Millions Like Us

The finest example of British wartime fictional propaganda follows a group of women who take on factory work to support the war effort.

When Celia is sent away to work at a munitions factory she’s thrown in with women from other classes and parts of the country. Homesick at first, she soon builds new bonds, falls in love and finds a purpose in life.

In 1943, the government was struggling to persuade women to take on factory work to replace the men away fighting. Most saw manual labour as dirty and unglamorous, preferring uniformed service, so writers Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat were commissioned to write a screen story which showed how crucial such work was to victory. The film is a perfect blend of comedy and drama, and the final scene is one of the most tearjerking in British cinema.