Landfall

More than a war movie, this is a class-cross romance with barmaid Mona falling for dashing flight lieutenant Rick. Like most run-of-the-mill romances, this one has obstacles to overcome and they happen to be wartime obstacles.

The Rick character is a bit too breeze and flippant at first, except when he gets into serious trouble for sinking a submarine that could have been British. After a short separation, Rick goes back to his base, where Mona didn't stop "investigating" what really happened.

The most dated part of the story is how meekly Mona behaves with the "men" (the officers in charge of Rick's case) and how she did not ever reveal anything to him about the part she had in the story.

It seemed a lot longer than it actually was, maybe because of a sticked-on side plot with Rick's friendly songwriting pilot who composes a song about Mona.

Described by the late David Shipman as "a dreadful film" this earlier adaptation of a novel by Nevil Shute further demonstrates his preoccupation with the office politics of aviation in which Michael Denison - like James Stewart in the later 'No Highway' - falls foul of the authorities over a difference of opinion which results in him being hauled over the coals for causing grievous disruption for jumping the gun to destructive effect.

Although this film was made after the war the story takes place in 1940, with the tone less heroic and the emphasis more on events on the ground than in the air.

'Landfall' is a far from routine WW2 drama about tall, dashing, good-natured R. A. Pilot Rick (Michael Denison) who misidentifies a submarine while out on a routine patrol, thereby sinking a British vessel in error. Increasingly distraught, Rick descends ever deeper into despond, but after accepting the risky post of testing the prototype of a magnetically controlled missile, some fresh evidence concerning the sunken submarine is discovered that sheds some welcome positive light on the tragic incident. 'Landfall' is that truly rare bird, a vintage wartime feature that not only works splendidly as thrilling military drama, but is no less affecting as a far from saccharine, delightfully romantic love story betwixt the heroic pilot Rick and his beautiful raven haired Mona (Patricia Plunkett). Michael Denison and Patricia Plunkett make an appealing screen couple and are quite wonderful in their roles, with versatile director Ken Annakin handling the action deftly, keeping things moving along at an agreeable pace, and the rousing score by Philip Green is especially beguiling.

This is an acceptable WWII film that I watched courtesy of Talking Pictures TV channel, with the scenes featuring aircraft offering something for aviation enthusiasts.

The first few minutes plodded a bit with one protracted discussion between Rick and Mona and then another between Rick and newly-arrived pilot Binks; the "musical" efforts of the latter were almost irritating. But unlike another reviewer here on IMDb I thought there was good chemistry between Rick and Mona - and between Rick and Binks.

Denison's initial breeziness irked somewhat, but he performed well enough after he thought he'd sunk a British submarine. The sub-theme of class difference didn't quite work because Patricia Plunkett as Mona seemed too superior for a barmaid working in a pub popular with servicemen.

The actors playing senior naval and air-force officers were effective.

After I'd watched the film I thought that it seemed very much like a plot by Nevil Shute, and a check of IMDb showed that it was.

Michael Denison plays a young WWII RAF pilot blamed for the sinking of a British submarine in this solid drama from Ken Annakin. Although made in 1949, it plays like wartime propaganda at times with a strong focus on emphasising (not entirely convincingly) the breakdown of social barriers between the classes. Some tensions are overplayed - it's inconceivable that the Naval commander in charge of the testing of an experimental bomb would be unaware of the identity of the pilot tasked with flying the plane that drops it - but the likeability of Denison and Patricia Plunkett makes Landfall an enjoyable watch.