Introduction

This 1988 film is based on the 1928 play Journey’s End by R. C. Sherriff.

Outline

A British Company in the WWI trenches await an inevitable German attack.

Trivia

• The play was adapted for television in 1988, starring Jeremy Northam as Stanhope, Edward Petherbridge as Osborne, and Timothy Spall as Trotter.
• It held close to the original script although there were changes, the most obvious being the depiction on camera of the raid, which happens off-stage in the theatre production.

Film Inspiration

Journey’s End is a 1928 dramatic play, the seventh of English playwright R. C. Sherriff. It was first performed at the Apollo Theatre in London by the Incorporated Stage Society on 09 December 1928, starring a young Laurence Olivier, and soon moved to other West End theatres for a two-year run. It was included in Burns Mantle’s The Best Plays of 1928-1929. The piece quickly became internationally popular, with numerous productions and tours in English and other languages. A 1930 film version was followed by other adaptations, and the play set a high standard for other works dealing with similar themes, and influenced playwrights including Noël Coward.

Set in the trenches near Saint-Quentin, Aisne, in 1918, towards the end of the First World War, Journey’s End gives a glimpse into the experiences of the officers of a British Army infantry company. The story plays out in the officers’ dugout over four days from 18 March 1918 to 21 March 1918, the last few days before Operation Michael.

Sherriff considered calling it Suspense or Waiting, but eventually found a title in the closing line of a chapter of an unidentified book, “It was late in the evening when we came at last to our journey’s end”.

Journey’s End Films

You can find a full index of Journey’s End films here.

Production & Filming Details

• Director: Michael Simpson.
• Producer: Shaun Sutton.
• Writer: Stuart Griffiths.
• Music: Carl Davis.
• Production: BBC.
• Release Date: 07 November 1988 (UK).
• Running Time: 114 minutes.
• Country: UK and France.
• Language: English.

YouTube Link