TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

wes-connors The menace of Nazi Germany blackens Europe, with Great Britain preparing for Third Reich leader Adolf Hitler's onslaught. Then, we flashback to tell the story of aviator R.J. Mitchell (portrayed by Leslie Howard), as told by his close friend and favorite pilot Geoffrey Crisp (portrayed by David Niven)… Our hero is inspired by flying birds (and Divinity, when you factor in the opening) to design a sleeker airplane. But, more than the birds he watches with wife Rosamund John (as Diana) on the beach, R.J. Mitchell wants, "A bird that breaths fire and spits out death and destruction, a spitfire bird." The resulting "Spitfire" model finally gets off the ground, and will hopefully help defeat the Nazis in the present. But there are some challenges along the way...It's not smooth sailing (or flying) for this choppy propaganda film, either. The presence of Leslie Howard does make it seem classy, though, even if the star doesn't really deviate much from his established persona. Howard produced and directed, also. A World War I veteran, Howard probably would have soldiered up again if he were five or so years younger. Ironically, the popular actor was in a plane shot down by the Nazis in June 1943, making this his last characterization. Howard would direct one more film, "The Gentle Sex" (1943). A casualty of war, Leslie Howard left the film world far too soon.***** The First of the Few/ Spitfire (9/14/42) Leslie Howard ~ Leslie Howard, David Niven, Rosamund John, Roland Culver

DKosty123 It is ironic that Leslie Howards last film would be about the fate he would suffer soon after. Howard shot this film before flying into the war and his death mere months later.This biography of RJ Mitchell who created the famous British fighter is documented in this movie. In support is David Niven in one of his better more serious film roles. The film made in 1942 is definitely war propaganda. Still it tells an important story.Mitchell knew he was ill, but was a man on a mission to get the Spit Fighter complete before he died. While the movie is not real clear on Mitchell's illness, the fact is that he did die within a year of his getting the first Spitfires built.A good cast puts together a good film which elevates Mitchell (Howard) into a key historic position. The real Mitchell died of Cancer within a year of the plane design completion and the first major orders by the British Government.

Scaramouche2004 One of my biggest loves in this world is the Spitfire fighter aeroplane. A wonder of aviation and an engineering masterpiece, its speed and versatility, (not to mention the brave boys who flew them) were the sole reason why Britain remained in the fight and fought of the foul invasion force throughout the dark days of 1940.Although now old and obsolete, no other aeroplane has as much right or privilege to fly over our green and pleasant land.Here the Spitfire is given top billing in a biopic of it's creator R.J. Mitchell.The great Leslie Howard plays the genius designer, in what was to be his last 'appearance' before the camera. Mitchell was an aircraft designer of noted repute having invented several of the Supermarine seaplanes which secured the Schneider Trophy for Britain throughout the 1920's and 1930's.He was one of the few people in Britain to have heard the snarls and threats of Nazi Germany and was an open campaigner for rearmament, a policy not at all popular with the British Government of the time. Yet despite opposition he fought against not only the bureaucrats but a serious and life-threatening illness to design and build, what has been regarded since as the greatest fighter aircraft of all time, in preparation for a war he knew was coming and a crisis the rest of Britain chose to ignore.David Niven plays Geoffrey Crisp, Mitchells friend and test pilot, who's affable and likable performance is hampered slightly from the fact that his character is completely fictional. Geoffrey Crisp, whoever he was, was never a Schneider trophy winner for Britain.The true facts for anyone interested are that H.C.Biard won the title for us in 1922, followed by S.N.Webster, H.R.D.Waghorn and J.N.Boothman in 1927, 1929 and 1931 respectively, the last three flying Mitchell's Spitfire forerunners the Supermarine S5, S6 and S6B.Also Geoffrey Crisp was not the test pilot of the very first Spitfire. That high honour goes to Joseph 'Mutt' Summers, who took off from Eastliegh airport on 5th March 1936. Summers became the chief test pilot for Vickers and was also the man who dropped the very first life size prototype of the bouncing bomb over Chesil Beach, Weymouth in 1943.This is a great movie, and one which makes all Englishmen grateful and proud, but with all historic based movie stories, there is always something that has been changed, omitted or hushed up, especially in a film made during the war at the height of it's 'keep mum' propaganda battle.Enjoy it like I did, but if there are any R.A.F or aviation buffs out there and would like to know more about the Spitfire and it's history, the glory of the air racing days of the 20's and 30's or just more factual information about the great man himself, then I suggest you visit www.rjmitchell-spitfire.co.uk

john simon robson My father was one of the fighter pilots featured in this film (speaking part and "action " shots ) This film was part of his "war" ,if you like. To me ,this film represents the very best of British cinematography of its day and genre.I have some "stills " of the film and also quite a few w action shots (no pun intended !)on the open air set at RAF Ibsley in 1942. The soundtrack on most broadcast copies is rather poor,but the quality of the music score is beyond question.The composer ,william Walton was commissioned at the time but his music was not thought particularly noteworthy .It was not until the 1960's his music was accredited rightly in my view as a work of sheer brilliance. I agree with everything anthony Inglis has said in his commentary