Film History

War films can be divided into three genres; land, sea and air. To audiences, each of these is a thrilling as the next, full of drama and often set against a backdrop of historical events. In a recent feature, the difficulties of producing naval war films were considered and how the ships turn out to be the stars of the film. Well, there are a number of films where the aircraft has become the star, such as the WWI drama ‘Aces High’ and the WWII production ‘Memphis Belle’, featuring a B-17 bomber of the eponymous title.

It’s all about the aeroplane

Many film stars appearing in these films saw war service in the air forces of their nationality, such as Denholm Elliott in the RAF and Clarke Gable and James Stewart, both in the USAAF. There are many more examples, but in most cases, it is the intensity of the setting within the confines of the aircraft, flying at hundreds of miles an hour at tens of thousands of feet over enemy territory, which causes the audience to focus their attention on the aircraft. For example, what happens to the Wellington bomber in the 1942 production ‘One of Our Aircraft is Missing’, after the crew bails out when an engine fails? Since the earliest days, movie cameras and aircraft made the perfect combination, showing the grace and speed of the machines in action.

During WWI, audiences were gripped by films showing aircraft taking off and engaged in ‘Dog Fights’ over the Western Front. This fascination has continued to the present day with modern movies, such as ‘Top Gun’ and the more recent ‘Top Gun; Maverick’, featuring some incredible aerial filming.

Historical events

As with other genres of war films, the productions featuring aircraft were inspired by historical events. Among the many films set against the backdrop of WWI, those which stand out include ‘The Blue Max’ and ‘Aces High’, released in 1966 and 1976 respectively. In 2007, technology had taken over with CGI to produce stunning recreations of aircraft of the period. The effect was to highlight aircraft of the period and collections such as the Shuttleworth Collection at the Old Warden Aerodrome in Bedfordshire.

Throughout the war, moraleboosting films featuring aircraft were produced, such as ‘One of Our Aircraft is Missing’ and ‘The First of the Few’, released in 1942 starring David Niven. This is actually history at its most jingoistic and claims to tell the story of how the Spitfire was developed in a semi-documentary style, with all the clichés. They were great moraleboosters at the time and today are still great viewing. In fact, they paved the way for the ‘Battle of Britain’ film, 29 years after the event, which further strengthened the iconography of the Spitfire. It also affirmed the role of the Hurricane, which has become overshadowed by the now-legendary Spitfire. Starring actors such as Michael Caine and Lawrence Olivier, it was, however, the aircraft which were the main stars, with great aerial photography, long before CGI.

In 1956, ‘Reach for the Sky’ starring Kenneth More was released and tells the story of the legless RAF pilot Douglas Bader. It’s a rare film in that actors and aircraft are equal in stardom and includes the Battle of Britain. These classic films are popular with film buffs, but reenactors recreating the RAF during WWII also draw inspiration from them. At events, they use life-size replica Hurricane as well as Spitfire aircraft and build up a display around them.

The bombers

There is only one remaining airworthy Lancaster bomber still flying, and when it makes an appearance along with the rest of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, their ‘fly past’ brings the show to a standstill as all eyes gaze skywards. The Lancaster was the undisputed star of the film and tells a fairly faithful version of the 1943 attack against the great German dams, which were the targets in ‘Operation Chastise’. The overall size of the Lancaster precludes it from being used as a static display, but sections of cockpit are sometimes used, which re-enactors feature to show the kind of kit worn by aircrew.

The American B-17 ‘Flying Fortress’ bomber was the USAAF’s mainstay in the bombing campaign against Germany and a handful are still airworthy. Like the Lancaster, an appearance by a B-17 causes heads to look to the skies for a glimpse of this iconic aircraft. The actor Clark Gable flew as aircrew on B-17s, whilst his fellow actor, James Stewart, flew B-24 ‘Liberator’, which has been overshadowed by the Flying Fortress. In 1990, the film ‘Memphis Belle’ had a B-17 as the eponymous star in a somewhat glamorised version of the final mission of the real aircraft.

The Imperial War Museum at Duxford hosts many special events, including the popular ‘Flying Legends’, which includes the Spitfire, Hurricane, Mustang and B-17. This event is an opportunity for re-enactors wearing authentic period kit to mingle with the crowds and also put on static displays. Other wartime air forces are sometimes featured, including the Soviet Red Air Force and the Luftwaffe.

More films

A raft of other films feature wartime aircraft in some shape, such as the A-20 Boston light bomber in the 1954 production, ‘The Sea Shall Not Have Them’. Even those films which show brief glimpses of other types, including Lysander and Dakota aircraft, satisfy aircraft enthusiasts. Some film productions feature historic aircraft in storylines that are preposterous and have serious flaws. Among the worst offenders are the ‘633 Squadron’ and ‘Mosquito Squadron’ productions from 1964 and 1969 respectively.

Luckily, both feature the Mosquito aircraft which distracts from the bad script and terrible acting.

We all have our favourite wartime film featuring aircraft, be it a drama or a love story, such as ‘A Matter of Life or Death’ or the 1945 production, ‘The Way to the Stars’, starring John Mills and featuring many different types of aircraft, including B-17, Hurricanes, Blenheims and Bostons, all provided by wartime operational squadrons. Aircraft films do not get much better than that.

The number of books on historic aircraft published annually and specialist collectors’ fairs, such as the traders at the Flying Legends Airshow and the Aerojumble at Croydon Airfield, fuel the interest in matters aviation, which makes aircraft such a favourite theme with visitors, collectors, reenactors and film producers.