The Brylcreem Boys

The story of the internees in Ireland during the Second World War is a fascinating one that I was familiar with, and after hearing of this film, I thought I would give it a watch. It's a very pleasant way to spend an hour and three-quarters, though it probably will not go down in history as a world-changing piece of art. You couldn't fault the period detail and the acting throughout is of a high standard. The script, directing, and all the rest is good. I suppose part of the problem with the film is that the absurdity of the story probably doesn't translate terribly well to a film. As a result the film has to work quite hard to make the story dramatic. It perhaps goes over the top a little with the "WE ARE IN IRELAND!" details (perhaps because it is filmed on the Isle of Man?) I enjoyed the subtle visual hints (the bored horse standing next to a green phone box) and the plot details (each one of the fourteen hundred camp guards being either 'Seamus' or 'Sean'). Anyway, it's an independent movie, and for all that is very professionally done and well put together. If you see it coming on the telly one wet Sunday afternoon, don't turn it off - I'm sure you'll find much to like in it.

This is a great little film, with all the ingredients of a good evenings entertainment. It has action and romance blended with humour and Irish music. A wonderful cocktail of true life events set against a fantastic background of Irish scenery. I really enjoyed watching this film and highly recommend it to those who appreciate seeing a good film. The most incredible thing about this film is that it is based on actual events that happened in Ireland. During the second world war, Ireland was neutral and had a Prisoner of War (POW) camp exactly like the one depicted in The Brylcreem Boys. This POW camp was situated 30 miles outside Dublin near a town called Naas, and it housed both Allied and German prisoners of war. This film does a great job in showing how life in the POW camp really was and how the British, American and German prisoners all had to get along together. A fantastic story and really worth seeing portrayed in the film. All the crew and cast involved in the researching, writing and the making of this film deserve a cheer! Well done! All the best from: Monty-46

The Brylcreem Boys takes as its subject matter a fascinating true situation but doesn't really seem to know what to do with it. Set in the neutral Republic of Ireland during WWII the story revolves around a group of British and German servicemen who find themselves interned in the same POW camp, separated by only a thin strip of land between two fortified fences through which they trade insults. And that's pretty much it, really. There's an unremarkable romance between a Canadian serving in the British RAF (Bill Campbell) and a comely local lass (Jean Butler), and a predictably resolved rivalry between him and German officer Count Rudolph von Stegenbek (Angus McFadyen), but for most of the movie you get the impression that the writers didn't really know what to do with the subject matter.

The basic premise would seem to lend itself to a comedy in the vein of an old Ealing production: a prison camp from which none of the allied forces wish to escape, where their pay slips are received monthly, from which they receive day-passes to visit the local race meetings, and in which the only bars are the type that serve pints of beer. The comic possibilities would seem endless but the humour here is almost non-existent, as are any elements of suspense or tension, and the writers seem to approach certain aspects that could be of interest – the effect on Stegenbek of learning that his comrades slaughtered a French farming family who shielded Keogh (Campbell) for example – only to back off once the ground work is complete. The inevitable escape attempt, when it finally arrives, is glossed over in a few scenes, and the fate of the principals announced by a voice-over. All in all, while the film has some entertainment value, it's a big disappointment. And for my money any film about British POWs that casts a couple of actors from Charlottesville, Virginia and Dallas, Texas as the lead RAF characters has irreparably compromised itself from the outset.

Having now seen "The Brylcreem Boys" for the third time, I adore the whole mood and feel of the piece. The subject matter (true, according to a recent article in the UK paper The Guardian) is handled in a way that only a British movie maker can do: with humor and without mawkishness. Suprisingly it was shot on the Isle of Man which just looks beautiful. As for the casting, it has to be one of the best and inspired collections of UK actors to be seen together for at least a decade. Gabriel Byrne gives one of the warmest performances and simply cannot loose his glint in his eye. Bill Campbell nearly steals every scene and for a genuine laugh-out-loud moment (his puzzled line at the escape) Marc Sinden is outstanding! The ensemble work as though they have been a team for years and play off each other in a way that should be a lesson for any aspiring movie actors and yet the majority are well-known Brit stage actors in their own right. A delight!

An excellent film - really enjoyable.

Though if one reads historical accounts about the exploits of allied and German internees in Ireland during WWII fact was even more strange than depicted in this film!

Jean Butler played her part well considering her lack of previous film appearances she should be in more movies.

Angus MacFadyen is superb as the Luftwaffe pilot, his aloof arrogance is tempered by his sense of fair play and humanity.

A wonderful film which I enjoyed - the Isle of Man made a good surrogate for Ireland.