[Afamilyatwar-list] Episode 9

[Veit, Richard]

Episode No. 9, "The Night They Hit No. 8"

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John Finch’s fine script for “The Night They Hit No. 8” seamlessly interweaves no fewer than three distinct storylines: David and Sheila desperately try to locate their children, whom Sheila has sent to her mother’s house instead of evacuating them to Wales; a troubled adolescent named Alfred Powner is entrusted to the care of Edwin and Jean; and Margaret is about to give birth.

I was intrigued by the shadowy character of Alfred. At first, I considered him to be no better than a typical teen delinquent. However, the surprising truth went deeper than surface appearances suggested, and he developed into a sympathetic character. True, Alfred stole Edwin’s cigarettes, but he did so for an unselfish motive. The belated “funeral” service for his drowned father (with the Mersey substituting for an ocean, and the purloined pack of cigarettes standing in for a wreath) is quite a powerful and touching scene. What a fine young actor this David Bradley was. He had already scored a major success one year before (1969) with the motion picture "Kes."

I am curious to know where those shocking exteriors of bombed-out Liverpool were shot. Although committed to film three decades after the German air raids, these scenes seemed chillingly convincing and on a far grander scale than generally could be replicated on a studio backlot. The production designer certainly did a marvelous job of depicting wartime devastation on the home front. That and director June Howson’s judicious use of actual war footage, dramatic sound effects, and “explosive” indirect lighting all helped to make this a harrowing experience.

I wonder if the costume people padded Margaret’s figure for this episode, or if actress Lesley Nunnerley was far enough along in her own pregnancy to play these scenes.

I also wonder why it was said that David Ashton hurt his right hand in a bicycle accident? Did that provide an explanation why David was not flying an op that night, or did actor Colin Campbell perhaps suffer a hand injury that somehow had to be written into the script?

I like the way Philip’s guilt over abandoning Dominique Brehaut on Guernsey carried over from the previous episode into this one. It is just such faithful continuity of detail that makes the characters on “A Family at War” come so richly alive for the audience.

Following the birth of John George, the attending nurse’s cheerless remark brings this episode to an effective close: “Poor little fellow. Only born today, and he’s already at war.”
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