Channel Islands Occupation.

Over the last couple of weeks I have watched two drama DVD sets dealing with the German occupation of the Channel Islands in general - Guernsey in particular. Obviously I was not there at the time so cannot comment on the historical accuracy.

First

Island at war - (2003) 6 x episodes over 2 DVDs.
I am glad I watched this one first. As drama's go - it was OK. It had good enough actors - James Wilby, Clare Holman, Laurence Fox (who kept losing his German accent) and Owen Teale. But I found the story lines a bit feeble and will probably not watch it again. The film people, apparently, upset the Islanders by filming it on the Isle of Man and by mispronouncing some of the traditional surnames.

Second

Enemy at the Door - (1978) 26 x episodes over 8 DVDs.
As soon as I began to watch this it became clear why the Island at War was so weak - in spite of the good cast - it was a pathetic attempt at a remake of this one. They had lifted several of the stories - the son who was a spy, the girl 'fraternising' at a dance, the failed escape attempts, the trouble with the librarian etc., - and watered them down to fit the lesser time schedule.

I found this series compelling, interesting, believable, and incredibly well acted - Simon Cadell as a truly nasty SS Officer was a revelation when you remember him as the bumbling Mr Fairbrother in Hi Di Hi !! Alfred Burke as the German Commander faced with the almost impossible task of trying to keep the peace between his troops, the SS troops, and the Islanders - was excellence itself.

We had the TV debut of Anthony Head (of Gold Blend fame) and some interesting one off appearances of a very young John Nettles and David Hayman

I really enjoyed this series - thought it gave a balanced view to both sides - even showed that not all Germans were Nazi supporters. In one episode the Doctor even comments to his wife that, had they met Oberst Richter when on holiday in Germany before the war, they would have liked him.

It did seem to end very abruptly though and I can't help wondering if there had been a planned third series that had been axed for some reason - so many questions left hanging out there - did the occupation continue until the war was over or were the Germans recalled before that? What happened to Oberst Richter's wife after she was taken by the gestapo in Berlin? Was there a more robust resistance?

Apparently - once again - the film makers offended the Islanders - they filmed it on Jersey although it was supposed to be about Guernsey. They may be practical reasons for that - I don't know.

Anyway - I will certainly watch it again ... and again !

Re: Channel Islands Occupation.

That sounds interesting Tabby... there's also a new film about to be released I believe, based on the book
The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society.

(But the author was an American, her chief reference was
Life in Guernsey Under the Nazis, 1940-45 by Dorothy Pickard Higgs, first published in 1979; see amazon.com.)

Re: Channel Islands Occupation.

I watched "Another Mother's Son" being filmed in Wells. It's about Jersey being occupied in the War. It was very strange seeing Nazis in the Market Place and the Post Office transformed.
I have photos somewhere if interested.
I looked out for the film at the cinemas but must have missed it!
Anyone seen it?

Re: Channel Islands Occupation.

Silver

Enemy at the Door I can still remember a lot of the series.

Simon Cadell as the sneering SS officer brill and Alfie Burke not a normal roll for him was even more brill

A top series....... Thanks for reminding me of it, must watch it again.

Re: Channel Islands Occupation.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5193790/?ref_=nv_sr_1

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5193790...?ref_=tt_dt_dt

Re: Channel Islands Occupation.

Photos would be good, TessA, when you have the time. It is amazing how the film people can transform a place. This sounds like a good film and with Jenny Seagrove and John Hannah in it - it can't fail. Will look out for it.

Re: Channel Islands Occupation.

Will look out for that one . Thank you, Ruthio.

Re: Channel Islands Occupation.

Another one set in Jersey but filmed elsewhere - specifically Wells, Bath, Bristol, Priddy and Shepton Mallet. Why do they do that?

Film crew are so good at transforming places - why could they not take Jersey back a few years?

Most, if not all, the fortifications/gun placements are still there and, surely, the towns cannot have changed so much?

Perhaps the Islanders objected to being reminded of unhappy times - who knows?

Re: Channel Islands Occupation.

The release date was only a few days ago so you couldn't possibly have missed it Tess!

Re: Channel Islands Occupation.

Ruthio - Tessa's film 'Another mother's son' was released 24th March 2017 - it is now out on DVD - might just have to wander over to Amazon!!