Shows
War Movie TheatreBedknobs and Broomsticks - with James KettleWhat could be more Christmassy, or more war-y, than Angela Lansbury punching Nazis? This week, we're off down Portobello Road and away under the briny sea as we watch the Disney classic war movie-witchcraft crossover Bedknobs and Broomsticks. We're joined by comedy writer James Kettle, whose hits include The Life I Lead, a play about Bedknobs actor James Tomlinson.Next week, in memory of Rob Reiner, we're watching A Few Good Men.Help us out by doing our listener survey: http://bit.ly/warmovietheatre-surveySuggestions? Comments? Drop us a line at...
2025-12-251h 16
Facing Coming Storms: Talking International DefenceWhat War Movies Really Tell UsWhat do war films really teach us - not just about conflict, but about who we think we are, and what we believe we’d do when it matters?In this Christmas episode of Facing Coming Storms, we step slightly sideways from our usual focus on geopolitics and defence technology to explore war movies and popular culture and what they reveal about society’s relationship with conflict.We’re joined by Robert Hutton and Duncan Weldon from the War Movie Theatre podcast, alongside Patrick Bury, former British Army officer and now Professor of National Security Studies. Toget...
2025-12-221h 01War Movie TheatreThe Boys From Brazil - with Jack BlackburnLaurence Olivier! Gregory Peck! Baby Hitler! Excited by the news that scientists have finally - finally! - managed to sequence the Fuhrer's DNA, Rob and Duncan are joined by Times history correspondent Jack Blackburn, a young man with a disturbing resemblance to... no, that can't be right. They're watching The Boys From Brazil, the Nazi buffet-crashing, father-murdering Nazi-cloning thriller comedy classic. With a smorgasbord of Nasty Nazis and tremendous deaths, the awards section is wide open in the only podcast to bring you rock-solid info on both James Mason's contract negotiations and Hitler's micro-penis.Next week...
2025-12-181h 12War Movie TheatreMalta Story - with Matthew DoyleThis week, Rob and Duncan are stranded in the Mediterranean, holding out against constant bombing, and starving under siege conditions, watching Malta Story. They're joined by former Downing Street Director of Communications Matthew Doyle, who since we recorded has joined the House of Lords - the second peer to come on the show. Jack Hawkins is as good as ever, but how is Alec Guinness as a romantic reconnaissance pilot? Is it fair to the people of Malta for the film to spend quite so much time dealing with the island's one spy? And might this...
2025-12-111h 15War Movie TheatreThe Desert RatsFor the second week running, we're with Australian troops, this time in the 1941 defence of Tobruk. Desert Rats took its name from a different unit, and quite a few liberties with the history, but it also delivered a some terrific scenes of commandos sneaking through the enemy lines on do-or-die missions, and caught Richard Burton as he was on the brink of stardom. And then of course there's James Mason, James Masoning. Next week: Malta Story.Help us out by doing our listener survey: http://bit.ly/warmovietheatre-surveySuggestions? Comments? Drop...
2025-12-0451 minWar Movie TheatreGallipoli - with Chris KempshallPeter Weir's 1981 Gallipoli set both him and Mel Gibson on a path to Hollywood glory, and also helped establish the popular narrative for a campaign that is crucial to Australia's national identity. Which is hardly a surprise, as it's one of the greatest films about the Great War. Even though -- or because -- it actually doesn't feature that much war. Rob and Duncan are joined by Chris Kempshall, historian of the First World War and Star Wars (though not both at once), and consultant on the forthcoming Gallipoli game, to discuss why the film is...
2025-11-271h 05War Movie TheatreBiggles: Adventures In Time - with Mark WallaceA beloved British hero, an evil German, a super-weapon, and... a time-travelling 1980s New York executive? How did everyone get it so wrong when it came to putting WW1 flying ace Biggles on the big screen? It was supposed to be a rival to Raiders of the Lost Ark, then it was going to be the new Back to the Future. In the end it was a war crime. And that's before we get to the music. Rob and Duncan are joined by Biggles fanboy Mark Wallace to discuss what might have been, why Biggles stories...
2025-11-201h 04War Movie TheatreAll Quiet On The Western Front (1930)Is this the war movie that explains all war movies? Rob and Duncan watch the first version of All Quiet On The Western Front, made barely a decade after the First World War ended. Somehow, it turns out to be a chance to talk about Starship Troopers again.[Apologies for a fat-finger error that led Rob to delete the first five minutes of this episode when we first uploaded it. All fixed now, we hope, and Duncan is working on a suitable punishment.]Next week, we continue Great War Month with Biggles.
2025-11-1354 minWar Movie Theatre1917 Live at the Imperial War Museum - with John CraceLive from the Imperial War Museum's Podcast Festival, we kick off Great War Month by watching Sam Mendes's men-with-a-mission trench-running bonanza, 1917, with John Crace of the Guardian. Is this the operation that changed the course of the Great War? Should they have searched that farmhouse? Might there, in fact, be a better way to get the message through? All this and more. Help us out by doing our listener survey: http://bit.ly/warmovietheatre-surveySuggestions? Comments? Drop us a line at warmovietheatre@gmail.com.Visit us at facebook.com...
2025-11-0655 minWar Movie TheatreThe Battle of AlgiersAdored by Stanley Kubrick and studied at the Pentagon, 1966's The Battle of Algiers is a film quite unlike any other. Is it a guide to how to run an insurgency, or how to fight one? Supported by the newly independent Algerian government, it doesn't shy away from the violent realities of the independence movement's terrorist campaign. There's never been anything quite like it.Next week, we'll be watching 1917, if we can successfully record our appearance at the Imperial War Museum's podcast festival. Help us out by doing our listener survey: http://bit.ly...
2025-10-3057 minWar Movie TheatreWho Dares Wins - with History Rage's Paul BavillIs this the film that changed the course of the SAS? Helicopters on the roof as we watch some of the worst spying in cinema history, followed by some of the best embassy-storming. Released as "The Final Option" in the US, this is the film that failed to turn Lewis Collins into James Bond. We're joined by Paul Bavill of the History Rage podcast, and he's not even the angriest person featured. That turns out to be listener Russell Phillips, who got in touch to complain about one scene in the film before we'd even recorded...
2025-10-231h 08War Movie Theatre49th Parallel - with Terry StiastnyThis week, we're hunting Nazis through Canada as we watch Powell and Pressburger's 1941 breakthrough movie 49th Parallel. Would the submarine crew on the run have made it further if they hadn't felt the need to kill everyone who was rude about Hitler? And what was the frankly appalling reason the US censor demanded so many cuts? We're joined by Terry Stiastny, author of Believable Lies: The Misfits Who Fought Churchill's Secret Propaganda War.Next week, we're storming the US embassy in Who Dares Wins.Help us out...
