One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Directors:

Michael Powell
Emeric Pressburger

Writers:

Emeric Pressburger (story)
Michael Powell (written by) ...

Release Date:

27 June 1942 (UK)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War

Tagline:

1942s first blast of screen dynamite

Plot:

When the Nazis shoot down a British bomber, its crew seeks help from the Dutch underground.

Plot Keywords:

Resistance | Netherlands | Aviation | WWII | Patriotism

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Godfrey Tearle	...	Sir George Corbett, Rear Gunner in B for Bertie
Eric Portman	...	Tom Earnshaw, Copilot in B for Bertie
Hugh Williams	...	Frank Shelley, Observer / Navigator in B for Bertie
Bernard Miles	...	Geoff Hickman, Front Gunner in B for Bertie
Hugh Burden	...	John Glyn Haggard, Pilot in B for Bertie
Emrys Jones	...	Bob Ashley, Radio Operator in B for Bertie
Pamela Brown	...	Els Meertens
Joyce Redman	...	Jet van Dieren
Googie Withers	...	Jo de Vries
Hay Petrie	...	The Burgomaster
Selma Vaz Dias	...	Burgomeister's wife (as Selma Van Dias)
Arnold Marlé	...	Pieter Sluys
Robert Helpmann	...	De Jong
Peter Ustinov	...	The Priest
Alec Clunes	...	The Organist

Also Known As:

...One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (UK) (alternative spelling)
The Story of - - - - - - one of Our Aircraft Is Missing (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

102 min | USA:82 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Dutch

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:U | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Boston, Lincolnshire, England, UK

Company:

Archers, The

Trivia:

One day Noel Coward visited the set and after seeing how the crew staged and wrapped up an elaborate sequence in about 2 hours decided to use most of them on his film In Which We Serve (1942).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The Germans are wearing First World War uniforms and equipment.

Quotes:

Else Meertens: Do you think that we Hollanders who threw the sea out of our country will let the Germans have it? Better the sea.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing (1975)

One of the best war films made during World War II, from one of Britain's finest film-making teams

One of the best war films produced World War II, `One of Our Aircraft is Missing' is the product of one of the best British filmmaking teams of the 1940s, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. The makers of such unusual and memorable films as `The Red Shoes' and `Black Narcissus', Powel and Pressburger's films were never like anyone else's. Their approach to a wartime propaganda film was equally different.

`One of Our Aircraft is Missing' begins dramatically with the crash of an RAF Vickers Wellington bomber designated `B-For Bertie', and then flashes back to the events leading thereto. The viewer is introduced to the six members of crew, and learns that they had actually bailed out of their crippled aircraft prior to the crash, landing in Nazi-occupied Holland. The remainder of the story describes their escape back to Britain.

What makes this film different from the conventional Hollywood treatment of similar subject matter is that `One of Our Aircraft is Missing' stresses the courage and resourcefulness of the Dutch civilians rather than the aircrew. Indeed, it made manifestly clear that the British crew could never have escaped without the assistance of a great many ordinary Dutch people of all ages and both sexes. The characters, both British and Dutch, are all well drawn Surprisingly enough, even the Germans are depicted as not entirely inhuman. `They want to be liked', says one Dutch patriot who has wormed her way into their confidence by posing as a Quisling.

From a historical perspective, this film is of interest due to its depiction of RAF Bomber Command operations during the early part of World War II, as well as details of the interior of the famous Wellington Bomber. It is also worth seeing as early example of the work of legendary film director David Lean (`Oliver Twist', `Bridge Over the River Kwai', `Lawrence of Arabia', Doctor Zhivago', Ryan's Daughter', etc), who served as Film Editor. There is also an early performance by a very young (and thin) Peter Ustinov, who acts in Dutch and Latin as well as English. All in all, this film is well worth a look.