The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
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- Passed
- 2h 6min
- Drama, Romance
- Jun 1944 (USA)
- Movie
Susan travels with her father to England for a vacation. Invited to a ball, Susan meets Sir John Ashwood and marries him after a whirlwind romance. However, American Susan never quite adjusts to life as a new member of the British gentry.
Director:
Writers:
Stars:
Award:
- Nominated for 1 Oscar.
- See more »
Photos and Videos
Cast verified as complete
| Irene Dunne | ... |
Susan Ashwood
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| Alan Marshal | ... |
Sir John Ashwood
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| Roddy McDowall | ... |
John Ashwood II as a Boy
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| Frank Morgan | ... |
Hiram Porter Dunn
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| Van Johnson | ... |
Sam Bennett
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| C. Aubrey Smith | ... |
Colonel Walter Forsythe
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| May Whitty | ... |
Nanny
(as Dame May Whitty)
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| Gladys Cooper | ... |
Lady Jean Ashwood
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| Peter Lawford | ... |
John Ashwood II as a Young Man
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| John Warburton | ... |
Reggie Ashwood
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| Jill Esmond | ... |
Rosamund
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| Brenda Forbes | ... |
Gwennie
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| Norma Varden | ... |
Mrs. Bland
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| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
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Harry Allen | ... |
English Cabbie (uncredited)
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| Wilson Benge | ... |
Chauffeur (uncredited)
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| Matthew Boulton | ... |
Immigration Officer (uncredited)
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| Edmund Breon | ... |
Major Rupert Bancroft (uncredited)
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| Clifford Brooke | ... |
Indian Major in Boardinghouse (uncredited)
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Eldon Burkett | ... |
Twin in Boardinghouse (uncredited)
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Elton Burkett | ... |
Twin in Boardinghouse (uncredited)
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| Bobby Callahan | ... |
Messenger Boy (uncredited)
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| Charles Coleman | ... |
Captain Davis (uncredited)
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| Clyde Cook | ... |
Jennings (uncredited)
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| Alec Craig | ... |
Billings (uncredited)
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Oliver Cross | ... |
Ball Guest (uncredited)
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Ann Curzon | ... |
Miss Lambert (uncredited)
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| Adrienne D'Ambricourt | ... |
Madam at Dieppe Hotel (uncredited)
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| Guy D'Ennery | ... |
Curate in Boardinghouse (uncredited)
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| George Davis | ... |
Boots (uncredited)
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Jack Deery | ... |
Ball Guest (uncredited)
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| Kay Deslys | ... |
Blonde Woman (uncredited)
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Vernon Downing | ... |
Lieutenant Davis Herrick (uncredited)
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| Tom Drake | ... |
Dying American Soldier (uncredited)
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| Isobel Elsom | ... |
Mrs. Bancroft (uncredited)
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| Herbert Evans | ... |
Footman (uncredited)
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| Franklyn Farnum | ... |
Ball Guest (uncredited)
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| Emily Fitzroy | ... |
Spinster in Boardinghouse (uncredited)
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Bunny Gordon | ... |
John Ashford II at 6 Months Old (uncredited)
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Arthur Gould-Porter | ... |
Captain Portage (uncredited)
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Vera Graaff | ... |
Duchess of Waverly (uncredited)
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| Douglas Grant | ... |
Corporal (uncredited)
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| Gary Gray | ... |
Boy at Dinner Table (uncredited)
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| Ethel Griffies | ... |
Woman on Train Opening Window (uncredited)
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| Gerald Hamer | ... |
Private (uncredited)
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| Lumsden Hare | ... |
The Vicar (uncredited)
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| Joy Harington | ... |
Nurse Margaret (uncredited)
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| Sam Harris | ... |
Ball Guest (uncredited)
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Keith Hitchcock | ... |
Duke of Waverly (uncredited)
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| Stuart Holmes | ... |
Ball Guest (uncredited)
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| Charles Irwin | ... |
Farmer Ben Kenney (uncredited)
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George Kirby | ... |
Old Man (uncredited)
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| Molly Lamont | ... |
Helen Hampton (uncredited)
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| Nelson Leigh | ... |
British Naval Officer (uncredited)
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| Adolf E. Licho | ... |
Frenchman at Dieppe Train Station (uncredited)
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| Doris Lloyd | ... |
Plump Lady at Boardinghouse (uncredited)
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| June Lockhart | ... |
Betsy Kenney at Age 18 (uncredited)
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| Miles Mander | ... |
Major Loring at Hospital (uncredited)
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Emily Massey | ... |
Elegant Lady in Boardinghouse (uncredited)
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| Lal Chand Mehra | ... |
Indian Student in Boardinghouse (uncredited)
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James Menzies | ... |
Mike (uncredited)
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Leo Mostovoy | ... |
Bandmaster in Dieppe (uncredited)
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| Gavin Muir | ... |
Captain Griffiths (uncredited)
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Norbert Muller | ... |
Dietrich von Biesterburg (uncredited)
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Steven Muller | ... |
Gerhard von Biesterburg (uncredited)
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| Ottola Nesmith | ... |