2025-10-1657 minWar Movie TheatreIs Paris Burning - with Karim PalantZut alors! This week we're popping over the Channel to watch the Frenchest war movie ever made, the true story of the frantic arguments on both sides about how to save - or destroy - the city. Featuring effortlessly cool members of the Resistance, battles of bicycles, and a furious Fuhrer. Rob and Duncan are joined by former Labour party policy man Karim Palant, whose entire street WhatsApp group was mobilised to find a cable that would let him watch his DVD. Next week, we're off to Canada to watch 49th Parallel.
2025-10-091h 04War Movie TheatreThe English Patient - with Lucy BeresfordThis week, a Booker-winning novel that becomes an Oscar-winning film. A tale of war and love in the desert, based, very loosely on a real World War 2 espionage mission. Rob and Duncan are joined by the author and psychotherapist Lucy Beresford, to talk about her relationship with war movies, why she loves this film, and whether it would have been better if the studio had got their way and cast Demi Moore in the lead. Help us out by doing our listener survey: http://bit.ly/warmovietheatre-survey...
2025-10-021h 00War Movie TheatreFail Safe - with Mark PackA 1964 film about accidental nuclear war from a legendary director and featuring a German scientist with homicidal ideas? That's right, it's Dr Strangelove... hang on, no, it's Fail Safe. Overshadowed on release because of a lawsuit from a rival film (you can guess which), this parable from Sidney Lumet has come to be regarded as a classic, with fans including George Clooney.The Ocean's 11 star couldn't be with us to make the case for it himself, so we're joined by a man known to many as the Clooney of British politics, Mark Pack: polling expert, Liberal...
2025-09-251h 15War Movie TheatreAliens - with Brian RafteryIs this going be a bug hunt, or a stand-up fight? Rob is joined by Brian Raftery to talk about James Cameron's 1986 magnificent take on the Alien universe. Has there ever been a better sequel? Is it really a Vietnam allegory? And after all that time in hyper-sleep, shouldn't Ripley's savings be worth more?Next week, it's Cold War countdown Fail Safe.The podcast series by Brian mentioned in the show are "Do We Get To Win This Time?" and "Mission Accomplished", from Ringer podcasts.Help us out by doing our...
2025-09-181h 18War Movie TheatreMemphis Belle - both of themRob and Duncan have done their job for Uncle Sam. Now they're podcasting for themselves. This week we're watching the 1990 movie Memphis Belle and the 1944 documentary that inspired it: The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress. Is the crew going to finish its 25th mission? Which of them will go on to save Frodo? And would Eric Stoltz have had a better career if he'd realised Back To The Future was a comedy?You can watch the 1944 documentary here: https://youtu.be/DW4F_ZMrS3A?si=g7HPQtEnXfQkdMxzNext week...
2025-09-1159 minWar Movie TheatrePlatoon - with Hugo RifkindAn obsessed director, a cast of unknowns, and a country on the brink of revolution. Somehow these ingredients produced one of the great Vietnam movies. Hugo Rifkind of The Times goes further, making the case that Platoon is the greatest Vietnam movie of them all. Hugo's novel "Rabbits", about a different kind of teenage battle, is now out in paperback. Help us out by doing our listener survey: http://bit.ly/warmovietheatre-surveySuggestions? Comments? Drop us a line at warmovietheatre@gmail.com.Visit us at facebook.com/WarMovieTheatre or...
2025-09-041h 06War Movie TheatreClassic Episode: The Longest Day with Al MurrayPub landlord and war-waffler Al Murray joins Rob and Duncan to watch The Longest Day in this episode from 2024. Can any American be more gratuitous than John Wayne? And while everyone knows Sean Connery was in the film, not that many people know about the TWO other Bond stars in tiny roles...Next week, we're back with a new episode, watching Platoon.Help us out by doing our listener survey: http://bit.ly/warmovietheatre-surveySuggestions? Comments? Drop us a line at warmovietheatre@gmail.com.Visit us at facebook.com...
2025-08-2844 minWar Movie TheatreClassic Episode: King RatOver August, we're replaying old episodes while we record some new ones. This is one from 2023 where we watched a film we hadn't seen before and which really stayed with us, a depiction of hunger, betrayal and the struggle to survive in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. Is it possible to do so and keep your integrity? And has anyone seen my dog?Next week: The Longest Day.Help us out by doing our listener survey: http://bit.ly/warmovietheatre-surveySuggestions? Comments? Drop us a line at warmovietheatre@gmail.com.
2025-08-2130 minWar Movie TheatreClassic Episode: Where Eagles Dare with Tim ShipmanContinuing our August season of repeats, this week's classic episode, first aired in May 2024, sees Rob and Duncan high in the Bavarian Alps on a mission of such complexity that they need special guest Tim Shipman to tell them what's going on. But can they trust him? Can they trust anyone? And what will win the Broadsword Radio Award for Total Implausibility? Next week: King RatHelp us out by doing our listener survey: http://bit.ly/warmovietheatre-surveySuggestions? Comments? Drop us a line at warmovietheatre@gmail.com.Visit...
2025-08-1448 minWar Movie TheatreClassic Episode: Casablanca with Hadley FreemanThe first in our August repeat run is the revival of our Christmas 2023 episode on Casablanca, with special guest Hadley Freeman. A passionately political film disguised as a romance, this is also a Jewish movie where no one mentions being Jewish, and a war movie where the war is all offscreen. It's hardly a surprise that Rob and Duncan think Humphrey Bogart is cool, but Hadley's pick for the sexiest man in the film is frankly a shock. .Next week: Where Eagles Dare with Tim Shipman. Help us out by doing our listener survey...
2025-08-0744 minWar Movie TheatrePrisoner of War - with Phil TinlineIn what is surely the most obscure episode of any podcast ever recorded, Rob and Duncan are joined by author and documentary-maker Phil Tinline to watch 1954's "Prisoner of War", the film that was going to turn Ronald Reagan into a major movie star. The reason that never happened wasn't simply the quality of the movie. It was also because of a shift in the US military's attitude to prisoners returning from Korea, which makes this film a fascinating window into the changing mindset. "Every man has his breaking point," Reagan warns, but why did that...
2025-07-311h 09War Movie TheatreThe Wild Geese - with Tim ShipmanPop down to Africa, would you, and pull off a quick coup? This week, Rob and Duncan are joined by Tim Shipman to watch the most 1978 film ever released. Richard Burton! Richard Harris! Roger Moore! It's The Wild Geese!Problematic moments, war crimes, it's got them all - or has it? Marvel as Duncan explains that the Geneva Convention might not apply. Thrill as Tim describes how, in a way, the film is sort of a documentary. Inspired by one group of mercenaries, it ended up inspiring another group of mercenaries, who themselves inspired a third...
