10 More Insanely Accurate War Movie Details
4. The Umbrella Wielding Major Carlyle - A Bridge Too Far
"Don't worry, I've got an umbrella."
Depicting WWII's Operation Market Garden, 1977's A Bridge Too Far is a criminally underrated war offering.
An iconic piece of detail featured within Richard Attenborough's film is carried by one of the supporting cast. Likely invoking numerous confused double-takes, Christopher Good's Major Carlyle is shown to be wielding an umbrella in several sequences.
What looks like A Bridge Too Far's prop department running out of money is actually a tip of the hat to a remarkable true story. Carlyle's character is based on Major Digby Tatham-Warter, a WWII combatant famed for carrying an umbrella into battle. Digby could never remember military passwords, arguing that it should be quite obvious that "the bloody fool carrying an umbrella could only be an Englishman".
This explanation was adapted into Carlyle's in-film death, although Tatham-Warter himself survived the war. Further accounts saw the major sprinting to rescue a soldier under heavy fire - reassuring him that they would be safe under the cover of his canopy - and using his brolly to disable an armoured car by poking the driver in the eyes through a viewing slot.
When quizzed upon the logic of carrying such an object by fellow officer Pat Barnett, Digby cooly responded;
"Oh my goodness Pat, what if it rains?"