The Way Ahead

Bracing, spirited and lovely. Carol Reed had already developed a reputation in Britain as an accomplished director by the time WWII broke out, so when he joined the Army it was no surprise that he was assigned to the film unit. His 1942 short instructional documentary THE NEW LOT and an idea by Lt. Col. David Niven provided the inspiration for THE WAY AHEAD (a.k.a. THE IMMORTAL BATTALION). Set in the aftermath of the Dunkirk evacuation, the story focuses on Lt. Jim Perry (Niven) as he whips a group of ordinary conscripts into soldiers and then leads them against Rommel's Afrika Korps at El Alamein. This pseudo-documentary was a big success in Britain, earning Reed ...