The White Cliffs of Dover ( film ) - wikipedia The White Cliffs of Dover ( film ) The White Cliffs of Dover Theatrical release poster Directed by Clarence Brown Produced by Clarence Brown Sidney Franklin Screenplay by Claudine West Jan Lustig ( de ) George Froeschel Robert Nathan Based on `` The White Cliffs '' ( 1940 poem ) by Alice Duer Miller Starring Irene Dunne Alan Marshal Roddy McDowall Music by Herbert Stothart Cinematography George J. Folsey Robert H. Planck Edited by Robert Kern Production company Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer Distributed by Loew 's Inc Release date May 11, 1944 ( 1944 - 05 - 11 ) ( USA ) Running time 126 min. Country United States Language English Budget $2,342,000 Box office $4,045,000 ( domestic ) $2,249,000 ( foreign ) The White Cliffs of Dover is a 1944 film based on the Alice Duer Miller poem titled The White Cliffs. It was made by Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer, directed by Clarence Brown, and produced by Clarence Brown and Sidney Franklin. The screenplay was by Claudine West, Jan Lustig ( de ) and George Froeschel, with the credit for additional poetry by Robert Nathan. Nathan stated in an interview that he wrote the screenplay as his first work as a contract writer for MGM but the studio credited Claudine West who died in 1943 as a tribute to her. Contents 1 Plot summary 1.1 Differences from source 2 Cast 3 Discussion 4 Box office 5 Adaptations 6 See also 7 Notes 8 External links Plot summary At the height of World War II, Lady Susan Ashwood ( Irene Dunne ) is a nurse in a British hospital, awaiting the arrival of some wounded men. She thinks back to how she came to Britain many years before. In 1914, Susan and her father Hiram P. Dunn ( Frank Morgan ) ( publisher of a small - town newspaper ) came to Britain, intending to stay for two weeks. Old Colonel Forsythe ( C. Aubrey Smith ) introduces Susan to Sir John Ashwood ( Alan Marshal ), a baronet and one of the landed gentry, with an estate and manor house. They fall in love, and despite some friction over her being American, they marry. Their honeymoon is cut short when World War I breaks out. John is also an army officer ; he rejoins his regiment and goes to war in France. Susan and John 's mother, Lady Jean ( Gladys Cooper ) must wait for news, good or bad. John 's brother Reggie ( John Warburton ) is killed in action. John finally gets a chance to be with Susan for a few days in France, which they spend in Dieppe. During their stay, the United States declares war on Germany. Lady Susan returns to Britain and has a son, also named John. She, baby John, and Colonel Forsythe watch together as newly - arrived American troops parade through London. The war ends, but tragically, John is killed near the end of the fighting, never having seen his wife again, or his son. Susan and young John ( Roddy McDowall ) live in the Ashwood manor house with Lady Jean. Having inherited the baronetcy, he is addressed as `` Sir John '', even as a boy, and takes seriously his duties as proprietor of the manor. He develops a childhood infatuation with Betsy Kenney ( Elizabeth Taylor ), daughter of a tenant farmer. Young John invites two visiting German boys to the manor for tea. The German boys shock the Ashwoods by spouting bellicose militaristic sentiments. Susan becomes afraid that there will be another war, and that she will lose young John as she lost his father. After Lady Jean dies, she decides to sell the manor and take John to America. But when she tells him why, John refuses, insisting that he will go into the army as his father did, and fight for Britain if war comes. Susan changes her mind and they stay in Britain. World War II begins, and Sir John ( now played by Peter Lawford ) becomes an officer, while his sweetheart Betsy ( now played by June Lockhart ) becomes a Wren. The flashback ends, as wounded men arrive at Susan 's hospital. To Susan 's horror, John is among them, severely wounded. Later, in the wards, a doctor tells Susan John is dying. John tells her he was wounded in fighting at Dieppe, and of an American soldier who died near him. He speaks of the importance of winning a complete victory and a lasting peace. At that moment, American soldiers again parade through London, passing by the hospital. Susan proudly describes them to John, as he dies. Differences from source The source poem has no mention of a romantic partner for Susan 's son, John. The poem clearly states that John is following his father into the army, but ends with only Susan 's fear that John might die in the war, not that he has even been sent