2025-07-2453 minWar Movie TheatreLawrence of Arabia - with Jack BlackburnThis week, we're going back to World War 1 and over to the desert to watch the epicest epic of them all, David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia. Has sand ever looked better? Has casting ever been more problematic? And has my telly broken, or is the screen supposed to be black during the overture? With guest Jack Blackburn of The Times, who loves this film so much that his infant son has already watched it at least once. Next week: The Wild Geese.Help us out by doing our listener survey: http...
2025-07-171h 15War Movie TheatreAttack! With Mark GreigRob and Duncan are joined by screenwriter Mark Greig to discuss Robert Aldrich's 1956 noir war movie Attack. Will they make it to the end of the episode with one of them killing another?Next week, it's back to the desert, with Lawrence of Arabia.Help us out by doing our listener survey: http://bit.ly/warmovietheatre-surveySuggestions? Comments? Drop us a line at warmovietheatre@gmail.com.Visit us at facebook.com/WarMovieTheatre or on Bluesky and Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2025-07-101h 17War Movie TheatreFive Graves to CairoRob and Duncan watch the 1943 film that promised to tell audiences the secret story of British victory in the desert. That was not in any sense true, but unknown to the filmmakers, this movie would inspire a real D-Day operation. More than that, it's an early Billy Wilder film, with all his trademark style. War movie? Spy story? Film noir? You decide.Next week, Robert Aldrich's Attack!Help us out by doing our listener survey: http://bit.ly/warmovietheatre-surveySuggestions? Comments? Drop us a line...
2025-07-0350 minWar Movie TheatreDas Boot - with James LandaleRob and Duncan are joined by Diplomatic Correspondent James Landale to pick noses, smell farts, and torpedo Allied shipping in the greatest submarine movie ever made, Wolfgang Petersen's 1981 Das Boot. If the submarine war was hell, then making this film wasn't much more fun. But find out how the crew ended up giving Indiana Jones a lift.Next week: Five Graves to Cairo. Help us out by doing our listener survey: http://bit.ly/warmovietheatre-surveySuggestions? Comments? Drop us a line at warmovietheatre@gmail.com.Visit us at facebook...
2025-06-261h 20War Movie TheatreMaster and Commander - with Alex Massie and Henry DyerRob and Duncan are joined by Alex Massie and Henry Dyer to watch Peter Weir's magnificent 2003 Napoleonic naval epic. How did it compare to the novels? Is this the only war movie in history where an American character was removed? And why are people getting bits of the script tattooed onto their bodies?Next week, we're still at sea with Das Boot.Help us out by doing our listener survey: http://bit.ly/warmovietheatre-surveySuggestions? Comments? Drop us a line at warmovietheatre@gmail.com.Visit us at facebook.com...
2025-06-191h 25War Movie TheatreMosquito Squadron - with John CraceRob and Duncan are joined by John Crace, sketchwriter for The Guardian, to watch Mosquito Squadron, a film John's dad took him to see in the cinema. Is this the perfect example of the less-than-golden age of war movies? Is there any movie it doesn't rip off? What does it say about life on the home front? And, hang on a second, were the land-based bouncing bombs real?Next week, all aboard HMS Surprise as we watch Master And Commander.Help us out by doing our listener survey: http://bit.ly/warmovietheatre-survey
2025-06-1255 minWar Movie TheatreGloryRob and Duncan turn their attention to the American Civil War, watching the 1989 true story of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the Union Army's first African American regiments. The film won Denzel Washington an Oscar, launched Andre Braugher, and caught Morgan Freeman just as his career was taking off. But it also captures much of the changing way war was fought in the Nineteenth Century, which gives Duncan a chance to plug his new book Blood And Treasure: The Economics of Conflict from the Vikings to Ukraine.Next week: Mosquito SquadronHelp...
2025-06-0555 minWar Movie TheatreStarship Troopers - with Jonn ElledgeKlendathu must be destroyed! Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon are joined by Jonn Elledge, best-selling author of A History of the World in 47 Borders, as they strap on their helmets and go on a bug hunt to watch Paul Verhoeven's oft-misunderstood masterpiece Starship Troopers. Clunking misfire or brilliant satire of modern fascism? Next week, it's Ferris Bueller's Civil War, as we watch Glory.Help us out by doing our listener survey: http://bit.ly/warmovietheatre-surveySuggestions? Comments? Drop us a line at warmovietheatre@gmail.com.Visit us at facebook...
2025-05-291h 00War Movie TheatreA Canterbury Tale - with Sanchia BergRob and Duncan are joined by journalist Sanchia Berg for another Powell and Pressburger outing. This time, it's 1944's A Canterbury Tale, where three pilgrims try to unravel a mystery in the wartime Kent countryside. Not a hit on release, it's since found an obsessive fan base. But will it win our hearts?Next week, in a slight change of pace: Starship TroopersHelp us out by doing our listener survey: http://bit.ly/warmovietheatre-surveySuggestions? Comments? Drop us a line at warmovietheatre@gmail.com.Visit us at facebook...
2025-05-2249 minWar Movie TheatreDunkirk (1958) with Joe TwymanFollowing listener outrage after we watched Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, we're watching Leslie Norman's 1958 version, starring John Mills and Richard Attenborough. Joining us is pollster Joe Twyman, whose grandfather barely made it off the beach in 1940.Did we prefer the sweeping epic nature of this version, or were we too distracted by John Mill's accent and age?Next week, we're watching A Canterbury Tale, available on the BFI Player and elsewhere. Help us out by doing our listener survey: http://bit.ly/warmovietheatre-surveySuggestions? Comments? Drop us a line...
2025-05-1553 minWar Movie TheatreBONUS: Britain's Top 10 WW2 MoviesTo coincide with VE Day, we asked Deltapoll to find the nation's favourite WW2 movies. Now that people have stopped shouting abuse at *us* over the resuls, we thought we'd take a look at them. With Rob, Duncan and Deltapoll's Joe Twyman, who's here to tell you you're not as normal as you think you are. Help us out by doing our listener survey: http://bit.ly/warmovietheatre-surveySuggestions? Comments? Drop us a line at warmovietheatre@gmail.com.Visit us at facebook.com/WarMovieTheatre or on Bluesky and Twitter. Hosted...
2025-05-1227 minWar Movie TheatreThe Bridge On The River Kwai - with Miles JuppActor and comedian Miles Jupp (whose own war movie credits include Napoleon and Rogue Heroes) joins Rob and Duncan to discuss Alec Guinness's Oscar-winning performance in the 1957 classic. The film was based on a novel by a Pierre Boule (who would go on to write Planet of the Apes) who decided to transpose his experiences at the hands of his fellow Frenchmen into British characters. At the time it had the most expensive set ever built. Director David Lean hadn't even wanted Guinness - Miles shares his own tales of realising he wasn't the first choice...
