In my last article I wrote about Virginia Vernon as ENSA’s secret weapon to address muddle and lack of organisation. Muddle abounds in the wonderful 1959 comedy film, The Desert Mice. It is a warm-hearted tribute to the efforts of the performers who entertained the troops overseas.[1] Starring Alfred Marks, Sid James, and Dora Bryan, it follows an ENSA party from Dunkirk to the Western Desert.
All the variety show stereotypes are there: the comedian, the contortionist, the serious older couple, and Irene Handl as the pianist. The film plays on ENSA’s poor quality reputation as ‘Every Night Something Awful’. In one scene a German officer explains ENSA to his subordinate, “It’s very British. It’s an institution. we have the Gestapo, they have ENSA!”
No spoilers – I encourage you to watch the film (see link below) – but it includes some important themes relating to organised entertainment during the war:
The link with home for the troops in remote locations
A very British amateurism that wins the day against a humourless enemy
The highs and lows of performances
A feckless and unhelpful Army officer assigned to liaise with the concert party
And that song, Lilli Marlene, appropriated by the Eighth Army plays a central role once more (see article).
I hope you enjoy this classic British comedy as much as I did!
[1] Desert Mice (Rank Film Distributors, 1959). Watch it on Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Desert-Mice-Alfred-Marks/dp/B0938S5H99