Director: Basil Dearden
Screenplay: Roger MacDougall
Starring: Tommy Trinder, James Mason, Mervyn Johns, Philippa Hiatt, Finlay Currie, Philip Friend, Meriel Forbes, Beatrice Varley, Billy Hartnell
Country: United Kingdom
Running time: 90 min
Year: 1943
BBFC Certificate: U
Ealing Studios are best known for their landmark, brilliant comedies, the likes of Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Ladykillers and The Lavender Hill Mob. Yet they also made a number of excellent dramas and more serious works (including the first portmanteau horror film, and still one of the best, Dead of Night).
The Bells Go Down is one of those more dramatic works, though it’s not without comedic moments. It’s a wartime tale adapted from a novel of the same name by Stephen Black and made with the full cooperation of the national fire service.
The film follows an auxiliary fire brigade in London during the the Second World War, with the focus being on the years 1939-1940, a time of unnerving calm that gives way for outright terror, horror and devastation when the Blitz begins. We follow Tommy (Tommy Trinder), a wannabe greyhound racer who joins the fire brigade, alongside out of work and newly married Bob (Philip Friend), existing firefighter Ted (James Mason) and his girlfriend Susie (Meriel Forbes), who is another new recruit to the brigade.
The new recruits learn discipline, a head for heights, how to stay cool in danger and much more during a training montage as they learn how to be firefighters. We follow some of the events of the Second World War, moving from 1939 to 1940 with the recruits not being called into service. That all changes when the Blitz, the German bombing campaign against the UK, begins in September 1940.
The first two thirds of the film are more light in tone, Trinder in particularly giving cheeky one liners and pulling faces to get a laugh. But once the Blitz occurs, the tone, necessarily and understandably, turns darker, with characters in peril or scared that their loved ones may be under threat.
There’s some remarkable footage of wartime London and real firefighting, which is interspersed with dramatisations and the occasional miniature to striking effect. There’s some real drama in some of the firefighting sequences which create some very tense moments, particularly towards the finale which is excellently filmed, and builds to a sad, poignant and yet hopeful conclusion.
Whilst comedian Trinder, who was a huge hit in the 1930s and 1940s but is not so well known now, and Mason, who was beginning to establish himself as a leading man at this point, are the stars, with their names above the titles, it’s an ensemble piece as we get to know a number of the firemen at home and at work. All play their parts believably. Amongst the firefighters is a role for future first Doctor Who William Hartnell, credited here as firefighter Billy and appearing 20 years before his turn in the early years of the science-fiction TV show, and a memorable part for Tommy’s greyhound, chasing the fire engines on his first call out.
The Bells Go Down is another winner from Ealing Studios. There’s a lightness to the tone in the first two thirds of the film which gives way to a dark final act. It’s a fine wartime drama which gets the best out of its ensemble cast, and features some dramatic firefighting sequences. It is a neat tribute to the heroic efforts of firefighters and the enduring spirit and resolve in the face of horror and adversity that people showed during the Second World War.
The Bells Go Down is released on Blu-ray by StudioCanal on their Vintage Classics range on 24th June 2024. The picture is strong throughout with natural film grain and belying its age, with the film marking its 81st anniversary this year. The mono soundtrack is is also good, no issues here.
Film: 
EXTRAS:
London Auxiliary Fire Brigade Parade (1939)
Fires Were Started (1943)
Save Your Shillings and Smile (1943)
Behind the Scenes Stills Gallery
London Auxiliary Fire Brigade Parade is a one minute Gaumont British News piece from 1939 featuring a parade and training and a small speech about the need for peace at the outbreak of the Second World War.
1943’s Fires Were Started is the standout extra; an hour long Crown Film Unit production by the great documentary filmmaker Humphrey Jennings that complements the main feature well. It has previously appeared in the UK on Volume 2 of the excellent three-volume dual-format The Complete Humphrey Jennings series released by the BFI. The film is a wonderful fictional documentary focusing on the fire brigade in London in 1940-41. There’s some remarkable footage of London as we follow firefighters going about their day. In the first third we meet some of the characters and see their camaraderie and friendship as they sing and play games, interspersed with colleagues at work. Then we see them battle a particularly challenging fire, with some very dramatic footage, showing the danger of the work and their heroism. An excellent inclusion.
Save Your Shillings and Shine is from 1943 and runs for seven minutes. It features The Bells Go Down star Tommy Trinder in a musical with a few songs and a big opening number. Trinder is deciding which of the chorus line to take out with him on the town, in a National Savings promo piece. A lovely little addition.
The stills gallery runs for one minute and features about 23 black and white images.
The Bells Go Down is an entertaining, rousing wartime picture highlighting the human spirit during the war, the role firefighters played and some eye-catching footage of 1940s London. It’s released on a fine Blu-ray by StudioCanal, the latest in a growing number of Ealing Studios films they’ve released. Picture and sound are solid and there are three shorts which complement the main feature well, headlined by the excellent hour long Humphrey Jennings dramatised documentary, Fires Were Started.
Disc/Package:
