Yep,
read about that some time back - in reality many film stars played a very real role in WW2, from David Niven (who famously sent his fridge to a Monty Python film award show, you might recall) who was in one of the myriad of small, somewhat clandestine outfits...'Phantom' I think they were called - to my own 'favourite', Jimmy Stewart. Others like Audie Murphy made the transition the other way about of course. Richard Todd didn't know me from Adam of course, I was just standing with the boss on a slow day when he turned up for a quick look round - offered me a ciggy, I was far more interested in cadging rides on his son's moped back then.
My comments were a somewhat tongue in cheek, deliberate mish mash of mixed truth and outlandish fabrication...much like the films we all love to rubbish but happily settle back down to watch for the third time around.
Now, back to Jack Hawkins, who as we all know survived losing a leg at Waterloo to command Compass Rose, a flower class corvette on the Atlantic convoys. You'll note during the film that when he turns to adress Donald Sinden he only ever rotates clockwise, as his wooden leg 'knee' joint jammed (warping in all that cold salty water) thereby prevented anti clockwise movement..... how I never got signed up as a screenwriter is beyond me.
Dave