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Set in the secluded middle-England hamlet of Bramley End, this is a place where generations have lived and died. You'd think that strangers would stick out far enough to alarm even the most near-sighted, yet there's a curious irony here; wouldn't non-locals be more likely to appear during wartime, perhaps on their way to a foreign field? So when a few trucks full of sappers grind to a halt, there's no alarm. In fact people go out of their way to assist Major Ortler (Basil Sydney), arranging billets and pointing out the Home Guard volunteers. Settled gentleman Oliver Wilsford (Leslie Banks) is especially helpful, providing information of use to any military exercise. What nobody realises is that they've been infiltrated by German troops, bent on disruption.
It's in the plausibility of its invasion that Went the Day Well? scores highly, demonstrating how easily such an event could occur. Without all being on their guard, challenging visitors whatever their supposed authority, the gaps exist to be exploited. As it is, the invader encounters no resistance in placing his men throughout the village. Ortler is helped by quick thinking and a trusted quisling, allowing Cavalcanti to point out the weak points in Britain's domestic defence. Throughout the first half, the tale's authentic characters traverse a series of tense moments, almost but not quite suspecting the truth. Right up until the moment of discovery we're tormented, like a mouse with a cat. The film keeps us pleasurably hanging, nimbly avoiding our knowledge of how the story must end.
Only after the Germans panic does this suppleness vanish, replaced by a rapidly stiffening patriotism. Bar a few uncertain scenes, where critical turning-points appear within reach, Went the Day Well? lapses into a celebration of English pluck. The villagers become determined to defend their freedom, and by extension that of the country, whatever the cost; pretty stereotypical but that's only to be expected of propaganda. Still the acting is quite reasonable, with people's behaviour under fire seeming realistic when the effects don't. Even the Germans get a fair treatment, with Cavalcanti demonstrating that they're not monsters, merely monstrous. The horror is in their callous actions, a theme laid on thickly.
For a movie made under such desperate conditions, its technical achievements are consistently acceptable. Wilkie Cooper's photography of Turville, in Oxfordshire, is fluent without being eloquent, simple and effective. The houses cluster together, surrounded by meadows, an image of rural innocence; chosen to enhance the impact of German brutality no doubt. Sidney Cole's snappy editing makes its mark also, cutting efficiently between the opposing forces. But for the overwrought acting, facial close-ups could have communicated far more than any exposition. Still, William Walton's score makes up for this lack of subtlety with velvet gestures. It adds to Went the Day Well? without making a nuisance of itself.
The factor that really drags the movie backwards is its attitude, the binary viewpoint of the story. Despite explicitly stating that Nazi's don't impale babies on spikes, it's implied that they'd be happy to oblige if they found some profit in doing so. In contrast the villagers are a picture of solidarity, uniting for a cause that exceeds superficial disagreement. Even Edward Rigby's poacher can be redeemed, made good and courageous by dint of sacrifice. The problem is that decades of morally ambiguous drama have shifted our expectations, allowing for a less clear-cut examination of WWII. Went the Day Well? is trapped in another place, a threatened idyll; there's no harm in looking back but who'd want to return?
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