World War II

SS-GB (2017)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Detective Superintendent Douglas Archer staring at the camera with barbed wire behind him on a red background

Detective Superintendent Douglas Archer (SAM RILEY) © Sid Gentle Films

Writers: Robert Wade and Neal Purvis

Starring: Sam Riley, Kate Bosworth, Aneurin Barnard, Rainer Bock, Jonathan Cass, James Cosmo, Maeve Dermody, Lars Eidinger, Kit Connor and James Northcote

Production Company: Sid Gentle Films, BBC

Kent locations used: The Historic Dockyards Chatham

Set in the 1940s, in an alternate world where the Germans won the Battle of Britain, BBC’s new five part series SS-GB follows Scotland Yard detective Douglas Archer (Sam Riley), who is investigating a murder in German-occupied England. The gripping new drama is an adaptation of Len Deighton’s 1978 novel and will be split into five parts.

Writers Robert Wade and Neal Purvis both studied Film and Photographic Arts at the University of Kent. Since then they have forged a successful career writing screenplays together, with their first success being the controversial drama Let Him Have It (1991). Both writers have also co-written five James Bond films, including Quantum of Solace (2008) and Skyfall (2012), which was the UK’s highest grossing movie!

Archer (Sam Riley) and Harry Woods (James Cosmo) standing in an office room

Episode 1 Detective Superintendent Douglas Archer (SAM RILEY), Harry Woods (JAMES COSMO) © Sid Gentle Films

SS-GB brings together a fantastic cast including, Sam Riley (Maleficent, Control), Kate Bosworth (Still Alice, Superman Returns), Aneurin Barnard (Citadel, The Truth About Emanuel), Rainer Bock (War Horse, Inglorious Basterds and Unknown), Jonathan Cass (Transformers: The Last Knight, Kingsman: The Golden Circle), James Cosmo (Braveheart and Troy), Maeve Dermody (Black Water, Marcella), Lars Eidinger (Clouds of Sils Maria, Everyone Else), Kit Connor (Get Santa, Mr Holmes) and James Northcote (The Imitation Game).

Exterior street scenes were shot at The Ropery and Anchor Wharf and also around the church and South Stables. The Tarred Yarn store was featured as a mortuary and there was also a small scene in The Commissioners House garden.

Set over 80 acres with more than 100 Victorian and Georgian buildings, The Historic Dockyard Chatham is one of Kent’s most popular film locations and has previously been used for the BBC TV series Call The Midwife (2012-present), The Crown (2016) and most recently The Halcyon (2017).

SS-GB premiers on Sunday 19th February 2017 at 21:00pm on BBC One

 

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

The Halcyon (2017)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
The Halcyon cast standing in a hall on a small staircase,

The Halcyon © ITV

Writer: Charlotte Jones

Starring: Kara Tointon, Steven Mackintosh, Alex Jennings, Olivia Williams, Jamie Blackley, Edward Bluemel, Hermione Corfield, and Matt Ryan

Production Company: Left Bank Pictures, ITV

Kent Locations Used: The Ropery and Anchor Wharf at The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Set in the 1940s, ITV’s The Halcyon charts the lives of staff and guests in a five-star hotel during World War II. The story is told from the point of view of Joe O’Hara (Matt Ryan), an American journalist and illustrates how the war permeated all areas of London life; be it that of the guests seeking an escape from the war or the forbidden love affair of the hotel’s resident jazz singer, Betsy (Kara Tointon). Samuel Sim’s soundtrack punctuates the action with sultry jazz tunes, and will be released the day the show airs.

The Halcyon brings together an incredible ensemble cast, including Kara Tointon (Eastenders, The Sound of Music Live!), Alex Jennings (The Queen, Babel) and Olivia Williams (The Sixth Sense, An Education), Steven Mackintosh (Stan Lee’s Lucky Man, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels), Sope Dirisu (Undercover, Humans) and Matt Ryan (Constantine, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour).

Exterior scenes of bombed London streets were shot at The Ropery and on Anchor Wharf, at  The Historic Dockyard Chatham in Kent.

Set over 80 acres in the Medway area of Kent, The Historic Dockyard Chatham has more than  100 Georgian and Victorian buildings as well as cobbled streets and dock spaces. The Historic Dockyard Chatham has previously welcomed filming from The Crown (2016), Partners in Crime  (2015) and Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows  (2011).

