The Way Ahead is a British Second World War drama released in 1944. It stars David Niven and Stanley Holloway and follows a group of civilians who are conscripted into the British Army to fight in North Africa. In the U.S, an edited version was released as The Immortal Battalion.
After an infantry battalion has suffered casualties at Dunkirk, the gaps in the ranks must be filled by ‘call-ups’. The men that arrive range from a boilerman and a rent collector to a nervous business man – but what will become of them…
Awards
National Board of Review USA 1945 – Won NBR Award Top Ten Films
Review
"The Way Ahead is a Carol Reed flag-waver that still packs the same emotional punch that gripped cinema audiences so strongly during the war’s twilight years. Reed’s semi-documentary style ensures that a believable grittiness always shines through the lump-in-the-throat heroics.
An excellent cast star in this vivid story of the varying fortunes of a group of motley young civilians from different walks of life as they are moulded into soldiers. The film follows the recruits as they advance through basic training under no-nonsense Sergeant Fletcher, and capable Lieutenant Jim Perry. We eventually see the raw recruits set sail on an unknown voyage for their first taste of battle, they land in North Africa and are plunged into action against the enemy – finally realising the benefit of their hated training." britmovie.co.uk