• Everley Gregg as Miss Simpson
• Noreen Craven as convoy sergeant
• Frederick Peisley as second soldier on train
• Ronald Shiner (as Ronnie Shiner) as the racing punter in the pub
• Roland Pertwee as captain
• Nicholas Stuart (actor) as Canadian private
• Frank Atkinson (actor) as lorry driver
• Peter Cotes as Taffy
• Maud Dunham as Mrs Miller
• Leslie Howard as narrator ("observations of a mere man")
• and various appearances by members of HM Forces

Box office

Kinematograph Weekly listed a series of films that were "runners up" in its survey of the most popular films in Britain in 1943: The Gentle Sex, The Lamp Still Burns, Dear Octopus and The Adventures of Tartu.[5]

Critical reception

TV Guide noted "some lucid and funny moments in a capable and intelligent production for its time";[6] and Billy Mowbray wrote, for Film 4, "if only social history was this good at school. Funny, fascinating and probably unlike any film you've seen before, The Gentle Sex is a bona fide cultural treasure."[7]

References

Further reading

• Lejeune, C. A. (1947) Chestnuts in her Lap. London: "Mädchen in Uniform: The Gentle Sex", pp. 95–96

External links

• The Gentle Sex at AllMovie
• The Gentle Sex at the British Film Institute
• The Gentle Sex at IMDb
• The Gentle Sex at the BFI's Screenonline

На других языках

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[de] The Gentle Sex

The Gentle Sex ist ein britisches Weltkriegsfilmdrama mit Wehrertüchigungstendenz aus dem Jahre 1942. Unter der Regie von Leslie Howard spielen Jean Gillie, Joan Greenwood, Joyce Howard, Rosamund John sowie die deutsche Exilantin Lilli Palmer und John Justin die Hauptrollen.

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- [en] The Gentle Sex

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[it] Sesso gentile

Sesso gentile (The Gentle Sex) è un film del 1943 diretto da Leslie Howard.

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[ru] Слабый пол (фильм, 1943)

«Слабый пол» (англ. The Gentle Sex) — британская чёрно-белая военная пропагандистская романтическая драматическая комедия 1943 года. Последний фильм Лесли Говарда: 1 июня 1943 года самолёт, в котором он возвращался из Лиссабона в Лондон был сбит фашистским истребителем. Премьера картины состоялась 15 апреля 1943 года, дистрибьютором выступила компания General Film Distributors[en].

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