ExpFil My first negative review on IMDb - prompted by strong disagreement with the positive reviews "Angels One Five" has on here.I found this to be the worst written British war film I've ever seen - a sophomoric, by-the-numbers "Way to the Stars" rip-off. There's nothing compelling or original about it. The airmen come across as gratingly camp airHEADS. And the film singularly fails to convey either of the portentous bookending Churchill quotations.For propaganda/entertainment purposes, I'd recommend real classics of the genre like "The First of the Few", "The Way to the Stars", "The Dam Busters" or even so-so flicks like "Reach for the Sky" and "Battle of Britain". A disappointing waste of time and talent which is of historical interest/value only.

Robert J. Maxwell John Gregson is Pilot Officer "Septic" Baird, newly assigned to an RAF Hurricane squadron at the beginning of the war. Jack Hawkins is the Commanding Officer of the base and assorted regulars make up the supporting cast in this tale of the Battle of Britain seen mostly from the ground.Gregson plays a familiar type -- plenty of courage and skill but callow and lacking in discipline. He cracks up on his first landing and is assigned to Operations. That's the room with the big flat board, presided over by a couple of officers who coordinate incoming information while WAAFS sit around the table and plot the position and movement of German raiders and British interceptor squadrons. Gregson gets pretty bored and scuttles off during the first air raid to shoot down an Me 110 but he botches the flight because he accidentally leaves his transmitter on and nobody could use that frequency.The other men are all jolly good types. They toss each other around during moments of boisterous relaxation and affably throw insults at one another. Gregson, though, is alienated and is on his own trip, so to speak. Hawkins is the sensible commander who tries to empathize. There's a nascent romance involved.If this film were to be made by Americans, you know who would have been interested in directing it? Howard Hawks. It isn't really VERY different from many of Hawks' movies about male solidarity -- "Air Force," for instance, which uses a similar plot and similar characters. The chief difference is that there isn't much sparkle in this boyish dialog, whereas Hawks would have been at pains to invite amusing contributions from cast and crew, then taken credit for the gags himself later. Not to argue that Gregson's integration into the group is the focus of the film. It has so many focuses that it lacks focus.It's interesting to have Gregson serve as a proxy for the audience as he's taken on a tour of Operations and introduced to the personnel and their jobs. Also innovative is the use of Hawker Hurricane instead of the more glamorous Spitfires. Hurricane were an older design, slower and clumsier looking, but there were more of them. Their principal task was attacking the bombers. The German fighters were left to the Spitfires whenever the proper arrangements could be made.There's little in the way of air combat until the last few minutes, and the Hurricanes are real enough but the German planes are all models and they look it. The ending will probably come as a surprise.Not a bad show.

chelmsfordstag Just watched this film again, really good fun. I've recently bought a WW2 computer Flight Simulator called IL-2 and afterwards I just had to go flying and shoot down some bally Huns, Tally Ho!Shame there are no memorable quotes listed as this film has lots. My favourite is just after the Ops bunker takes a direct hit, the roof has fallen in and there is concrete dust everywhere. People slowly start dusting themselves off, one of the WAAF's (Foster) timidly comes up to SqLdr Clinton and offers him a cup of tea.Foster: Tea sir ? It's a bit gritty, sir... SqLdr Clinton: (looks at the tea in amazement for 5 seconds) Foster, that's an inspiration ! Remind me to have you promoted.Classic.

Rob Fox Typical fare for post-war British cinema-goers - stiff upper lips versus the might of the Nazi war machine. Told over a few short weeks in 1940, the plot follows Pilot Officer 'Septic' Baird (John Gregson) as a fledgling Hurricane pilot posted to an operational squadron during the Battle of Britain. 'Septic' struggles stoically in the face of his boisterous comrades, an earnest would-be girlfriend and impossible numbers of enemy raiders. The Station Commander (Jack Hawkins) puts a human face on the RAF hierarchy, burdened by the knowledge that the fate of the nation really does depend on the skill of his young pilots. 'The few' eventually grasp victory but it doesn't come cheap.Admittedly wooden by today's standards but, through films like this, a whole generation built up their Saturday afternoon understanding of the RAF's 'finest hour'.