2025-05-0856 minWar Movie TheatreEMERGENCY EPISODE - The RockEMERGENCY EPISODE! Prompted by Donald Trump tweeting about Alcatraz, Duncan felt he had to watch 1996's The Rock, which Rob thinks is probably a war movie. Is this the first second-screen movie? Does director Michael Bay understand subtlety? How much Nicolas Cage is too much? And is Sean Connery really playing James Bond for the last time. We're back to our regular schedule on Thursday, with The Bridge On The River Kwai.Help us out by doing our listener survey: http://bit.ly/warmovietheatre-surveySuggestions? Comments? Drop us a line at...
2025-05-0644 minWar Movie TheatreCivil War - with Helen LewisRob and Duncan watch 2024's Civil War with Helen Lewis of The Atlantic, whose forthcoming book The Genius Myth is dedicated to the film's director, Alex Garland. Is it really more of a road movie? How come Texas is in an alliance with California? And that's the guy without the camera doing there, anyway?Next week: The Bridge on the River Kwai.Help us out by doing our listener survey: http://bit.ly/warmovietheatre-surveySuggestions? Comments? Drop us a line at warmovietheatre@gmail.com.Visit us at facebook.com...
2025-05-011h 05War Movie TheatreI Was Monty's DoubleThis week Rob and Duncan pretend to be Duncan and Rob, in an elaborate plan to persuade the enemy that the podcast will actually be taking place in the Mediterranean. That's right, we're watching I Was Monty's Double, starring John Mills. The true story of Operation Copperhead is told in Rob's book The Illusionist, out now in paperback.Next week: Civil War (2024)Help us out by doing our listener survey: http://bit.ly/warmovietheatre-surveySuggestions? Comments? Drop us a line at warmovietheatre@gmail.com.Visit us...
2025-04-2442 minWar Movie TheatreRed Dawn (1984) - With Joe TwymanRob and Duncan are joined by pollster and war movie nut Joe Twyman to watch the 1984 teen-resistance classic Red Dawn, starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, and just re-released in glorious 4K. Think of it as Dirty Dancing: The WW3 Years.It features a Problematic Moment so Problematic that it ended up being cut, a director who demanded he be paid in firearms, and Joe's unforgettable description of watching the movie on a US military base in Baghdad.Next week: I Was Monty's DoubleSuggestions, comments, offers of cash? warmovietheatre@gmail.com
2025-04-1752 min
War Movie TheatreDunkirk (2017)Duncan and Rob are back, fighting to get off the beach and home to England in Christopher Nolan's 2017 blockbuster Dunkirk. How did he persuade Americans to bankroll this? How did he persuade them to go and see it? And can we see a future for plucky novice actor Harry Styles?Help us out by doing our listener survey: http://bit.ly/warmovietheatre-surveySuggestions? Comments? Drop us a line at warmovietheatre@gmail.com.Visit us at facebook.com/WarMovieTheatre or on Bluesky and Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...
2025-04-1045 minWar Movie TheatreThe Pianist – with special guest Clare MulleyWatching the war movies that make us bloody glad it’s not the 1940s, with authors Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon. This time, acclaimed author and historian Clare Mulley of The Spy Who Loved fame joins us to watch Roman Polanski’s harrowing story of the Holocaust, escape, chance survival and guilt, The Pianist (2002). As we discover, Adrian Brody’s astonishing physical transformation to play the role is not even the half of it. Written and presented by Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon. Audio production by Tom Taylor. Art by Jim Parrett. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Thanks...
2024-09-271h 01War Movie TheatreThe Pianist – with special guest Clare MulleyWatching the war movies that make us bloody glad it’s not the 1940s, with authors Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon. This time, acclaimed author and historian Clare Mulley of The Spy Who Loved fame joins us to watch Roman Polanski’s harrowing story of the Holocaust, escape, chance survival and guilt, The Pianist (2002). As we discover, Adrian Brody’s astonishing physical transformation to play the role is not even the half of it. Written and presented by Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon. Audio production by Tom Taylor. Art by Jim Parrett. Group Editor: Andrew...
2024-09-271h 09War Movie TheatreThe First Of The Few – with special guest J. Willgoose Esq of Public Service BroadcastingWatching the war movies that make us think we’ve discovered the real secret of flying, with authors Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon. This time we wheel, bank and glide with The First Of The Few, Leslie Howard’s stirring 1942 portrait of the birth of the Spitfire fighter plane and its doomed progenitor RJ Mitchell – played by Howard himself.Our special guest J. Willgoose Esq of esteemed “collage rock” band Public Service Broadcasting has previous form with the movie: their pulse-quickening early single Spitfire was built around samples of its dialogue. What will we think? Is this movie hero...
2024-08-0153 minWar Movie TheatreThe First Of The Few – with special guest J. Willgoose Esq of Public Service BroadcastingWatching the war movies that make us think we’ve discovered the real secret of flying, with authors Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon. This time we wheel, bank and glide with The First Of The Few, Leslie Howard’s stirring 1942 portrait of the birth of the Spitfire fighter plane and its doomed progenitor RJ Mitchell – played by Howard himself.Our special guest J. Willgoose Esq of esteemed “collage rock” band Public Service Broadcasting has previous form with the movie: their pulse-quickening early single Spitfire was built around samples of its dialogue. What will we think? Is this movie hero...
2024-08-0159 minWar Movie TheatreA Matter Of Life And Death – with special guest Luke TurnerWatching the war movies that make us think mistily of Blighty, with authors Rob Hutton and (usually, but he’s on leave this week) Duncan Weldon. This time: Don’t be upset about the parachute, we’ll have our wings soon anyway, big white ones. Upper lips will wobble as brave airman David Niven enters the afterlife in Powell & Pressburger’s 1946 masterpiece A Matter Of Life And Death, the film that launched a thousand parodies.Luke Turner, author of Men At War: Loving, Lusting, Fighting, Remembering 1939-1945 joins us to ponder this metaphysical classic. Can love conquer the grav...
2024-07-2553 minWar Movie TheatreA Matter Of Life And Death – with special guest Luke TurnerWatching the war movies that make us think mistily of Blighty, with authors Rob Hutton and (usually, but he’s on leave this week) Duncan Weldon. This time: Don’t be upset about the parachute, we’ll have our wings soon anyway, big white ones. Upper lips will wobble as brave airman David Niven enters the afterlife in Powell & Pressburger’s 1946 masterpiece A Matter Of Life And Death, the film that launched a thousand parodies.Luke Turner, author of Men At War: Loving, Lusting, Fighting, Remembering 1939-1945 joins us to ponder this metaphysical classic. Can love conquer the grav...
2024-07-2556 minWar Movie TheatreSaving Private Ryan – with special guest Mark UrbanWatching the war movies that stiffened our upper lips, with authors Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon. This time: The mission is the man, and the cast is (literally) to die for. Steven Spielberg’s emotional, epic, stupendously violent Saving Private Ryan from 1998 is the war film that reproaches every “Achtung, Fritz!” actioner. Military historian and BBC legend Mark Urban joins our crack team in the undergrowth. Are these the greatest battle scenes ever filmed? Will the first 20 minutes of this podcast cure our lads of their taste for war? What do you think? Written and presented by Rob Hu...
