The Way Ahead (1944)

Originally intended as a training film this, in parts humorous, war story, based on a screenplay by Eric Ambler and Peter Ustinov, tells of the light-hearted tomfoolery which soon gives way to the grim realities of life on the most dangerous battlegrounds of the Second World War. Boasting a script by Eric Ambler and Peter Ustinov, THE WAY AHEAD is a rousing version of a familiar WWII genre: An officer must hammer a small group of disparate characters into an effective fighting unit as quickly as possible. David Niven stars as tough-minded Lieutenant Jim Perry, putting a reluctant and sometimes comically inept group of raw recruits through fantastically realistic basic-training exercises. When the troops hit the beaches of North Africa, they finally begin to understand the purpose behind their training.