Went the Day Well? Trivia Quiz

Answer: The names on it are German.

The marker is in the form of a large cross, with several names on the base, all of them of German soldiers. Sims comments that "they wanted England", then sweeps his arm over the grave and says, "This is all they got." Charles Sims is played by Welsh actor Mervyn Johns. He goes on to describe what has happened in the village.

Answer: Whitsun

Sims mentions Whitsun weekend in his introduction to the action that follows, and later an onscreen title reminds us of the fact, also giving the information that it takes place in late May. Bramley End is the village the Germans try to take over as a prelude to a planned invasion of England, scheduled for that Monday evening.

Answer: Royal Engineers

Major Hammond (real name Ortler) and Captain Maxwell (Leutnant Jung) roll into the village with a couple of truckloads of soldiers, all pretending to be members of the Royal Engineers. At first they are friendly with the villagers, finding billets for themselves and their men and dining with the vicar and his daughter, and later with Mrs Fraser (Marie Lohr) at the Manor. Hammond/Ortler makes contact with a fifth columnist (traitor) in the village, Oliver Wilsford, whom all the villagers trust.

Men of the Gloucestershire Regiment are given a credit for appearing in the movie, by permission of the War Office. Hammond/Ortler is played by Basil Sydney, Maxwell/Jung by David Farrar and Wilsford by Leslie Banks.

Answer: Upton Ferrars

Harry Drew is the baker from the next village, known by most in Bramley End simply as "Upton". The full name is shown on a road sign early in the movie. Drew is making deliveries in Bramley End on the day the Germans arrive, and they dupe him into explaining his plans for defending that village to them, believing them to be British soldiers. He also tells them about a Home Guard exercise planned for the next day, which allows the Germans to prepare an ambush for the Bramley End members of the unit.

Harry Drew is played by Ellis Irving.

Answer: A bar of chocolate

The major's billet is at the vicarage, and while Nora is stowing away his belongings, young George curiously pulls out a large bar of chocolate and comments, "That's a funny way to spell 'chocolate'." He then asks Nora, "What does 'Wien' mean?"

Nora realises that the spelling is German, and tells George that 'Wien' is the German word for 'Vienna'. Other clues include a soldier claiming to be from Manchester who is not familiar with one of its districts, and European-style sevens and fives being used by the soldiers when scoring their card game. The latter is dismissed as there might be some Poles in the group.

Unfortunately, Nora (Valerie Taylor) goes to Oliver Wilsford with her suspicions, and he warns the major, chastising him for his carelessness in bringing the chocolate with him.

Answer: The vicar

The vicar, who appears to be a frail, white-haired gentleman, is made of sterner stuff, and is quite upset when Hammond/Ortler and his group barge into the church and disrupt the service. He refuses to follow the German officer's orders and walks slowly toward the bell rope, managing to ring it twice before the major shoots him in the back. The scene cuts to the fields, where one of the Home Guard tries to convince his mates that he heard the church bell, the signal that paratroops have landed. The others convince him he is hearing things, and soon afterward the Bramley End contingent are ambushed and killed as they ride home on their bicycles.

The vicar is played by C.V. France.

Answer: George Truscott, a boy

The Germans wish to retain a semblance of normality in the village, so some people are allowed to return to their homes or jobs. The children are sent from the church to the manor house in the charge of Mrs Fraser and Nora. Peggy, who works at the dairy and is about to marry Tom Sturry, and Ivy write a message on the shell of an egg and give it to the paper boy when he calls, but the egg is broken. Mrs Fraser slips a note into her cousin Maude's pocket when she comes for tea, but the note is lost. Mrs Collins, at the telephone exchange, kills her guard with an axe but is discovered by another German as she attempts to reach the exchange at Upton and he bayonets her. Garbett gets away from the church through a coal hatch, with Wilsford, who kills him once they are out of sight of the others.

George, who has learned stealth from his association with Bill Purvis, escapes from the manor house. He meets Purvis in the wood and the latter creates a diversion so George can get by the pickets on the edge of the village. Wounded in the leg and soaking wet from travelling through a thunderstorm, George reaches Harry Drew in Upton and the alarm is raised.

Harry Fowler plays George, and Edward Rigby is Bill Purvis. Constable Garbett is played by Johnnie Schofield.

Answer: Charles Sims and Tom Sturry

Sims, the verger, says he needs to tend to something in the church basement to restore the lights which have gone out. Whilst there he manages to drop something heavy on his guard's head. In the darkness, Tom sneaks up behind the other guard, who is in the pulpit, and takes care of him. They collect their weapons, and along with Tom's father, innkeeper Jim Sturry, they venture out to the telephone exchange, which they capture. They then get Daisy (Mrs Collins' assistant) to put them through to Upton, and find out that help is already being organised due to George's efforts. As they head for the manor house they find Wilsford in his home, but still think he is one of them. (He's so trusted that they choose him as their spokesman when the church is first taken.)

Tom is played by Frank Lawton, and Jim by Norman Pierce. Patricia Hayes is Daisy. One of the Germans is recognisable (especially by his voice) as James Donald, whose later roles include the Senior British Officer in "The Great Escape" and Major Clipton in "The Bridge on the River Kwai".

Answer: Nora shoots him.

On Sunday night, after he kills the constable, Wilsford goes to the manor house to report. Nora and Mrs Fraser wonder why he can move about so freely, and Nora overhears at least part of the conversation. On Monday, Wilsford hangs behind the Sturrys and Sims, and contacts Ortler and Jung, letting them know what is happening. He is ordered to open the French windows to provide easy access for the attacking Germans. Tom, Charles, Ivy and Peggy are all helping to barricade the downstairs windows and preparing to fend off the assault until help can arrive. Wilsford is pulling down the barricade by the French windows when Nora enters, and asks what he is doing. Knowing that he is a traitor she has brought a pistol with her and she uses it before he can finish his task.

As the battle progresses Peggy (Elizabeth Allan) and Ivy (Thora Hird) prove themselves to be quite good shots, and helpful to Tom who by now is wielding a submachine gun.

Answer: Mrs Fraser

A German soldier throws a grenade through a window and into a bedroom where several youngsters are sheltering behind an overturned bed. Mrs Fraser picks it up and steps into the hall, where it explodes as soon as she has closed the door. We don't see it, but the impression is that she has given her life for the children.

Soon afterward help arrives, just as the Germans appear to be winning the battle, and Bramley End is saved.

The scene shifts back to Sims in the churchyard, telling the story and noting that we all know how the planned invasion turned out!