Leofwine_draca THE FIRST OF THE FEW is a mildly interesting WW2 film released when the war was in full swing. That makes it a propaganda piece and, it has to be said, a rather dated one at that. The film is about the guy who invented the Spitfire and shows the political background to the build up of war, with lots of interesting historical characters thrown into the mix.Watching it today, the production has invariably dated and feels slow and rather staged. Leslie Howard and David Niven are both effective in the leading roles but the rest of the cast don't really make much of an impact and the running time is a bit long to sustain full interest. There are some good scenes here but too much talk along the way which slows everything down quite considerably.

robertguttman At the time this film was made the Spitfire was more than a mere airplane. It had become the glamorous symbol of Britain's determination to persevere, and a symbol to the world that the Nazi war machine was not omnipotent. Added to the importance of the Spitfire itself was the dramatic element that the plane was designed by Reginald Mitchell, a dying man who drove himself obsessively to complete the project before his death. The genesis of the Spitfire was, therefore, an ideal subject for the British film industry. Apart from the participation of real RAF fighter pilots and other personnel, this film is also notable for having been produced and directed by, as well as starring, Leslie Howard. Indeed, it was the last film Howard made before his untimely and tragic death. In fact, there has been speculation that Howard's plane may actually have been shot down by the Germans in a deliberate effort to silence one of the most eloquent and effective propagandists active in Britain at that time.The film follows Mitchell's career through the 1920s and 1930s, while he was designing a famous series of Schneider Trophy-winning racing seaplanes. It then describes his efforts, during the period after the rise of Nazi Germany in the early 1930s, to create a new fighting airplane for the defense of Britain based upon the design of his racers. Although it is not mentioned in the film, which merely describes Mitchell as overworking himself, the man was actually afflicted with rectal cancer. He was literally racing against time to complete his work before he died, and actually managed to do so by only a few months. Mitchell died at the age of only 42, quite a few years younger than Leslie Howard actually was when he portrayed him in the film.This is one of those films that has been released under two different titles. "The First of the Few" is a reference to a quote from one of Winston Churchill's most famous speeches, delivered after the Battle of Britain, to wit: "Never in the field of human conflict have so many owed so much to so few". However, the film was also released in the U.S. under the simpler title of "Spitfire", for the benefit of American audiences who might not get it.It is well worth a look, not only for it's historical value, but as an opportunity to see the last work of Leslie Howard. Had he lived it is certain that he would succeeded in becoming a fine producer and director.

ebiros2 This is a gem of war time epic that ranks close to the classics like the "Sink the Bisbark", and the "Dam Busters".The story is about the history of development of one of the greatest war time fighter plane, the Supermarine Spitfire, told as a story of Reginald Joseph Mitchell - the designer of the Spitfire from his formulative days of designing race planes to the eventual design of the plane while fighting his own ailment of cancer. Mitchell barely survived to see his plane fly and incorporated into the Royal Air Force. It's a stroke of luck for England that Mitchell came up with the design, because it was the only type air craft that can match the technology of the German Luftwaffe.Some artistic license has been taken to make the story to be fit for a movie. Probably half of the stories in the movie is fiction, but it still conveys the visionary genius of the man who was years ahead of his time.First of the few points to Mitchell in that he was the first of the men Churchill mentioned in his famous speech "... never have so many owed so much to so few." regarding the Battle of Britain.The format is somewhat dated, but this is a great movie to watch if you're an aviation buff or war time epic fan, and is recommended for viewing.

Tweekums I got this DVD free with the newspaper and it was part of a 'Classic War Films' collection so I was a little bit surprised to discover that very little of the action takes place during the war; that doesn't mean I was disappointed though as this was a fascinating biopic about R.J. Mitchell, the creator of the Supermarine Spitfire. The story begins during the war when a group of pilots start speculating about what happened to Mitchell and how he came to design the plane; their senior officer then tells them the story beginning with the British victory in the 1922 Schneider Trophy race. The race was won in a biplane but Mitchell is convinced that the future of flying is monoplanes. At first nobody thinks his designs are viable but eventually it gets built and is proved to be a winner. After a third successive victory the trophy is won outright and Mitchell is left with little to do. A trip to Germany, where he learns of their plans to rearm he is determined that Britain must not be left behind in the race for air superiority; unfortunately the government has other priorities so it looks as his new plane won't be built; that is until his company decides to make it anyway... the rest, as they say, is history.Even though the film wasn't quite what I was expecting I really enjoyed it Leslie Howard did a fine job both directing and starring as Mitchell and he was ably supported by David Niven who played his friend and test pilot Geoffrey Crisp. The other stars of the film are the planes of course; it was fascinating to see footage of old seaplanes and the scenes with the Spitfires were impressive. Being made in 1942 there is inevitable an element of propaganda in the film although it doesn't feel too heavy handed. There are also some instances of poetic licence; the Crisp character is an amalgam of several people and Mitchell did not go to Germany; knowing these facts doesn't dull the film though; after all the makers wanted to make it as stirring as possible. If you are a fan of aviation this film is a must see.