to fight yet. Cast The role of Betsy was shared. Betsy as a little girl at age 10 was played by Elizabeth Taylor and Betsy as a young woman was played by June Lockhart. Irene Dunne as Susan Ashwood Alan Marshal as Sir John Ashwood Roddy McDowall as John Ashwood II as a boy Frank Morgan as Hiram Porter Dunn Van Johnson as Sam Bennett C. Aubrey Smith as Colonel Walter Forsythe Dame May Whitty as Nanny Gladys Cooper as Lady Jean Ashwood Peter Lawford as John Ashwood II as a young man John Warburton as Reggie Ashwood Jill Esmond as Rosamund Brenda Forbes as Gwennie Norma Varden as Mrs. Bland Edmund Breon as Major Rupert Bancroft ( uncredited ) Franklyn Farnum as Ball guest ( uncredited ) June Lockhart as Betsy Kenney at age 18 ( uncredited ) Miles Mander as Major Loring at Hospital ( uncredited ) J. Pat O'Malley as Martin ( uncredited ) Elizabeth Taylor as Betsy Kenney at age 10 ( uncredited ) Ian Wolfe as skipper of Honeymoon Boat ( uncredited ) Discussion In a scene set in the early 1930s, adolescent German boys visit the Ashwood estate. One of the boys remarks that the estate 's large lawns would be ideal for military gliders to land - a premonition of the airborne attacks launched by Nazi Germany. Box office According to MGM records, the film was a big hit and earned $6,294,000 ( equivalent to $88 million in 2017 ) at the box office, resulting in a profit of $1,784,000 ( equivalent to $25 million in 2017 ). The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography in Black and White. Adaptations White Cliffs of Dover was adapted as a radio play on the September 18, 1946, episode of Academy Award Theater, starring Irene Dunne in her original film role. See also White Cliffs of Dover the geologic formation. Notes ^ Jump up to : Glancy, H. Mark `` When Hollywood Loved Britain : The Hollywood ' British ' Film 1939 - 1945 '' ( Manchester University Press, 1999 ) ^ Jump up to : The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles : Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study. Jump up ^ `` Robert Nathan interview '' in Davis, Ronald L. Words into Images : Screenwriters on the Studio System Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2007. p. 42 External links The White Cliffs of Dover at the American Film Institute Catalog The White Cliffs of Dover on IMDb The White Cliffs of Dover at AllMovie The White Cliffs of Dover at the TCM Movie Database Films directed by Clarence Brown The Great Redeemer ( 1920 ) The Last of the Mohicans ( 1920 ) The Foolish Matrons ( 1921 ) The Light in the Dark ( 1922 ) Do n't Marry for Money ( 1923 ) The Acquittal ( 1923 ) The Signal Tower ( 1924 ) Butterfly ( 1924 ) The Eagle ( 1925 ) The Goose Woman ( 1925 ) Smouldering Fires ( 1925 ) Flesh and the Devil ( 1926 ) Kiki ( 1926 ) The Trail of ' 98 ( 1928 ) The Cossacks ( 1928 ) A Woman of Affairs ( 1928 ) Navy Blues ( 1929 ) Wonder of Women ( 1929 ) Anna Christie ( 1930 ) Romance ( 1930 ) Inspiration ( 1931 ) Possessed ( 1931 ) A Free Soul ( 1931 ) Emma ( 1932 ) Letty Lynton ( 1932 ) The Son - Daughter ( 1932 ) Looking Forward ( 1933 ) Night Flight ( 1933 ) Sadie McKee ( 1934 ) Chained ( 1934 ) Ah, Wilderness ! ( 1935 ) Anna Karenina ( 1935 ) Wife vs. Secretary ( 1936 ) The Gorgeous Hussy ( 1936 ) Conquest ( 1937 ) Of Human Hearts ( 1938 ) Idiot 's Delight ( 1939 ) The Rains Came ( 1939 ) Edison, the Man ( 1940 ) Come Live with Me ( 1941 ) They Met in Bombay ( 1941 ) The Human Comedy ( 1943 ) The White Cliffs of Dover ( 1944 ) National Velvet ( 1944 ) The Yearling ( 1946 ) Song of Love ( 1947 ) Intruder in the Dust ( 1949 ) To Please a Lady ( 1950 ) Angels in the Outfield ( 1951 ) When in Rome ( 1952 ) Plymouth Adventure ( 1952 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_White_Cliffs_of_Dover_(film)&oldid=814844995 '' Categories : 1944 films English - language films Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer films American films American black - and - white films Western Front films ( World War I ) Films directed by Clarence Brown 1940s romantic drama films World War I films American romantic drama films World War II films made in wartime Films scored by Herbert Stothart Hidden categories : Interlanguage link template link number Pages using div col without cols and colwidth parameters Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Deutsch فارسی Français Italiano עברית Latina Nederlands 日本 語 Português Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 11 December 2017, at 07 : 35. 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Question: who played betsy in the white cliffs of dover
Answer: Elizabeth Taylor