2024-06-2750 minWar Movie TheatreSaving Private Ryan – with special guest Mark UrbanWatching the war movies that stiffened our upper lips, with authors Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon. This time: The mission is the man, and the cast is (literally) to die for. Steven Spielberg’s emotional, epic, stupendously violent Saving Private Ryan from 1998 is the war film that reproaches every “Achtung, Fritz!” actioner. Military historian and BBC legend Mark Urban joins our crack team in the undergrowth. Are these the greatest battle scenes ever filmed? Will the first 20 minutes of this podcast cure our lads of their taste for war? What do you think? Written and presented by Rob Hu...
2024-06-2754 minWar Movie TheatreZulu – with special guest Sathnam SangheraWatching the war movies that put a bit of iron in our blood, with authors Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon. This time: Used to be that a Sunday didn’t pass without red-jacketed Michael Caine and Stanley Baker staging a last-ditch defence of Rorke’s Drift on TV… but they don’t show Zulu much these days. Why on EARTH should that be?Special guest Sathnam Sanghera, author of Empireland and the new Empireworld, has never seen Zulu until now. He joins Rob and Duncan to talk over the issues… FAHSANDS of ’em. Will we end with a rousing cho...
2024-06-2042 minWar Movie TheatreZulu – with special guest Sathnam SangheraWatching the war movies that put a bit of iron in our blood, with authors Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon. This time: Used to be that a Sunday didn’t pass without red-jacketed Michael Caine and Stanley Baker staging a last-ditch defence of Rorke’s Drift on TV… but they don’t show Zulu much these days. Why on EARTH should that be?Special guest Sathnam Sanghera, author of Empireland and the new Empireworld, has never seen Zulu until now. He joins Rob and Duncan to talk over the issues… FAHSANDS of ’em. Will we end with a rousing cho...
2024-06-2045 minWar Movie TheatreThe Life and Death of Colonel Blimp – with special guest Alex von TunzelmannWatching the war movies that made us shape up and stop shilly-shallying, with authors Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon. This time: “This is not a gentleman’s war…” With historian Alex von Tunzelmann of Paper Cuts podcast fame, we watch a film regarded by some as the finest British movie ever made, Powell & Pressburger’s epic, moving The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp from 1943. Made during the actual war, denounced for humanising Germans (but did it?) and hated by Churchill, this tale of ageing, the price of war, love and what it means to be English gradually makes its way to...
2024-06-1344 minWar Movie TheatreThe Life and Death of Colonel Blimp – with special guest Alex von TunzelmannWatching the war movies that made us shape up and stop shilly-shallying, with authors Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon. This time: “This is not a gentleman’s war…” With historian Alex von Tunzelmann of Paper Cuts podcast fame, we watch a film regarded by some as the finest British movie ever made, Powell & Pressburger’s epic, moving The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp from 1943. Made during the actual war, denounced for humanising Germans (but did it?) and hated by Churchill, this tale of ageing, the price of war, love and what it means to be English gradually makes its way to...
2024-06-1347 minWar Movie TheatreThe Train – with special guest James LandaleWatching the war movies that made men* of us, with authors Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon. This time: Is a work of art worth a life? All right, what about a podcast then? This week we’re watching The Train, John Frankenheimer’s intense 1964 epic of bravery and moral torment. Can the French Resistance stop the Nazis spiriting a trainload of looted art away from Paris? Has a black-and-white movie ever looked this good? Is it basically steam-train porn? Plus: Burt Lancaster, secret acrobat. On the train to hell with us, BBC Diplomatic Correspondent James Landale.* also wome...
2024-06-0648 minWar Movie TheatreThe Train – with special guest James LandaleWatching the war movies that made men* of us, with authors Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon. This time: Is a work of art worth a life? All right, what about a podcast then? This week we’re watching The Train, John Frankenheimer’s intense 1964 epic of bravery and moral torment. Can the French Resistance stop the Nazis spiriting a trainload of looted art away from Paris? Has a black-and-white movie ever looked this good? Is it basically steam-train porn? Plus: Burt Lancaster, secret acrobat. On the train to hell with us, BBC Diplomatic Correspondent James Landale.* also wome...
2024-06-0643 minWar Movie TheatreThe Sound of Music – with special guest Helen LewisWatching the war movies that stiffened our upper lips, with authors Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon. This time: What do you mean, it’s not a war movie? It’s got Nazis in it. What more do you want? Our manly duo are tempted by political journalist Helen Lewis into watching the 1965 nuns, guns and arias extravaganza The Sound of Music. Will their emotionless exterior crack beneath Julie Andrews’ relentless sunniness, like “being hit over the head every day with a giant Valentine’s card”? Can you spot fake, painted Salzburg from the real thing? Is it really a war movie af...
2024-05-3046 minWar Movie TheatreThe Sound of Music – with special guest Helen LewisWatching the war movies that stiffened our upper lips, with authors Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon. This time: What do you mean, it’s not a war movie? It’s got Nazis in it. What more do you want? Our manly duo are tempted by political journalist Helen Lewis into watching the 1965 nuns, guns and arias extravaganza The Sound of Music. Will their emotionless exterior crack beneath Julie Andrews’ relentless sunniness, like “being hit over the head every day with a giant Valentine’s card”? Can you spot fake, painted Salzburg from the real thing? Is it really a war movie af...
2024-05-3042 minWar Movie TheatreEnemy At The Gates – with special guest John NivenWatching the war movies that stiffened our upper lips, with authors Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon. This time: Jude Law is a young Russian sniper in the somewhat messy yet highly entertaining ‘Enemy At The Gates’ from 2001. Why does Kill Your Friends author John Niven love it despite its many shortcomings? Would anyone have time for a love triangle in the middle of a war, much less a knee-trembler in an icy tunnel? Can they swerve the ’Allo ’Allo Bad Accent Factor? Or is it all a terrible pain in the Urals? Note: anyone who attempts to retreat from this mov...
2024-05-2348 minWar Movie TheatreEnemy At The Gates – with special guest John NivenWatching the war movies that stiffened our upper lips, with authors Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon. This time: Jude Law is a young Russian sniper in the somewhat messy yet highly entertaining ‘Enemy At The Gates’ from 2001. Why does Kill Your Friends author John Niven love it despite its many shortcomings? Would anyone have time for a love triangle in the middle of a war, much less a knee-trembler in an icy tunnel? Can they swerve the ’Allo ’Allo Bad Accent Factor? Or is it all a terrible pain in the Urals? Note: anyone who attempts to retreat from this mov...
