King & Country

King and Country is a 1964 British film, directed by American-born director Joseph Losey, shot in black and white, and starring Dirk Bogarde and Tom Courtenay. The film was adapted for the screen by British screenwriter Evan Jones based on a play by John Wilson and a novel by James Lansdale Hodson. During World War I, in the British trenches at Passchendaele, an army private, Arthur Hamp is accused of desertion. He is to be defended at his trial by Capt. Hargreaves , an upper-class officer. Hamp had been a volunteer at the outbreak of the war and was the sole survivor of his company but then... decided to 'go for a walk': he had contemplated walking to his home in London but after more than 24 hours on the road, he's picked up by the Military Police and sent back to his unit to face court-martial for desertion. Hargreaves is initially arrogant towards the simple-minded Hamp but comes to identify with his plight. With testimony from a doctor , the soldier must be made an example of in front of the other soldiers. He is found guilty and is shot by a firing squad but as he is still alive afterwards, he is then shot through the mouth.
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