Spitfire (1942)
"The First of the Few" (original title)

By the late 1920's aircraft designer R.J. Mitchell feels he has achieved all he wants with his revolutionary mono-planes winning trophy after trophy. But a holiday in Germany shortly after ... See full summary »

Director:

Leslie Howard

Writers:

Henry C. James (original story), Katherine Strueby (original story),

Stars:

Leslie Howard, David Niven, Rosamund John

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Leslie Howard	...	R.J. Mitchell
David Niven	...	Geoffrey Crisp
Rosamund John	...	Diana Mitchell
Roland Culver	...	Commander Bride
Anne Firth	...	Miss Harper
David Horne	...	Mr. Higgins
J.H. Roberts	...	Sir Robert McLean
Derrick De Marney	...	Squadron Leader Jefferson
Rosalyn Boulter	...	Mabel Lovesay
Herbert Cameron	...	MacPherson
Toni Edgar-Bruce	...	Lady Houston (as Toni Edgar Bruce)
Gordon McLeod	...	Major Buchan
George Skillan	...	Mr. Royce
Erik Freund	...	Messerschmitt
Fritz Wendhausen	...	Von Straben (as F.R. Wendhausen)

Storyline

By the late 1920's aircraft designer R.J. Mitchell feels he has achieved all he wants with his revolutionary mono-planes winning trophy after trophy. But a holiday in Germany shortly after Hitler assumes power convinces him that it is vital to design a completely new type of fighter plane and that sooner or later Britain's very survival may depend on what he comes to call the Spitfire.

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Plot Keywords:

nazi germany | directed by star | battle of britain | fighter pilot | between wars | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 September 1942 (UK)

Also Known As:

Spitfire

Filming Locations:

D&P Studios, Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Aviation Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The "Merlin" is actually a kind of European Falcon; Rolls-Royce named a great many of their aircraft engines after birds of prey.

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Goofs

During test flight of the plane, a close-up of the cockpit was shown. The type of canopy in the scene is called a "Malcolm Hood" and was not used on early model Spitfires.

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Quotes

[the Mitchells have bumped into Crisp at a Dress Ball]
Reginald J. Mitchell: Well, who's the lucky lady?
Geoffrey Crisp: Don't know, I haven't met her yet!

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Soundtracks

"Giovinezza"
(uncredited)
Music by Giuseppe Blanc
Arranged by Roy Douglas

User Reviews

unsung heroes

The film was shot at Ibsley (now no longer in existence either as a base or a beacon, though you can see the remnants) which was in Hampshire, and in 1942 an active fighter station. The group of airmen listening to David Niven recounting the story of Mitchell were real RAF airmen. The filming did not stop for the war. If the bell went to scramble, filming would temporarily be halted while those airmen would run to their spitfires, go off and fight the war, before returning and carry on filming as though nothing had happened. At the end, Niven was so impressed with those heroes that he sent them off to The Savoy in London for the weekend, ringing the manager with instructions to give them whatever they wanted: women, drink, food, making sure the bill was sent direct to him. Difficult to imagine our pampered "stars" doing likewise these days! How do I know so much? One of those unsung heroes was my adored uncle Peter Howard-Williams, who had been in 19 Squadron flying out of Duxford during the Battle of Britain, but happened to be at Ibsley when the station was chosen for the film.