2024-05-2342 minWar Movie TheatreWhere Eagles Dare – with special guest Tim ShipmanWatching the war movies that made us the men* we are today, with authors Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon. This time: “Broadsword calling Danny Boy!” It’s the big one as we skydive in on the Platonic ideal of the war-action pic, the 1968 classic Where Eagles Dare. Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton must break Allied asset General Carnaby out of Nazi prison the Schloß Adler with the pulchritudinous aid of Mary Ure. But is all what it seems? Sunday Times chief political commentator Tim Shipman joins us to let out the rallying cry: “Dad, they’re on the cable car!”
2024-05-1651 minWar Movie TheatreWhere Eagles Dare – with special guest Tim ShipmanWatching the war movies that made us the men* we are today, with authors Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon. This time: “Broadsword calling Danny Boy!” It’s the big one as we skydive in on the Platonic ideal of the war-action pic, the 1968 classic Where Eagles Dare. Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton must break Allied asset General Carnaby out of Nazi prison the Schloß Adler with the pulchritudinous aid of Mary Ure. But is all what it seems? Sunday Times chief political commentator Tim Shipman joins us to let out the rallying cry: “Dad, they’re on the cable car!”
2024-05-1647 minWar Movie TheatreThe Longest Day – with special guest Al MurrayWe’re back with a brand new name but the same doughty, never-say-die attitude, to watch the war movies that made us the men* we are today. Every week authors Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon gather under the blackout curtain to view a classic war film – and now they’re joined by equally battle-fixated chums too.This time on the podcast formerly known as A Pod Too Far: Darryl F. Zanuck’s 1962 D-Day mega-epic The Longest Day with comedian, WWII buff and tank fan Al Murray. What are the best bits? Did your favourite moments really happen? Would you...
2024-05-0947 minWar Movie TheatreThe Longest Day – with special guest Al MurrayWe’re back with a brand new name but the same doughty, never-say-die attitude, to watch the war movies that made us the men* we are today. Every week authors Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon gather under the blackout curtain to view a classic war film – and now they’re joined by equally battle-fixated chums too.This time on the podcast formerly known as A Pod Too Far: Darryl F. Zanuck’s 1962 D-Day mega-epic The Longest Day with comedian, WWII buff and tank fan Al Murray. What are the best bits? Did your favourite moments really happen? Would you...
2024-05-0943 min
War Movie TheatreChristmas Special: CasablancaIf it’s December 1941 in the podcast, what time is it in New York? Rob Hutton sticks his neck out for no one. Duncan Weldon’s killed two German couriers in an effort to impress him. But of all the gin joints in all the world, who’s this walking into theirs?For our Christmas special, we’re joined by the journalist and author Hadley Freeman as we watch Casablanca, a war movie disguised as a romance. But who’s Humphrey Bogart’s real love interest - Ingrid Bergman or Claude Rains? And what’s it like to see the fil...
2023-12-2646 min
War Movie TheatreChristmas Special: CasablancaIf it’s December 1941 in the podcast, what time is it in New York? Rob Hutton sticks his neck out for no one. Duncan Weldon’s killed two German couriers in an effort to impress him. But of all the gin joints in all the world, who’s this walking into theirs?For our Christmas special, we’re joined by the journalist and author Hadley Freeman as we watch Casablanca, a war movie disguised as a romance. But who’s Humphrey Bogart’s real love interest - Ingrid Bergman or Claude Rains? And what’s it like to see the fil...
2023-12-2643 min
War Movie TheatreStalag 17It’s Christmas 1944, and Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon are in a muddy, frozen POW camp, dreaming of Betty Grable. But is one of them a rat?We’re watching Billy Wilder’s Stalag 17, the film that won William Holden an Oscar and may have inspired the sitcom Hogan’s Heroes. Comedy? Drama? Escape movie? Or a mix of all three?A Pod Too Far was written and presented by Robert Hutton and Duncan Weldon. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Simon Williams. Artwork by James Parret. Lead Producer is Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor...
2023-12-2134 min
War Movie TheatreStalag 17It’s Christmas 1944, and Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon are in a muddy, frozen POW camp, dreaming of Betty Grable. But is one of them a rat?We’re watching Billy Wilder’s Stalag 17, the film that won William Holden an Oscar and may have inspired the sitcom Hogan’s Heroes. Comedy? Drama? Escape movie? Or a mix of all three?A Pod Too Far was written and presented by Robert Hutton and Duncan Weldon. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Simon Williams. Artwork by James Parret. Lead Producer is Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor...
2023-12-2130 min
War Movie TheatreThe Cruel SeaThis week Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon are fighting seasickness and dodging torpedoes as they take the podcast on a submarine hunt.We’re watching the 1953 classic The Cruel Sea, a frank picture of the terror and exhaustion of convoy duty, and the toll it took on the men and women of the Navy. Was Donald Sinden ever better, and did Jack Hawkins organise the worst pub quiz ever?A Pod Too Far was written and presented by Robert Hutton and Duncan Weldon. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Simon Williams. Artwork by Ja...
2023-12-1446 min
War Movie TheatreThe Cruel SeaThis week Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon are fighting seasickness and dodging torpedoes as they take the podcast on a submarine hunt.We’re watching the 1953 classic The Cruel Sea, a frank picture of the terror and exhaustion of convoy duty, and the toll it took on the men and women of the Navy. Was Donald Sinden ever better, and did Jack Hawkins organise the worst pub quiz ever?A Pod Too Far was written and presented by Robert Hutton and Duncan Weldon. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Simon Williams. Artwork by Ja...
2023-12-1443 min
War Movie TheatreMerrill’s MaraudersIt’s 1944, and Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon are trying to take the podcast 750 miles through the Burmese jungle for reasons that no one can really explain to them.This week we’re watching the 1962 movie Merrill’s Marauders, the tale of a heroic American unit going through hell. Who will win Best Death? Who won’t?!A Pod Too Far was written and presented by Robert Hutton and Duncan Weldon. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Simon Williams. Artwork by James Parret. Lead Producer is Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. A Pod Too F...
2023-12-0738 min
War Movie TheatreMerrill’s MaraudersIt’s 1944, and Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon are trying to take the podcast 750 miles through the Burmese jungle for reasons that no one can really explain to them.This week we’re watching the 1962 movie Merrill’s Marauders, the tale of a heroic American unit going through hell. Who will win Best Death? Who won’t?!A Pod Too Far was written and presented by Robert Hutton and Duncan Weldon. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Simon Williams. Artwork by James Parret. Lead Producer is Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. A Pod Too F...
2023-12-0742 min
War Movie TheatrePaths of GloryIt’s 1916, and Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon have failed to capture an impossible target in the trenches of France. One of them must now be shot for cowardice, but who? (Duncan, obviously.)We’re watching Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece Paths of Glory. But is it a war movie or a courtroom drama, or is it really a film about office life?A Pod Too Far was written and presented by Robert Hutton and Duncan Weldon. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Simon Williams. Artwork by James Parret. Lead Producer is Anne-Marie Luff. Group...
