Oh! What a Lovely War 55 years old

The ever popular war games. With songs, battles & a few jokes

Oh! What a Lovely War

Satire about the First World War based on a stage musical of the same name, portraying the "Game of War" and focusing mainly on the members of one family (last name Smith) who go off to war. Much of the action in the movie revolves around the words of the marching songs of the soldiers, and many scenes portray some of the more famous (and infamous) incidents of the war, including the assassination of Duke Ferdinand, the Christmas meeting between British and German soldiers in no-mans-land, and the wiping out by their own side of a force of Irish soldiers newly arrived at the front, after successfully capturing a ridge that had been contested for some time.

Credits

Oh! What a Lovely War Cast

Name Character
Laurence Olivier He was 62, 82 years old when he died as Field Marshal Sir John French
Corin Redgrave He was 30, 70 years old when he died as Bertie Smith
Dirk Bogarde He was 48, 78 years old when he died as Stephen
Ian Holm He was 38, now 92 years old as President Poincare
Vanessa Redgrave She was 32, now 87 years old as Sylvia Pankhurst
Jean-Pierre Cassel He was 36, 74 years old when he died as French Colonel
Juliet Mills She was 27, now 82 years old as Nurse
John Mills He was 61, 97 years old when he died as Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig
Susannah York She was 30, 72 years old when she died as Eleanor
Edward Fox He was 32, now 86 years old as Aide to Field-Marshal Haig
Tony Vogel He was 26, 72 years old when he died as German Soldier (uncredited)
John Gielgud He was 65, 96 years old when he died as Count Leopold Von Berchtold
Maggie Smith She was 34, now 89 years old as Music Hall Star
Ralph Richardson He was 66, 80 years old when he died as Sir Edward Grey
Cecil Parker He was 72, 73 years old when he died as Sir John
Michael Redgrave He was 61, 77 years old when he died as Gen. Sir Henry Wilson
Phyllis Calvert She was 54, 87 years old when she died as Lady Dorothy Haig
Marianne Stone She was 47, 87 years old when she died as Mill Girl
Kenneth More He was 55, 67 years old when he died as Kaiser Wilhelm II
Anthony Ainley He was 37, 71 years old when he died as 3rd Aide
Steve Plytas He was 56, 80 years old when he died as Turkish Military Attaché (uncredited)
Vincent Ball He was 45, now 100 years old as Australian Soldier
Charles Farrell He was 68, 88 years old when he died as Policeman (uncredited)
Natasha Parry She was 38, 84 years old when she died as Sir William Robertson's Lady
Stanley Lebor He was 35, 80 years old when he died as Soldier (uncredited)
Nanette Newman She was 35, now 89 years old as Nurse
Angus Lennie He was 39, 84 years old when he died as Scottish Soldier
Dolores Judson as Haig's Girlfriend (uncredited)
Jack Hawkins He was 59, 62 years old when he died as Emperor Franz Josef
Gerald Sim He was 44, 89 years old when he died as Chaplain
Thorley Walters He was 56, 78 years old when he died as Staff Officer
Wensley Pithey He was 55, 79 years old when he died as Archduke Ferdinand (uncredited)
Christopher Cabot as Soldier in Shell Hole (uncredited)
Maurice Roëves He was 32, now 87 years old as George Smith
Carole Gray She was 29, now 84 years old as Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Robert Flemyng He was 57, 83 years old when he died as Staff Officer in Gassed Trench
Christine Noonan She was 24, 58 years old when she died as Mill Girl (uncredited)
Paul Daneman He was 43, 75 years old when he died as Czar Nicholas II
Norman Shelley He was 66, 77 years old when he died as Staff Officer in Ballroom
John Gabriel He was 38, now 92 years old as Nikolai Lenin (uncredited)
Isabel Dean She was 51, 79 years old when she died as Sir John French's Lady
Derek Newark He was 36, 65 years old when he died as Shooting Gallery Proprietor
John Dunn-Hill He was 16, 62 years old when he died as Irish Soldier (uncredited)
Harry Locke He was 55, 73 years old when he died as Heckler
Penelope Allen She was 19, now 74 years old as Solo Chorus Girl
Paul Shelley He was 27, now 81 years old as Jack Henry Smith
Pippa Steel She was 20, 44 years old when she died as Scoreboard Girl (uncredited)
Charlotte Attenborough She was 9, now 64 years old as Emma Smith - Age 8 (uncredited)
Tony Thawnton as Officer on Telephone (uncredited)
Frank Forsyth He was 63, 78 years old when he died as President Woodrow Wilson (uncredited)
Guy Middleton He was 61, 65 years old when he died as Gen. Sir William Robertson
John Owens He was 27, now 82 years old as Seamus Moore
Julia Wright as Haig's Secretary (uncredited)
Christian Doermer He was 34, now 88 years old as Fritz
Ben Howard He was 18, now 35 years old as Pte Garbett
John Hussey as Soldier on Balcony (uncredited)
Norman Bird He was 48, 84 years old when he died as Training Sgt (uncredited)
Norman Jones He was 37, 80 years old when he died as Scottish Soldier
David Lodge He was 34, 68 years old when he died as Recruiting Sergeant at Music Hall
Ruth Kettlewell She was 56, 94 years old when she died as Duchess Sophie (uncredited)
Geoffrey Davies was 26, now 81 years old as Aide to Haig
Tom Marshall as Soldier in 'Goodbyee' (uncredited)
Pia Colombo She was 35, 51 years old when she died as Estaminet Singer
Arthur White He was 36, now 91 years old as Sergeant in Dugout (uncredited)
Angela Thorne She was 30, now 85 years old as Elizabeth May 'Betty' Smith
John Clements He was 59, 77 years old when he died as Gen. von Moltke
Jeremy Child He was 25, now 79 years old as Wealthy Young Man (uncredited)
John Rae He was 156, 79 years old when he died as Grandpa Smith
Meriel Forbes She was 55, 86 years old when she died as Lady Pamela Grey
Michael Bates He was 48, 57 years old when he died as Drunk Lance Corporal
Peter Gilmore He was 38, 81 years old when he died as Pte Burgess
Michael Wolf He was 15, 65 years old when he died as German Officer (uncredited)
Jane Seymour (actress) She was 18, now 73 years old as Chorus Girl (uncredited)

Oh! What a Lovely War Crew

Name Department
John Comfort as Production Manager. Production
Anthony Mendleson as Costume Design. He was 54 (81) years old when He died Costume & Make-Up
Harry White as Art Direction. He was 135 (86) years old when He died Art
Gerry Turpin as Director of Photography. He was 44 (72) years old when He died Camera
Richard Attenborough as Director. He was 46 (90) years old when He died Directing
Richard Attenborough as Producer. He was 46 (90) years old when He died Production
Donald M. Ashton as Production Design. He was 50 (85) years old when He died Art
Miriam Brickman as Casting. She was 52 (60) years old when She died Production
Len Deighton as Screenplay. He was 40 (now 95) years old Writing
Kevin Connor as Editor. He was 32 (now 86) years old Editing
Joan Littlewood as Musical. She was 54 (87) years old when She died Writing
Oh! What a Lovely War poster
Oh! What a Lovely War (55 years)

The ever popular war games. With songs, battles & a few jokes

  • Release day: Monday, March 10, 1969
  • Runtime: 138 minutes