This movie depicts a period in the life of RJ Mitchell and his Schneider Trophy-winning aircraft designs that later realised the Spitfire fighter-plane. I have no idea how accurate the details may be.
Leslie Howard gives a decent performance as the aircraft designer, with a just-about-adequate co-role for David Niven as womaniser Geoffrey Crisp, his would-be test pilot. Niven tends to feature more prominently in the publicity photographs, which is strange considering that Howard was still a big star (though soon to fade), he has a more important role in this movie as well as being more convincing, but also directed it too.
Frankly, it's far too long at 118 minutes. There's a lengthy, introductory preamble with Spitfires returning to base during the Battle Of Britain, which sets the scene for Niven's Crisp to explain the history of the aircraft and its creator to a group of apparently genuine fighter pilots. We could have done without it. After that, the movie just suffers from what I might call directorial elephantiasis. Far too many scenes are much longer than they need to be. These allow the story to drag and the action becomes diluted. It's a classic example of an excellent actor with so much self-belief that he thinks he can be a director too. Which of course, he can be; but not necessarily a good one.
The movie likewise suffers from all of the other constraints of a wartime work. Limited resources and even more limited special-effects. They're not necessarily Howard's fault. But the over-long production under such circumstances is evidence of a man who doesn't know his task well enough. Half an hour could be pared away from this tale, and that would have sharpened it up and lent it a genuine sense of urgency.
My DVD copy came free with the 'Daily Mail'. Unfortunately it also included a warts-and-all soundtrack that hisses and crackles badly enough to detract from one's pleasure. If all recordings are like this it must be a bit of a disaster for anyone actually making a purchase. It definitely needs a 'Dolby' treatment. Though frankly the movie hardly merits repair.
When you look at the wonderful improvement in quality that was realised even a decade later, it seems a pity that such a good story was compromised for want of resources. Still; there was a war on.
An adequate tub-thumper from the dismal days of 1942; today is is strictly for collectors and fans.
Not recommended.
Leslie Howard gives a decent performance as the aircraft designer, with a just-about-adequate co-role for David Niven as womaniser Geoffrey Crisp, his would-be test pilot. Niven tends to feature more prominently in the publicity photographs, which is strange considering that Howard was still a big star (though soon to fade), he has a more important role in this movie as well as being more convincing, but also directed it too.
Frankly, it's far too long at 118 minutes. There's a lengthy, introductory preamble with Spitfires returning to base during the Battle Of Britain, which sets the scene for Niven's Crisp to explain the history of the aircraft and its creator to a group of apparently genuine fighter pilots. We could have done without it. After that, the movie just suffers from what I might call directorial elephantiasis. Far too many scenes are much longer than they need to be. These allow the story to drag and the action becomes diluted. It's a classic example of an excellent actor with so much self-belief that he thinks he can be a director too. Which of course, he can be; but not necessarily a good one.
The movie likewise suffers from all of the other constraints of a wartime work. Limited resources and even more limited special-effects. They're not necessarily Howard's fault. But the over-long production under such circumstances is evidence of a man who doesn't know his task well enough. Half an hour could be pared away from this tale, and that would have sharpened it up and lent it a genuine sense of urgency.
My DVD copy came free with the 'Daily Mail'. Unfortunately it also included a warts-and-all soundtrack that hisses and crackles badly enough to detract from one's pleasure. If all recordings are like this it must be a bit of a disaster for anyone actually making a purchase. It definitely needs a 'Dolby' treatment. Though frankly the movie hardly merits repair.
When you look at the wonderful improvement in quality that was realised even a decade later, it seems a pity that such a good story was compromised for want of resources. Still; there was a war on.
An adequate tub-thumper from the dismal days of 1942; today is is strictly for collectors and fans.
Not recommended.