2023-11-3036 min
War Movie TheatrePaths of GloryIt’s 1916, and Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon have failed to capture an impossible target in the trenches of France. One of them must now be shot for cowardice, but who? (Duncan, obviously.)We’re watching Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece Paths of Glory. But is it a war movie or a courtroom drama, or is it really a film about office life?A Pod Too Far was written and presented by Robert Hutton and Duncan Weldon. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Simon Williams. Artwork by James Parret. Lead Producer is Anne-Marie Luff. Group...
2023-11-3039 min
War Movie TheatreWaterlooIt’s 1815, and Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon have liberated the podcast from Elba in a final bid for glory. But first they must face the Duke of Wellington.With Ridley Scott’s Napoleon in the cinemas, we’ve wheeled the TV into the classroom to watch Waterloo. Has there ever been a better movie of cavalry charges? Does any of the first hour matter? And just how many Soviet soldiers were involved in making it?A Pod Too Far was written and presented by Robert Hutton and Duncan Weldon. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Theme...
2023-11-2335 min
War Movie TheatreWaterlooIt’s 1815, and Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon have liberated the podcast from Elba in a final bid for glory. But first they must face the Duke of Wellington.With Ridley Scott’s Napoleon in the cinemas, we’ve wheeled the TV into the classroom to watch Waterloo. Has there ever been a better movie of cavalry charges? Does any of the first hour matter? And just how many Soviet soldiers were involved in making it?A Pod Too Far was written and presented by Robert Hutton and Duncan Weldon. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Theme...
2023-11-2338 min
War Movie TheatreForce 10 from NavaroneIt’s 1943, and Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon have realised that the only way to save their podcast is to blow up a dam in Yugoslavia.It’s time for Force 10 From Navarone, the first war movie Rob can remember watching. Does any part of it make sense? Any part of it at all? And could Harrison Ford find a single nice thing to say about it?A Pod Too Far was written and presented by Robert Hutton and Duncan Weldon. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Simon Williams. Artwork by James Parret. Lead...
2023-11-1631 min
War Movie TheatreForce 10 from NavaroneIt’s 1943, and Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon have realised that the only way to save their podcast is to blow up a dam in Yugoslavia.It’s time for Force 10 From Navarone, the first war movie Rob can remember watching. Does any part of it make sense? Any part of it at all? And could Harrison Ford find a single nice thing to say about it?A Pod Too Far was written and presented by Robert Hutton and Duncan Weldon. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Simon Williams. Artwork by James Parret. Lead...
2023-11-1628 min
War Movie TheatreKelly's HeroesIt’s late 1944, and as the Allies advance through France, Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon have spotted a lucrative business opportunity. There’s a bank vault full of podcasts for the taking. The only problem is that it’s 30 miles behind enemy lines.This week, we’re talking about Kelly’s Heroes. Is it based on a true story? Was a Tiger tank really a piece of junk? And did anyone tell Clint Eastwood he was in a comedy?A Pod Too Far was written and presented by Robert Hutton and Duncan Weldon. Audio production by Robin L...
2023-11-0929 min
War Movie TheatreKelly's HeroesIt’s late 1944, and as the Allies advance through France, Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon have spotted a lucrative business opportunity. There’s a bank vault full of podcasts for the taking. The only problem is that it’s 30 miles behind enemy lines.This week, we’re talking about Kelly’s Heroes. Is it based on a true story? Was a Tiger tank really a piece of junk? And did anyone tell Clint Eastwood he was in a comedy?A Pod Too Far was written and presented by Robert Hutton and Duncan Weldon. Audio production by Robin L...
2023-11-0932 min
War Movie TheatreKing RatIt’s 1945, and as the war draws to a close, Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon are just trying to stay alive in a Japanese POW camp by trading pieces of the podcast for food.We’re watching King Rat, the 1965 film based on James Clavell’s novel-memoir about his own years in a camp. It’s a film about hunger, class, desperation and survival, but it’s also a key moment in the James Donald Extended Universe. Ultimately, is it Not Bad, or Bloody Marvellous?A Pod Too Far was written and presented by Robert Hut...
2023-11-0229 min
War Movie TheatreKing RatIt’s 1945, and as the war draws to a close, Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon are just trying to stay alive in a Japanese POW camp by trading pieces of the podcast for food.We’re watching King Rat, the 1965 film based on James Clavell’s novel-memoir about his own years in a camp. It’s a film about hunger, class, desperation and survival, but it’s also a key moment in the James Donald Extended Universe. Ultimately, is it Not Bad, or Bloody Marvellous?A Pod Too Far was written and presented...
2023-11-0233 min
War Movie TheatreIce Cold in AlexJune 1942. Tobruk has fallen, Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon struggle to get their podcast back through the desert to Alexandria where a barman is keeping a chilled bottle of Carlsberg for them.This week, we’re watching Ice Cold In Alex, undoubtedly the best movie ever to be used as a beer commercial. Did Sylvia Syms ever have a better role? Has there been a worse spy than Anthony Quayle? And does anyone know where we can find a copy of the butchered American version?A Pod Too Far was written and presented by Robert Hu...
2023-10-2636 min
War Movie TheatreIce Cold in AlexJune 1942. Tobruk has fallen, Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon struggle to get their podcast back through the desert to Alexandria where a barman is keeping a chilled bottle of Carlsberg for them.This week, we’re watching Ice Cold In Alex, undoubtedly the best movie ever to be used as a beer commercial. Did Sylvia Syms ever have a better role? Has there been a worse spy than Anthony Quayle? And does anyone know where we can find a copy of the butchered American version?A Pod Too Far was written and presented by Robert Hu...
2023-10-2639 min
War Movie TheatreBattle of BritainJune 1940, and the podcast stands alone, facing a Nazi horde just across the Channel.A Pod Too Far returns with a new series, and this week, Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon are joined by historian James Holland in his trusty Spitfire as they watch 1969’s Battle of Britain. Is it simply a series of brilliant aerial sequences mashed together with some composite characters? What’s the real claim to fame of the beach that plays Dunkirk? And would it be worse to be married to Christopher Plummer or Susannah York?Never in the field of huma...
2023-10-1957 min
War Movie TheatreBattle of BritainJune 1940, and the podcast stands alone, facing a Nazi horde just across the Channel.A Pod Too Far returns with a new series, and this week, Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon are joined by historian James Holland in his trusty Spitfire as they watch 1969’s Battle of Britain. Is it simply a series of brilliant aerial sequences mashed together with some composite characters? What’s the real claim to fame of the beach that plays Dunkirk? And would it be worse to be married to Christopher Plummer or Susannah York?Never in the field of huma...
2023-10-1954 min
War Movie TheatreThe Man Who Never WasThis week Rob and Duncan are washing up on the shores of Spain with The Man Who Never Was! This 1956 spy thriller is the first cinematic telling of the story of Operation Mincemeat – popularised, of late, in a Ben Macintyre book and a subsequent movie version – and starred Clifton Webb and Gloria Grahame. What was the best death in a film about a corpse? What was Noël Coward's epitaph for Clifford Webb's mother? And it's Rob's turn to decide whether this was the operation that changed the course of the war...Presented by Robert Hutton and D...
