Jackboots on Whitehall

Plot

In 1940, Nazi Germany invades Great Britain by drilling under the English Channel and up through the cobblestones on Whitehall. In London, from his bunker under Downing Street, Prime Minister Winston Churchill issues a call to arms for all of Britain to band together to resist the invaders. In a small village, Chris, a young everyman rallies the residents to fight back. Joining forces with Churchill's small group of soldiers, the resistance movement retreats to Hadrian's Wall where the unlikely saviours of the country come from the Scottish highlands.

Cast

As appearing in Jackboots on Whitehall, (main speaking roles and screen credits identified):

In using real-life characters to embody a more accurate portrayal, some characters are easily recognizable. While Battle of Britain hero and American pilot Billy Fiske appears, he embodies the characteristics of screen legend Clark Gable. Spall had previously portrayed Churchill in The King's Speech (2010).

Production

Writer-directors Edward and Rory McHenry poured an enormous amount of effort into the animatronic creations and models, known as "supermarionation" that featured accurately rendered period uniforms, architecture and military equipment. Some continuity errors creeped in. During the first battle between the elite Punjabi Guards and the Germans, a Punjabi soldier is seen using a PIAT rocket launcher, but the PIAT was introduced in 1943 while the film is set in 1940. Also, Jackboots on Whitehall features the German airship Hindenburg which was destroyed in 1937. A German tank destroys the Cenotaph to gain access to Downing Street, but the Cenotaph is not located at the junction of Downing Street and Whitehall, it is further down the street. One prominent scene has a crane shot at the village fête, where a direction sign with two arrows is labeled "Upper Trollope" and "Lower Trollope", apparently as a tribute to Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope. With a focus on the actual period of the Battle of Britain, the following aircraft models were essential to the depiction of the alternative history: Fairey Fulmar MkI, Focke-Wulf Fw 190D, Hawker Hurricane, Junkers Ju 88A, Junkers Ju 87B-2 Stuka, Messerschmitt Bf 109E and Supermarine Spitfire I. In addition, the following models were also featured: Douglas DC-3, Ford 4-AT-A Trimotor, Sopwith F.1 Camel and Zeppelin LZ 129 Hindenburg.

Theatrical release and premiere

Jackboots on Whitehall was released in cinemas on 8 October 2010 in the United Kingdom by Vertigo Films and premiered on 20 June 2010 at the EIFF.

Critical reception

Robbie Collin, of the News Of The World, gave the film 4 stars summarising it as "Stupid, throwaway nonsense - and that's the whole idea".Total Film Magazine also gave the film 4 stars stating "Jackboots wittily merges war flick iconography, Inglorious revisionism and Team America silliness to create a hilarious, endearing one-off". While The Guardian praised the "impressive all-star vocal cast" in Jackboots on Whitehall, and called it a "labour of love" by its writer-directors, concluded it was "amiably intentioned but desperately weak in terms of script" comparing it unfavourably with Wallace and Gromit and Team America: World Police. Other reviews were of a similar nature; the review in The Telegraph characterized the film as "an enterprising comedy but ultimately a boorish overkill."

Box office

The film grossed $20,776 worldwide.

Home media

Jackboots on Whitehall was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 26 July 2011 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Soundtrack

All music was composed by Guy Michelmore.