Les Blanches Falaises de Douvres

Original title: The White Cliffs of Dover

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

1.9K

YOUR RATING

Irene Dunne and Alan Marshal in Les Blanches Falaises de Douvres (1944)

London based American nurse, Lady Susan Ashwood (Irene Dunne), is at a hospital awaiting the imminent arrival of wounded soldiers. She is hoping that her enlisted son, Sir John Ashwood II (Peter Lawford), who resembles his father in appearance and temperament, is not amongst those wounded. As she waits, she remembers back to World War I when her husband, the former Sir John Ashwood (Alan Marshal), was enlisted, and the waiting she endured on any news from and about him while he was away in battle. From a humble background, Sue almost didn't meet Sir John, let alone marry him, as she and her father, Hiram Porter Dunn (Frank Morgan), the publisher of a small daily newspaper, were only in London in April 1914 on a two week vacation - her first trip - that was not going very well when by happenstance she got invited on her last day in London to the King's ball, where Sir John was awaiting the arrival of another young woman with whom he was supposed to keep company for the evening. Despite being mutually attracted to each other, the patriotic Sue didn't know whether she could leave the United States and get accustomed to John's family's aristocratic manners, as well as the English customs in general. She also thinks back to approximately ten years earlier when she was urged by her father to return to the States on the inevitability that the Germans would once again be the aggressors in a war. Through it all, Sue is a proud American, despite having lived the better part of her adult life in England.

Play trailer2:36

1 Video

25 Photos

Drama Romance War

Susan travels with her father to England for a vacation. Invited to a ball, Susan meets Sir John Ashwood and marries him after a whirlwind romance. However, American Susan never quite adjust... Read allSusan travels with her father to England for a vacation. Invited to a ball, Susan meets Sir John Ashwood and marries him after a whirlwind romance. However, American Susan never quite adjusts to life as a new member of the British gentry.Susan travels with her father to England for a vacation. Invited to a ball, Susan meets Sir John Ashwood and marries him after a whirlwind romance. However, American Susan never quite adjusts to life as a new member of the British gentry.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

1.9K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 3 wins & 1 nomination total

Videos1

Trailer 2:36

Trailer

Photos25

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Storyline

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Trivia
Irene Dunne reads a telegram from her Anglophobe father to a group of English people. Her father begs her not to marry an Englishman she is in love with and tells her "You're a Yankee through and through! Think of Paul Revere! Think of the Old North steeple! Remember the Alabama!" The viewer may become confused at this point. "Remember the Alabama"? Shouldn't it be "Remember the Alamo"? However, since the context of the telegram is anti-British any mention of the Alamo would be irrelevant. What Irene Dunne's father is apparently taking about is the C.S.S. Alabama, one of several Confederate warships that were built in British shipyards over United States protest during the Civil War. These ships attacked U.S. shipping in the Atlantic Ocean. Since Irene Dunne arrives in England in April of 1914 and married just before August 4, 1914 when Great Britain declared war on Germany, the telegram was probably sent close to the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Alabama by the U.S.S. Kearsarge on June 19, 1864 in the English Channel. The United States sued Great Britain in 1869 over the building of the Confederate warships and was awarded $15.5 million.

Goofs
A gift with a plaque dedicated to First Lady, Dolley Madison, misspells her name "Dolly Madison."

Quotes
Susan Dunn's landlady: [Of Susan]
Susan Dunn's landlady: Such a nice young thing! Not a bit like an American.

Alternate versions
Elizabeth Taylor's scenes are often deleted in older TV prints.

Connections
Featured in Twenty Years After (1944)

Soundtracks
Auld Lang Syne
(1788) (uncredited)
Traditional Scottish 17th century music
Lyrics by Robert Burns
Played during the opening credits and often in the score

User reviews43

Featured review

10/10

Beautiful film with a strong performance by Irene Dunne.

This film is both tender and powerful-with a very moving score. If, like me, you enjoy lying down at night just listening to the voices and music coming from an old classic film-this is the one for you. At the beginning when Ms. Dunne is telling her story and reflecting on her life in England-the music fits perfectly, the mood is wonderful, and her voice just makes you want to melt. Then, before you know it, even though you thought you just might want to "half" watch this film on a lazy night-you find yourself caught up in it all. The English/American bickering becomes quite funny, the romance, the war, the drama, the sadness, the next war... Irene Dunne at her best-and beautiful as ever-with that strange, knowing almost mischievous look in her eyes. I truly believe that films like these are healthy for us(sort of like watching fish in an aquarium-or shopping for antiques, petting a dog, etc.) Do yourself a favor and watch/listen to this lovely movie. If you're an Anglophile then you are really denying yourself a great pleasure by not seeing it.