The Lion Has Wings (1939)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Directors:

Adrian Brunel
Brian Desmond Hurst

Writers:

Adrian Brunel (writer)
Ian Dalrymple (story)

Release Date:

19 January 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

Alexander Korda's bit for the British war effort shows the world both at peace and on the verge of Nazi domination...

Plot Keywords:

Nationalism | Propaganda Film | Newsreel | Militarism | Royal Air Force

Cast

Merle Oberon	...	Mrs. Richardson
Ralph Richardson	...	Wing Commander Richardson
June Duprez	...	June
Flora Robson	...	Queen Elizabeth I (edited from: Fire Over England) (archive footage)
Robert Douglas	...	Briefing officer
Anthony Bushell	...	Pilot
Brian Worth	...	Bobby
Austin Trevor	...	Schulemburg
Ivan Brandt	...	Officer
G.H. Mulcaster	...	Controller
Herbert Lomas	...	Holveg
Milton Rosmer	...	Head of Observer Corps
Ronald Adam	...	Bomber Chief
Robert Rendel	...	Chief of Air Staff
John Longden	...	Unnamed character

Runtime:

76 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

UK:U

Filming Locations:

Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

London Film Productions

Trivia:

Because it was started and completed so soon after the declaration of war and was seen to show how useful films could be in wartime, this film is considered to have done a lot towards allowing the British film industry to remain active throughout WWII, unlike in WWI when all cinemas were closed and filming effectively stopped for the duration.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The section of the film detailing Germany's prewar conquests contains several errors. The narrator states that Germany occupied the Rhineland in March, 1934. In fact, it was in 1936. Immediately after, a map inaccurately depicts the dismembering of Czechoslovakia in October 1938 and March 1939. The 1938 map depicts Germany annexing the Sudetenland, which is somewhat incorrectly drawn upon the map, but neither it nor the narration shows Hungary annexing the southern portion of Czechoslovakia, nor Poland taking the Teschen district in the center north of the country, both of which occurred simultaneously with Germany's occupation of the Sudetenland. (The narrator also speaks of the Sudetenland going "back" to Germany, though in fact it had never been part of Germany.) When the final dismemberment of Czechoslovakia in March 1939 is depicted, Germany is shown annexing outright not only the western Czech lands of Bohemia and Moravia (which it did annex), but the center of the country as well; meanwhile, the extreme eastern end of the country is labeled "Slovakia", the nominally independent satellite state recognized by Germany. In fact, Slovakia was located in the center of the country, in areas inaccurately depicted as annexed to Germany; the eastern portion labeled "Slovakia" in the film is in fact an area then known as the Carpatho-Ukraine, which was annexed by Hungary the day after Germany occupied the Czech lands in the west (and is today part of Ukraine).

Movie Connections:

Featured in War Stories (2006) (TV)

Thief, Interrupted

One can understand why Alexander Korda and his entourage interrupted their work on the marvellous fantasy film "Thief of Bagdad" to construct this patriotic, morale-boosting quickie, "The Lion Has Wings." It's somewhat amusing to see the lovely June Duprez still with her 'vulcan' pointed eyebrows (to make her look more exotic for her princess role in "Thief of Bagdad"). Ralph Richardson and several other officers from "The Four Feathers" are also on hand here, but in then-contemporary uniforms. This is not an 'art' film by any stretch, but it fulfills its purpose and is certainly of interest to anyone who has seen the other two films (aforementioned) as a minor footnote.