This week in the War, 20–26 November 1944: Henry the Fifth—the Movie

This week in the war saw the release, on 22 November 1944, of the movie Henry V—based upon the play by William Shakespeare.

The movie won an Oscar (in 1946) for Laurence Olivier, who was the director and also played the star role.

Many say that Olivier’s Henry V was the first successful screen adaptation of a Shakespearian play. Either way, the movie was a big success.

British audiences made the connection between the current Allied invasion of France (D-Day) and Henry’s invasion of France, which would lead to eventual victory (at the Battle of Agincourt). [Perhaps few made the connection that England’s last war against France had been as recent as July 1940, when the Royal Navy had attacked and sunk French warships in harbour in Algeria.]