Johnny Frenchman

Johnny Frenchman
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Charles Frend
Written by	T. E. B. Clarke
Produced by	Michael Balcon
Starring	Tom Walls Patricia Roc Françoise Rosay Paul Dupuis
Cinematography	Roy Kellino
Edited by	Michael Truman
Music by	Clifton Parker
Color process	Black and white
Production company	Ealing Studios
Distributed by	Eagle-Lion Distributors
Release dates	29 October 1945 (1945-10-29) October 19, 1945 (1945-10-19) (New York City)
Running time	105 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Johnny Frenchman is a 1945 British comedy-drama romance war film produced by Ealing Studios and directed by Charles Frend. The film was produced by Michael Balcon from a screenplay by T. E. B. Clarke, with cinematography by Roy Kellino.

Plot

The film is set at the onset and first months of the Second World War, between March 1939 and June 1940, in a small fishing port in Cornwall, whose inhabitants have an historic, but largely benign, rivalry with their counterparts from a port over the Channel in Brittany in northern France, whose fishing boats fish the same grounds - in this case looking for crabs. Legally the French may not fish within a three-mile limit of the British coast, and vice versa, and breaches of this rule are the cause of frequent spats between the two countries. In this instance, hot-headed Cornish harbour-master Nat Pomeroy confronts Lanec Florrie, an equally redoubtable widow in charge of an otherwise male crew, from a Breton port. Beneath all the bluster and posturing however, there is a mutual understanding and respect between the two communities.

Widower Nat's daughter, Sue Pomeroy, has been friends since childhood with local boy Bob Tremayne, and their eventual marriage has been taken as a foregone conclusion. During a visit by the Cornish contingent to Brittany a wrestling match is arranged between Bob and Lanec's son Yan, during which Yan breaks a bone, to the concern of Sue. Yan is attracted to Sue and begins actively to woo her, with great success. Sue is torn between her own attraction to Yan and her unspoken commitment to Bob, a situation which leads to increased friction between the two communities. However, when war-related danger ensues, both sides realise that their unity in common cause against the mutual German enemy, and that it is more important than petty squabbles. Bob is called up to serve in the British navy, and in a showdown conversation with Yan before he leaves, the two agree that Sue must be allowed to follow her own heart.

Yan comes to Cornwall to also serve in war duties.

With most men absent, a loose sea mine drifts into the Cornish harbour and Lanec bravely mans a ship to net it and tow it out, making her a local hero and easing the tensions. She eventually pushes Sue and Yan to marry, which they do without Pomeroy's consent.

Cast

• Tom Walls as Nat Pomeroy
• Patricia Roc as Sue Pomeroy
• Françoise Rosay as Lanec Florrie
• Paul Dupuis as Yan Kervarec
• Ralph Michael as Bob Tremayne
• Arthur Hambling as Steven Matthews
• James Harcourt as Joe Pender
• Grace Arnold as Mrs. Matthews
• Beatrice Varley as Mrs. Tremayne
• Drusilla Wills as Miss Bennett
• Judith Furse as June Matthews
• Frederick Piper as Zacky Penrose
• Richard George as Charlie West
• Bill Blewitt as Dick Trewhiddle
• James Knight as Tom Hocking

Location filming

The film's exterior sequences were shot in the Cornish fishing port of Mevagissey.

References

TimeOut Film Guide - published by Penguin Books - ISBN 0-14-029395-7

External links

• Johnny Frenchman at IMDb
• Review of film at Variety