2016. “Dad's Army”
Cast
Toby Jones as Captain Mainwaring
Bill Nighy as Sergeant Wilson
Catherine Zeta-Jones as Rose Winters
Tom Courtenay as Lance Corporal Jones
Blake Harrison as Private Pike
Michael Gambon as Private Godfrey
Bill Paterson as Private Frazer
Daniel Mays as Private Walker
Sarah Lancashire as Mrs Pike
Mark Gatiss as Colonel Theakes
Mark Tandy as Major Cunningham, MI5
Andrew Havill as Captain Meeks, MI5
Emily Atack as Daphne
Alison Steadman as Mrs Fox
Holli Dempsey as Vera Shilton
Annette Crosbie as Cissy Godfrey
Ian Lavender as Brigadier Pritchard
Frank Williams as The Reverend Timothy Farthing (Credited only as 'The Vicar')
Felicity Montagu as Mrs Mainwaring
Martin Savage as Warden Hodges
Oliver Tobias as Admiral Canaris
Julia Foster as Dolly Godfrey
Jacqueline Tong as Mrs Todd
Ian Lavender makes a cameo as Brigadier Pritchard, providing a link with the original series, Frank Williams reprises his role as the Vicar. The regular series character of the Verger Maurice Yeatman was not recreated for the film. Mrs. Mainwaring, who was a completely unseen character for the whole of the original series, now has a prominently visible role in the film, where she is portrayed as a Chief Volunteer of the local Auxiliary Territorial Service, and is even more pompous, domineering and vociferous than her husband.
It is summer 1944, and the invasion of Normandy is approaching. Nazi forces in France, seeking intelligence on the invasion location, send their best spy to a town on England's channel coastline, Walmington-on-Sea. In the town, Captain Mainwaring's Home Guard is suffering from a lack of luck and appreciation.
This is until an elegant journalist, Rose Winters, arrives to report on the platoon's motives and activities, allegedly for The Lady magazine. The platoon are charmed by her presence, especially Captain Mainwaring and Sergeant Wilson, causing feuds with the townsfolk, especially the platoon's wives. Adding to tensions, it emerges that Sergeant Wilson was Rose Winters' tutor at Oxford University.
Meanwhile, MI5 detect a radio signal transmitted from Walmington-on-Sea towards Berlin, believed to be from the Nazi spy. MI5's Major Cunningham and Captain Meeks locate Captain Mainwaring and inform him of the enemy presence, stating "it could be anyone". This news gives the Home Guard a chance to locate the spy and make a real difference in the war. They meet Ms. Winters who poses as a journalist while they are practising a routine of catch the Nazi after Wilson is chosen to play the Nazi.
While accompanying the platoon on a patrol, designated Top Secret by the British Army, Winters discovers the Dover base is intended to deceive German air reconnaissance, part of the (real) Operation Bodyguard. Winters now knows the invasion will target Normandy. As the platoon searches for the spy, Rose claims it is Sergeant Wilson. Captain Mainwaring believes Rose and arrests Wilson.
However, Private Godfrey's sisters investigate Rose and find evidence questioning her journalist credentials and that Rose has a home address in Berlin. The platoon and their wives rally to stop Winters and exchange fire with a German U-boat and a Wehrmacht landing party who are helping Winters escape.
The U-boat flees without Winters boarding. Mainwaring heroically arrests Winters and hands her over to MI5. The troop then parade through Walmington, having fought off the Nazis, and are congratulated by Colonel Theakes. Mainwaring and Wilson reconcile. Theakes underlines the platoon success by telling them they have played a prominent part in the war effort.