2023-02-2428 min
War Movie TheatrePattonThis week, Rob and Duncan are marching through Europe, led by a certifiable madman. It's Patton! Franklin J. Shaffner's 1970 film (from a Francis Ford Coppola script) won George C. Scott an Oscar for his portrayal of the WWII general (an Oscar that he turned down) but how much did Richard Nixon like this film? How much did Patton hate Montie? And, finally, have be arrived at the operation that changed the course of the war??Presented by Robert Hutton and Duncan Weldon.Produced and edited by Podot. Hosted on Acast. See...
2023-02-1729 min
War Movie TheatreThe Dirty DozenThis week, Rob and Duncan are venturing out with twelve of the nastiest sods the Allies had to offer – it's The Dirty Dozen. This 1967 film, directed by Robert Aldrich and adapted from E.M.Nathanson's novel, featured an all-star cast playing a squadron of death row reprobates sent to bomb a chateau full of Nazi generals (an inspiration for later films like Inglourious Basterds and The Suicide Squad). Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Telly Savalas and Donald Sutherland all star in this, A Pod Too Far's first properly American film!Presented by Robert Hutton and Du...
2023-02-1026 min
War Movie TheatreIn Which We ServeThis week, Rob and Duncan are telling the story of a ship... or, at least, the story of Noël Coward's story of a ship. It's In Which We Serve! Directed by Coward and David Lean (shipped in, no pun intended, for the action sequences) and starring Coward, John Mills, Bernard Miles, Celia Johnson and Richard Attenborough, this 1942 movie (yes, the war is still raging) tells what was then a very fresh story of the 1941 exploits of Lord Louis Mountbatten (here referred to as Captain Kinross) and the HMS Torrin. A good film? A good ship? And did this c...
2023-02-0335 min
War Movie TheatreThe Eagle Has LandedOn this week's episode, Rob and Duncan are hobnobbing with stars including Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland and Robert Duvall for The Eagle Has Landed! Based on the 1975 novel by Jack Higgins (and released only a year later) John Sturges' film tells the story of a fiendish German plot to kidnap Winston Churchill. Michael Caine is a German! Donald Sutherland is an Irishman! The whole world is topsy-turvy: but, crucially, was this the operation that changed the course of the war?Presented by Robert Hutton and Duncan Weldon.Executive produced by Nick Hilton for Podot.
2023-01-2732 min
War Movie TheatreWent the Day Well?This week, Rob and Duncan are fighting back against the ruthless German paratroopers with the 1942 (yes, mid-war) film, Went the Day Well? Directed by Alberto Cavalcanti and adapted from a Graham Greene story, this is Ealing Studios at its war propaganda finest. Leslie Banks, Mervyn Johns and Basil Sydney both star *and* offer viewers the greatest array of 1940s men's names ever assembled on screen.Presented by Duncan Weldon and Robert Hutton.Executive produced by Nick Hilton for Podot.Produced by Ewan Cameron.For sales and advertising please contact nick...
2023-01-2037 min
War Movie TheatreThe Battle of the River PlateToday, Rob and Duncan are off to Argentina, a strange, exotic land where the only thing they talk about more than Lionel Messi, is the 1956 movie The Battle of the River Plate (known to our American listeners as Pursuit of the Graf Spee). Is this the only film in history where battleships are given full acting credits? Does it have the nicest of all the Nazis? And – crucially – is this the operation that changed the course of the war?Presented by Robert Hutton and Duncan Weldon.Executive produced by Nick Hilton.Edited by E...
2023-01-1335 min
War Movie TheatreThe Dam BustersToday, Rob and Duncan are flying in low and back to 1955 for The Dam Busters! The true story of Guy Gibson, Barnes Wallis and the famous bouncing bomb – brought to life by director Michael Anderson and a cast including Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave. How did The Dam Busters inspire Star Wars? Were the men in suits the real antagonists? And did they really have to keep saying the dog's name?!Presented by Robert Hutton and Duncan Weldon.Executive produced by Nick Hilton for Podot.Produced by Ewan Cameron.Hosted on...
2023-01-0633 min
War Movie TheatreThe Guns of NavaroneOn this week's episode of A Pod Too Far, Rob and Duncan are going to Greece for The Guns of Navarone! J. Lee Thompson's 1961 thriller, loosely set around the Dodecanese campaign and the fictional German fortress on the island of Navarone, brought together an all-star cast including Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn, Richard Harris and Stanley Baker. So, how big were these big guns? Why were the radio codes so damn obvious? And was this the operation that changed the course of the war?A Pod Too Far is presented by Robert Hutton and Duncan...
2022-12-3031 min
War Movie TheatreThe Great EscapeHo ho ho! It's Christmas, and what is more festive and merry than The Great Escape? A perennial Boxing Day favourite (except for Rob, who was forced on family walks), John Sturges' 1963 prisoner of war caper featured one of the great ensemble casts in cinema history: Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, James Garner, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasance and many more. They were all trying to break out of Stalag Luft III – but can the film break out of the doldrums of mediocre moviemaking? Why is there an unhelpful American stuck in the cooler? How miserable was the ending in reality? An...
2022-12-2328 min
War Movie TheatreEscape to VictoryIn case you've missed it, there's a World Cup going on in Qatar. And there's only one place that football and war movies collide: Escape to Victory (known to our cousins in America as just Victory!). With Michael Caine and Sylvester Stallone providing the acting chops, and Pele and Bobby Moore keeping the football end up, is Escape to Victory a successful fusion of these genres? Rob and Duncan sit down to talk through the movie's highs and lows, including whether Gordon Banks could teach Sly to keep goal, if they should've bailed out at half-time, and how much...
2022-12-1628 min
War Movie TheatreA Bridge Too FarWelcome to A Pod Too Far, where authors Robert Hutton and Duncan Weldon sit down each week to rewatch a classic war movie. Today, it's the big one: Richard Attenborough's A Bridge Too Far. The big budget depiction of Operation Market Garden – the Allied forces' failed attempt to seize the bridges at Arnhem – had one of the great casts of cinema history. Sean Connery and Anthony Hopkins, Robert Redford and Dirk Bogarde, Michael Caine, Gene Hackman, Laurence Olivier, James Caan, the list goes on. But is it actually any good as a movie? Let us know what you think by t...
2022-12-0934 min
War Movie TheatreWhat on Earth is War Movie Theatre?Join authors Robert Hutton and Duncan Weldon on their journey through the good, the bad and the ugly of old war movies – basically, anything that was on the telly during the Saturday afternoons of their youth!First episode: A Bridge Too Far (watch along in advance, or enjoy from memory!). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesHelp us out by doing our listener survey: http://bit.ly/warmovietheatre-surveySuggestions? Comments? Dr...
2022-12-0701 min