The Gentle Sex

CinemaSerf

This is more of a docu-drama, depicting as it does the efforts of the women's Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) in the UK during WWII. It's not quite propaganda - it does show some of the hairier, scarier aspects of their jobs amidst the war - but it does largely focus on the huge range of tasks they undertook from sight-ranging for the guns trying to stop the doodlebugs to driving essential supplies from one end of the country to the other to keep the logistical wheels of warfare working efficiently. Leslie Howard has interwoven these factually based scenarios with some strong fictional characterisations from the likes of Joan Greenwood and Lilli Palmer supported by John Laurie, Jimmy Handley and Miles Malleson to create a tapestry effect merging the varied aspects of their lives. It's a fascinating - if maybe just a bit too dry - film to watch that showcases well all the sterling efforts involved.