The Halcyon premiered on Monday 2nd January 2017 at 21:00 on ITV

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

 

 

Close To The Enemy (2016)

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Kathy Griffiths (PHOEBE FOX) and Brigadier Wainwright (ROBERT GLENISTER) sitting in a car facing the camera

Kathy Griffiths (PHOEBE FOX), Brigadier Wainwright (ROBERT GLENISTER) © BBC Little Island Productions

Writer and Director: Stephen Poliakoff

Starring: Jim Sturgess, Freddie Highmore, August Diehl, Charlotte Riley, Phoebe Fox, Alfred Molina

Production Company: Little Island Productions in association with Endor Productions

Kent locations used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Dieter Koehler (AUGUST DIEHL) standing by an army vehicle

Dieter Koehler (AUGUST DIEHL) © BBC Little Island Productions

Set in the aftermath of the Second World War, Close To The Enemy tells the story of Captain Callum Ferguson (Jim Sturgess), an intelligence officer who is given the task of recruiting captured German scientist Dieter (August Diehl), to work for the RAF on the development of the jet engine by the British army.

The seven part series is written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff (Dancing on the Edge, The Lost Prince) and stars Jim Sturgess (Deception, Spike Island), August Diehl (Le jeune Karl Marx, Come What May), Freddie Highmore (Bates Motel, The Journey), Charlotte Riley (In the Heart of the Sea, Edge of Tomorrow), Phoebe Fox (The Hollow Crown, The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death) and Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2, Love is Strange).

The Close To The Enemy production team chose to film at The Historic Dockyard Chatham on HMS Cavalier, inside and outside Slip 3 and the upper floors of the Ropery which doubled as the arrival halls at the docks.  They also used a drone to fly across the river where the boat arrives.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is set over 80 acres and contains over 100 Georgian and Victorian buildings as well as cobbled streets and dock spaces. Previously filmed at The Historic Dockyard Chatham was Call the Midwife (2010 – 2016), Downton Abbey (2013) and The Golden Compass (2007) among others.

Close To The Enemy starts on Thursday 10th November 2016 at 21:00 on BBC Two.

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

 

The Gathering Storm (2002)

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Two actors staring at each other through an open door frame

The Gathering Storm © HBO Films and BBC Films

Director: Richard Loncraine

Starring: Albert Finney, Vanessa Redgrave, Jim Broadbent, Ronnie Barker, Hugh Bonneville, Tom Hiddleston

Production Company: HBO Films, BBC Films, Scott Free Productions

Kent Locations: Chartwell, Westerham

The Gathering Storm is a BBC-HBO co-produced film for TV about Winston Churchill in the years leading up to World War II. It’s emphasis is on the relationship between Winston and his wife Clementine, their financial problems and his struggle as an isolated backbench MP when warning Parliament about the coming of a second major war.

Chartwell House - red brick large house surrounded by greenery

Chartwell House © National Trust

Albert Finney (The Bourne Ultimatum, Erin Brockovich) plays Churchill and won a host of awards for his performance including a Golden Globe, Emmy and BAFTA.

Starring alongside Albert Finney are Vanessa Redgrave (Call the Midwife, Deep Impact), Jim Broadbent (Gangs of New York, Cloud Atlas), Ronnie Barker (Open All Hours, Porridge), Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey, The Monuments Men) and Tom Hiddleston (Thor, War Horse).

Chartwell was the real life Churchill family home from 1924 until Winston Churchill’s death in 1965 and was therefore chosen by the production to feature in The Gathering Storm as his house and grounds.

Chartwell is a National Trust property in Westerham set in delightful gardens. The rooms remain much as they were when Churchill lived there. Other National Trust locations in Kent which have been used for filming include Scotney Castle which was used for BBC drama Hunted (2012), Knole House featured in The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) and The White Cliffs of Dover appeared in On a Clear Day (2005).

The Gathering Storm was shown in 2002 and is now available to buy on DVD.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

Doctor Who – The Curse of Fenric (1989)

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head shot of Sylvester McCoy as Doctor Who looking concerned, looking away from the camera

Sylvester McCoy as Doctor Who © BBC

Director: Nicholas Mallett

Starring: Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, Dinsdale Landen, Alfred Lynch, Nicholas Parsons

Production Company: BBC

Kent locations used: Lillesden Manor, Roses Farm, St Lawrence Church in Hawkhurst

The Curse of Fenric is a four part story of popular sci-fi show, Doctor Who, starring Sylvester McCoy. The Doctor and his companion, Ace, arrive at a secret military base during World War II where a Viking curse has been awakened.. Confronted by vampires emerging from the sea and Russian commandoes closing in, the Doctor and Ace need to find a way to defeat an old evil to secure a better future for mankind.

