The Volunteer (1944 film)

The Volunteer
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Directed by	Michael Powell Emeric Pressburger
Written by	Michael Powell Emeric Pressburger
Produced by	Michael Powell Emeric Pressburger
Starring	Ralph Richardson Pat McGrath
Cinematography	Frederick Ford
Edited by	John Seabourne Michael C. Chorlton
Music by	Allan Gray
Release date	10 January 1944 (1944-01-10)
Running time	24 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The Volunteer (1944) is a short black-and-white British film by the filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger for the U.K. Ministry of Information. Made during World War II as recruitment propaganda for the Fleet Air Arm, volunteer numbers rose after its release.

The films features actor Ralph Richardson starring in a West End production of Othello. Pat McGrath plays his dresser, who joins the Fleet Air Arm and becomes a war hero – as famous as Richardson himself. British film stars Anna Neagle and Laurence Olivier make cameo appearances, as does director Michael Powell and fellow British film director Anthony Asquith.

This film was one of a highly-regarded six-film collaboration between Powell and Pressburger - together often known as The Archers, the name of their production company - which also included The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) I Know Where I'm Going! (1945) and A Matter of Life and Death (1946).

The film is available as a supplement to the Criterion DVD of 49th Parallel.

The director Michael Powell during filming for The Volunteer, 1943

Cast

• Ralph Richardson as Lt. Cmdr Ralph Richardson
• Pat McGrath as Fred Davey
• Anna Neagle as Leaving Denham Studio

External links

• The Volunteer reviews and articles at the Powell & Pressburger Pages
• The Volunteer at IMDb