Orderly in Hospital (uncredited)
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| J. Pat O'Malley | ... |
Martin (uncredited)
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| Alexander Pollard | ... |
Ball Guest (uncredited)
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Jean Prescott | ... |
Mrs. Kenney (uncredited)
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Catherine Price | ... |
Ball Guest (uncredited)
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John Rogers | ... |
Southhampton Porter (uncredited)
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Mabel Row | ... |
French Maid in Dieppe (uncredited)
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| Loretta Russell | ... |
Ball Guest (uncredited)
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| Anita Sharp-Bolster | ... |
Miller (uncredited)
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| Arthur Shields | ... |
Benson (uncredited)
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Robert Strong | ... |
Ball Guest (uncredited)
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Hal Taggart | ... |
Ball Guest (uncredited)
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| Elizabeth Taylor | ... |
Betsy Kenney at Age 10 (uncredited)
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| Larry Wheat | ... |
Guest in Boardinghouse (uncredited)
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| Ian Wolfe | ... |
Skipper of Honeymoon Boat (uncredited)
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Directed by
| Clarence Brown | ||
Written by
| Claudine West | ... | (screenplay) & |
| Jan Lustig | ... | (screenplay) and |
| George Froeschel | ... | (screenplay) |
| Alice Duer Miller | ... | (poem "The White Cliffs") |
| Robert Nathan | ... | (additional poetry) |
Produced by
| Clarence Brown | ... | producer |
| Sidney Franklin | ... | producer |
Music by
| Herbert Stothart | ||
Cinematography by
| George J. Folsey | ... | (as George Folsey) |
| Robert H. Planck | ... | director of photography (uncredited) |
Editing by
| Robert Kern | ... | (as Robert J. Kern) |
Art Direction by
| Cedric Gibbons | ||
Set Decoration by
| Edwin B. Willis | ||
Costume Design by
| Irene | ... | (costume supervisor) |
| Gile Steele | ... | (costumes: men) |
Makeup Department
| Jack Dawn | ... | makeup designer |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
| Al Jennings | ... | assistant director (uncredited) |
Art Department
| Randall Duell | ... | associate art director |
| Jacques Mersereau | ... | associate set decorator |
Sound Department
| Douglas Shearer | ... | recording director |
| Charles E. Wallace | ... | sound (uncredited) |
Special Effects by
| A. Arnold Gillespie | ... | special effects (as Arnold Gillespie) |
| Warren Newcombe | ... | special effects |
Costume and Wardrobe Department
| Eugene Joseff | ... | costume jeweller (uncredited) |
Music Department
| Murray Cutter | ... | orchestrator (uncredited) |
Additional Crew
| Ramsay Hill | ... | technical advisor (as Major Cyrl Seys Ramsay-Hill) |
| Lou Smith | ... | publicist (uncredited) |
Production Companies
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)
Distributors
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1944) (United States) (theatrical) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)
- Regal Films (1944) (Canada) (theatrical) (as Regal Films, Ltd.)
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1944) (United Kingdom) (theatrical)
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1945) (Argentina) (theatrical)
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer A/B (1944) (Sweden) (theatrical)
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1947) (Norway) (theatrical)
- Státní Pujcovna Filmu (Czechoslovakia) (theatrical)
Special Effects
Other Companies
Storyline
| Plot Summary |
London based American nurse, Lady Susan Ashwood (Irene Dunne), is at a hospital awaiting the imminent arrival of wounded soldiers. She is hoping that her enlisted son, Sir John Ashwood II (Peter Lawford), who resembles his father in appearance and temperament, is not amongst those wounded. As she waits, she remembers back to World War I when her husband, the former Sir John Ashwood (Alan Marshal), was enlisted, and the waiting she endured on any news from and about him while he was away in battle. From a humble background, Sue almost didn't meet Sir John, let alone marry him, as she and her father, Hiram Porter Dunn (Frank Morgan), the publisher of a small daily newspaper, were only in London in April 1914 on a two week vacation - her first trip - that was not going very well when by happenstance she got invited on her last day in London to the King's ball, where Sir John was awaiting the arrival of another young woman with whom he was supposed to keep company for the evening. Despite being mutually attracted to each other, the patriotic Sue didn't know whether she could leave the United States and get accustomed to John's family's aristocratic manners, as well as the English customs in general. She also thinks back to approximately ten years earlier when she was urged by her father to return to the States on the inevitability that the Germans would once again be the aggressors in a war. Through it all, Sue is a proud American, despite having lived the better part of her adult life in England. Written by Huggo |
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| Taglines | The greatest love story of our time! It will live forever in your heart! MGM's greatest triumph! See more » |
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| Parents Guide | View content advisory » |
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Did You Know?
| Trivia | Irene Dunne reads a telegram from her Anglophobe father to a group of English people. Her father begs her not to marry an Englishman she is in love with and tells her "You're a Yankee through and through! Think of Paul Revere! Think of the Old North steeple! Remember the Alabama!" The viewer may become confused at this point. "Remember the Alabama"? Shouldn't it be "Remember the Alamo"? However, since the context of the telegram is anti-British any mention of the Alamo would be irrelevant. What Irene Dunne's father is apparently taking about is the C.S.S. Alabama, one of several Confederate warships that were built in British shipyards over United States protest during the Civil War. These ships attacked U.S. shipping in the Atlantic Ocean. Since Irene Dunne arrives in England in April of 1914 and married just before August 4, 1914 when Great Britain declared war on Germany, the telegram was probably sent close to the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Alabama by the U.S.S. Kearsarge on June 19, 1864 in the English Channel. The United States sued Great Britain in 1869 over the building of the Confederate warships and was awarded $15.5 million. See more » |
| Goofs | A gift with a plaque dedicated to First Lady, Dolley Madison, misspells her name "Dolly Madison." See more » |
| Movie Connections | Featured in Twenty Years After (1944). See more » |
| Soundtracks | Auld Lang Syne See more » |
| Quotes |
[Of Susan]
Susan Dunn's landlady: Such a nice young thing! Not a bit like an American. See more » |