Sylvester McCoy (Frank Stubbs, Rab C. Nesbitt) stars as the seventh Doctor alongside Sophie Aldred (Corners, Melvin and Maureen’s Music-a-grams), Dinsdale Landen (Devenish, Mickey Dunne), Alfred Lynch (Jackanory, West 11) and Nicholas Parsons (The Arthur Haynes Show, Sale of the Century).

The production visited Lillesden Manor which doubled as the laboratory under the church. It is situated in Hawkhurst and is set in 200 acres of land, and was built in 1853 by Edward Lloyd. Just after World War I, the mansion was sold and became a girl’s school which closed in 1999.

The production also visited listed timber framed cottage, Roses Farm in Hawkhurst, which doubled as Mrs Hardaker’s Cottage and St Lawrence Church in Hawkhurst which doubled as St Judd’s Church.

Doctor Who: The Curse of Fenric was first shown in 1989 and is now available to buy on DVD.

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

Doctor Who – The Mutants (1972)

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Jon Pertwee inside Chilslehurst Cave talking to a man with a torch

Jon Pertwee as Doctor Who at Chislehurst Caves © BBC

Director: Christopher Barry
Starring: Jon Pertwee, Katy Manning, Paul Whitsun-Jones, James Mellor, Garrick Hagon
Production Company: BBC
Kent Locations Used: Bluewater Quarry, Chislehurst Caves, Stone House Farm Caves

The Mutants (1972) is a six-part story of popular sci-fi show Doctor Who starring Jon Pertwee. The Doctor and his companion, Jo, arrive at Skybase One during the 30th century when the planet, Solos is fighting for independence from the Earth’s empire. However, the natives have started to mutate in to hideous looking creatures and the doctor needs to find out why.

Jon Pertwee (Carry On Cleo, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum) stars as the third Doctor alongside Katy Manning (Gloria’s House, Evil Never Dies) as his companion Jo, Paul Whitsun-Jones (The Quatermass Experiment, Huntingtower), James Mellor (Marat/Sade, The Oblong Box) and Garrick Hagon (Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).

The production visited Bluewater Quarry which was the setting for the planet Solos prior to the shopping centre being built. The quarry began in the early 19th century and was then rapidly enlarged for cement production in the 1950’s; however it then closed down in the 1980’s and is now Bluewater shopping centre.

Chislehurst Caves also feature and doubled as the interior Solos’ caves. Chislehurst Caves are man-made and 22 miles long, initially dug as chalk and flint mines and are believed to have been last worked in during the 1830’s. The first mention of the mines was in 1250, during World War II when the caves became an air raid shelter for 15000 people with electrical lighting, a chapel and a hospital. The caves are now a tourist attraction and have been used for TV series Merlin (2008) and film The Riddle (2007).

The production also visited Stone House Farm Caves which represented the cave system entrance on Solos. It is situated near Strood in a field next to Lower Rochester Road. The caves are thought to be old chalk mines. The Medway area has previously been seen on screen in Jekyll and Hyde (2015), Great Expectations (2012) and Canterbury Tales (2003).

Doctor Who: The Mutants (1972) originally aired on BBC1 from Saturday 8th April 1972 to Saturday 13th May 1972 and is now available to buy on DVD.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.

Battle of Britain (1969)

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Battle of Britain movie poster- montage of characters from the film in square boxes, Battle of Britain written in red on top with a sun set scene of a town skyline above

Battle of Britain © United Artists

Director: Guy Hamilton
Writer: James Kennaway, Wilfred Greatorex, Derek Dempster, Derek Wood.
Starring: Michael Caine, Trevor Howard , Harry Andrews, Christopher Plummer
Production Company: Spitfire Productions
Kent Locations Used: Denton, The Jackdaw Inn (Denton), Chilham, RAF Hawkinge

Set in 1940, Battle of Britain (1969) film tells the tale of the epic battle of Britain. Nazi Germany is attacking the airfields of the south east as part of Operation Sea Lion, and in order to stop the enemy from achieving their goals for invasion, the British Royal Air force must fight a desperate battle for control of the skies.

With death defying aerial acrobatics, this historical re-enactment takes the audience to the heart of World War II. With the Luftwaffe advancing onto London, the RAF must gather their destroyed resources and launch a critical attack.

Starring Michael Caine (The Dark Knight, The Prestige), this feature was not to be his last visit to the county: the actor returned in Is Anybody There? (2009), the touching story of the friendship between a young boy and a retired magician, which was filmed in Folkestone and Hythe.

