The Bells Go Down
| The Bells Go Down | |
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DVD cover
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| Directed by | Basil Dearden |
| Produced by | Michael Balcon |
| Written by | Roger MacDougall and Stephen Black (novel) |
| Starring |
Tommy Trinder James Mason |
| Music by | Roy Douglas |
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Release date
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Running time
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90 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Bells Go Down is a black & white wartime film made by Ealing Studios in 1943. The reference in the title is to the alarm bells in the fire station that "go down" when a call to respond is made. The film is an ensemble piece that covers the period between 27 August 1939, and 9 September 1940, when World War II began and London was subjected to aerial bombing, and is a tribute to the solidarity of not just those engaged in service, but among the British people as a whole.
It was produced by Michael Balcon and directed by Basil Dearden and was intended to give praise to the British Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS). Although a fictional plot employing fictitious landmarks and localities, many of the incidental shots were taken at actual fires that were started during the air raids on London in the previous two years. A sub-plot depicted the rivalry between the part-time AFS and the full-time London Fire Brigade (the two brigades merged into the National Fire Service in 1941). The reasons for joining the service, the training and finally the work and tragedy during September 1940 blitz on London were shown for several characters. A background narration was spoken by Leo Genn.
The film was released at nearly the same time as the similar Fires Were Started, a fictional "documentary" that used actual firemen instead of professional actors, and as a result was sometimes reviewed unfavorably by comparison.
The score was originally offered to William Walton, but for various reasons (possibly including that he had lost his own home in the Blitz) he offered it to his musical assistant Roy Douglas.
On 3 September 1939, at the start of World War II, several East End Londoners join the London County Council Auxiliary Fire Service. Tommy Turk (Trinder) is a light-hearted gambler who avoids work, living with his mother (Varley) who runs a local fish and chips shop. Tommy has bought a greyhound pup he names "Short Head" and hopes to race. Bob Matthews (Friend) is a newcomer to the East End who just lost his job and has to postpone his wedding to Nan Harper (Hiatt) as a result. Tommy and Bob meet in The Hopvine, a pub run by Ma and Pa Robbins (Muriel George and Pierce), whose son Ted (Mason) is a fireman with the London Fire Brigade. Ted's girl Susie has just joined the brigade as a dispatcher, but Ma Robbins' cannot hide her thinly disguised disapproval of Susie's love of dance halls. The Army won't accept new enlistments, so Tommy persuades Bob to join the AFS with him. Sam, a small-time thief of Guinness, inadvertently joins the service trying to avoid the clutches of Eastchapel Police Constable O'Brien (Richard George), who dogs him with the persistence of Javert. The three are assigned immediately to the "Q" sub-station of the East End's District 21, set up in a school to train under Ted.
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