As arguably the most important clash between the allies and the Nazis in World War Two, and one that marked a genuine turning point in the great conflict, the Battle of Britain has naturally long attracted the interest of film-makers, from the 1940s right through to the present day. But while some productions dramatising the epic struggle in the summer of 1940, fought between the RAF and the Luftwaffe for air supremacy over southern England, have become enduring classics, others have swiftly fallen into obscurity.
Although touched upon in such wartime propaganda films as 1942's The First of the Few, which told the story of the struggle of the aircraft designer RJ Mitchell (played by Leslie Howard) to get his legendary Supermarine Spitfire fighter into production, audiences had to wait until the 1950s for the first films to properly dramatise the Battle of Britain.
Regarded as the golden age of the British World War Two film, that decade saw the release of two films set against the backdrop of the Battle of Britain that would become classics of the genre.
The first of these was 1952's Angels One Five, in which John Gregson starred as cocky young Hurricane pilot TB "Septic" Baird, whose overconfidence lands him in constant trouble with his tough, but fair, commanding officer, Group Captain "Tiger" Small (Jack Hawkins).
Four years later, the story of the most famous British pilot to emerge during the battle was told in Reach for the Sky. In a career-defining performance, Kenneth More portrayed Douglas Bader, the inspirational - if somewhat irascible airman who lost both his legs in a prewar flying accident but, with the aid of a pair of artificial limbs, went on to become one of the RAF's most successful aces of the Battle of Britain.
この記事は Best of British の September 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Best of British の September 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
THE FEW ON SCREEN
Steven Taylor looks at the Battle of Britain across film and TV
Table Service
Rachel Toy looks at the history of Ridgway Homemaker tableware
Hever Forever
Claire Saul studies the newly refurbished Boleyn Apartment at Hever Castle & Gardens - a castle fit for a queen
Shining a Light
Tony O’Neil tunes into the history of the last manned lightvessel
The Man With the Goldeneye
Film stills photographer Keith Hamshere describes how he came to enter the world of James Bond
THE ORIGINAL GOLDEN BALLS
lan Wheeler looks back on 70 years of Tiger comic and Roy of the Rovers, and chats to the man who edited and oversaw both titles
To Play the Queen
Chris Hallam looks back on the life of one of the UK’s best known lookalikes
POOLING RESOURCES
Martin Handley looks at what life was like after the Vernons Girls
POSTCARD FROM= SUSSEX
Bob Barton indulges in pleasure piers and fairground delights, as well as fulfilling a long-held ambition to visit the home of Rudyard Kipling
Oh, Miss Jones
Chris Hallam looks back at the origins and legacy of Rising Damp, ITV's most successful sitcom