Battle of Britain featured some of the best of Kent’s locations. The village of Chilham was mentioned on fictional signs at the control centre at the end of the film. A popular filming location in the county, Chilham is most famous for appearing in Agatha Christie adaptations. Miss Marple: The Moving Finger (2005) was filmed almost entirely in the village and it was also home for a special Christmas episode of Poirot (1995).

Another Kent Village, Denton, appeared in the film. The local pub, The Jackdaw Inn, had a cameo as the scene for Christopher Plummer (The Sound of Music, Beginners) and his on-screen wife, giving the audience an insight into the personal effects of war. The Jackdaw Inn has a room devoted to RAF World War II memorabilia and is a must see for any history buff.

RAF Hawkinge was the obvious choice as a location for the film. With a rich military history, the site is now a museum with the largest collection of Battle of Britain artefacts on show in the country.

Battle of Britain (1969) was released on Monday 15th September 1969 and is now available to buy on DVD.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.

A Canterbury Tale (1944)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
The two soldiers sat at a cafe table, a women is stood in between with a tray serving them.

The two soldiers in a cafe © Granada International

Writer / Director: Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger
Starring: Eric Portman, John Sweet, Sheila Sim and Dennis Price
Production Company: The Archers, Independent Producers
Kent Locations Used: City of Canterbury, Canterbury Cathedral, Chilham, Fordwich, Little Stour, Selling, Wickhambreaux and Wingham

Inspired by the Chaucer tales, this classic film by cinema legends Powell and Pressburger tells the story of a modern day pilgrimage to the beautiful city of Canterbury. Set in the 1940’s amidst the drama of World War II, the film opens with the chance meeting of American G.I Bob Johnson (John Sweet), Land Girl Alison Smith (Sheila Sim) and British Soldier Peter Gibbs (Dennis Price).

On disembarking a train headed for Canterbury, the three arrive in the sleepy fictional village of Chillingbourne. Soldier Peter Gibbs has been stationed at a nearby Army Camp, Alison is due to start work on a local farm and G.I Bob accidentally got off the train believing it to be the stop for Canterbury. On leaving the station to walk to the town hall, Alison is attacked by the Glue Man, a mysterious assailant who pours glue onto the hair of local girls. The three decide to stay in the area in order to do some sleuthing.

Another local Kent village, Fordwich was used for exterior shots of “Chillingbourne” village. Before the Wantsum Channel, a stretch of water that divided The Isle of Thanet from Kent, dried up Fordwich was the main port serving Canterbury. Filmed at Denham Studios and on location around Kent, the film is a visually stunning walk through some of the most scenic locations in the county. Selling Train Station cameos as Chillingbourne Station, where the three main protagonists first meet.  Several Kentish villages were used for the fictional location of Chillingbourne.  The historical village of Wingham was established in Roman times but it has been inhabited since the Stone Age.  In 1286, the Archbishop of Canterbury founded a college in the area and many of the local buildings date back to this time, including The Red Lion Inn which was used for exterior shots of The Hand of Glory Inn for the film.

Near the picturesque village of Chilham, Chilham Mill provided the perfect backdrop for the charming scene where American soldier Joe sails in a row boat with the local children. The mill is the best preserved on the River Stour. It is said that the village itself was inspiration for the name of fictional village Chillingbourne in the film and if true, this would certainly not be the last time Chilham inspired filmmakers. A popular tourist attraction for the county, TV dramas such as Miss Marple (2006) and Poirot (1995) have filmed in the village.

Another local mill in nearby village Wickhambreaux also appeared in the film. As Joe and land girl Alison ride on a cart through the beautiful Kent countryside, the mill features in the background of the shot. The perfect rural setting, the village was once home to Joan of Kent who was wife to Edward Plantagenet, the father of infamous English King Richard II.

The City of Canterbury steals the show at the end of the film as the setting for the dramatic parade of soldiers through the main High Street.  The city skyline is dominated by the stunning Cathedral which is the oldest in England. Canterbury is a place that is both steeped in heritage and tradition and a modern, bustling city. A Canterbury Tale (1944) gives a modern day viewer an insight into how the Second World War affected the city, but even with visible bomb damage, many of the streets used can still be recognised today. The Cathedral itself paid homage to the film in 2006 when it was screened in the Cathedral Nave.

A Canterbury Tale (1944) was released on Monday 21st August 1944 and is now available to buy on DVD.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History, please visit our Movie Map.