We Serve | |
Director: | Carol Reed |
Producer: | Sydney Box |
Starring: | |
Editing: | Peter Tanner |
Production Companies: | Verity Films |
Runtime: | 30 minutes |
Country: | United Kingdom |
Language: | English |
We Serve is a British short film about the lives of officers in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS). Designed as a recruitment and training film, it was directed by Carol Reed, produced by Sydney Box, and was made by Box's company Verity Films.[1]
The involvement of Reed as director enabled Box to secure the services of several leading British actresses for the film, all agreeing to be paid the small sum of £5 per day.[1] The film also featured the then Director of the ATS, Jean Knox.[2]
The 30-minute film was commissioned shortly after the British government changed the nature of the ATS from being a voluntary body to becoming a professional service with full military status in April 1941.[3] It was concurrent with a wider recruitment drive to expand the size of the ATS.[4] In its efforts to attract recruits, the film emphasised that femininity could be retained in wartime.[1]