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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.
Available as a supplement to the Criterion DVD of 49th Parallel.
Original Release
01/10/1944
US Release
12/18/1980
Cast
| Name | Character |
|---|
| Ralph Richardson | Himself / Narrator / Self |
| Pat McGrath | Fred Davey |
| Anna Neagle | Herself / Self - Leaving Denham Studio |
| Laurence Olivier | Himself / Self - Impersonating a Fish outside Restaurant Window |
| Herbert Wilcox | Himself / Self - leaving Denham Studio |
| Tommy Woodrooffe | Self - Narrator of documentary seen on aircraft carrier / Himself |
| Anthony Asquith | Self - director of propaganda film |
| Charles de Gaulle | Self (in film screened on board) |
| Alfred Junge | Man in photograph |
| Ian Wilson | Carpenter |
Directors
Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell
Writers
Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Cast
| Name | Character |
|---|
| Ralph Richardson | Himself / Narrator / Self |
| Pat McGrath | Fred Davey |
| Anna Neagle | Herself / Self - Leaving Denham Studio |
| Laurence Olivier | Himself / Self - Impersonating a Fish outside Restaurant Window |
| Herbert Wilcox | Himself / Self - leaving Denham Studio |
| Tommy Woodrooffe | Self - Narrator of documentary seen on aircraft carrier / Himself |
| Anthony Asquith | Self - director of propaganda film |
| Charles de Gaulle | Self (in film screened on board) |
| Alfred Junge | Man in photograph |
| Ian Wilson | Carpenter |
| Michael Powell | Himself / Photographer Outside Buckingham Palace |
Producers
| Name | Role |
|---|
| Michael Powell | Producer |
| Emeric Pressburger | Producer |
