Above and Beyond

This film is about a major event during World War II for which no previous movies had been made. "Above and Beyond" is based on a true story. The writers, John W. Doyle and Lisa Porter tell the story as it might have happened behind the scenes with the major characters in the British war effort. The young actors have most of the lead roles in the film. They form the romantic vehicle for the story. Those fictional roles are all fine, but none exceptional. On the other hand, the casting of the real characters in history is superb. And, the portrayals of Winston Churchill, Don Bennett, Lord Beaverton, Archibald Sinclair, and Dr. Sir Frederick Banting are wonderful.

A movie based on a historical event, especially about World War II, arouses the history buff in me. So, some reading and researching led me to find out more interesting details about the story and the key players in history who appear in the film. Perhaps other movie buffs will enjoy this as well.

Construction of Gander International Airport began in 1936. In the movie, Capt. Don Bennett (played excellently by Richard E. Grant) says about Gander, "Largest slab of tarmac in the world. Built for the trans- Atlantic passenger service. Rather ahead of its time." To which Lord Beaverbrook (played excellently by Kenneth Welsh) replies, "I do believe its time has come." So, it became the base for the Atlantic Ferry service. Today it is a civilian airport with a Canadian Air Force base sharing the airfield. It is home to air/marine search and rescue that covers a large area of the Western Atlantic.

Don Bennett was a native Australian and famous aviator who set flight records in the 1930s. He was the first superintendent of the Atlantic Ferry service which he helped set up as a private operation. As in the movie, he led the first flight of seven Hudson aircraft that crossed the North Atlantic on Nov. 10, 1940. Bennett was a stern man, whom many British leaders found arrogant and abrasive. But aviators held him in high esteem. His 1935 book, "The Complete Air Navigator" was the essential textbook on the subject for more than 30 years. In the summer of 1941, the service was reorganized as the Atlantic Ferry Organization (AFTERO) within the RAF. Bennet left and went on to a distinguished war record, rising to the rank of Air Vice-Marshal. He later became CEO of British South American Airways. He was the only senior RAF officer from the war who wasn't knighted. Bennett never drank, smoked or was heard to curse or swear. Scenes in the movie show him drinking a whiskey and a gin and tonic with Lord Beaverbrook, but he never drank.

Lord Beaverbrook was a Canadian, born William Maxwell "Max" Aitken. He grew up in New Brunswick and by age 30 was a millionaire. He became a business tycoon, newspaper publisher and politician. He moved to England at age 30 in 1908, and expanded his businesses. He won a seat in the House of Commons in 1910. He was highly regarded as an organizer. Winston Churchill was a political friend who persuaded him to serve as Minister of Aircraft Production. Numerous books relate the great service Beaverbrook performed for England. He later renounced his British citizenship and returned to Canada, where he was a major philanthropist until his death in 1964 at age 85. Many of his charities and philanthropies exist today.

Peter Messaline plays Archibald Sinclair and bears an uncanny physical resemblance to him. Sinclair is a frequent antagonist to Lord Beaverbrook. He was the head of the Liberal party, which then held only 20 seats in Parliament. But, he had been a friend of Winston Churchill since serving under him during WW I. With WW II underway, Churchill became Prime Minister on May 10, 1940 and established an all-party cabinet to involve all political parties in the leadership of the war effort. He asked Sinclair to head the air ministry. After the war, Sinclair's fortunes mostly faded, but he was elevated to the House of Lords in the last years of his life.

Dr. Sir Frederick Banting was a Canadian and co-discoverer of insulin. He won the Nobel Prize for medicine/physiology in 1923 at age 32. He is the youngest person ever to have received the Nobel Prize in his field. Many institutions of learning and research in Canada today bear his name. Jason Priestly plays him splendidly in the movie. As the film shows, he hitched a ride from Gander to England on Friday, Feb. 21, 1941, and died when his plane crashed not long after takeoff. The movie doesn't give any more details. But the news accounts of the event tell what happened. Captain Joseph Mackey was the pilot and radioed that an engine had failed. They were going to return to Gander and the radio went silent in the movie.

The plane crashed in the bush just 10 miles from Musgrave Harbor, a fishing village located in the far northeast of Newfoundland just 60 miles from Gander. There were no roads into the area until 1956. Local residents later told of hearing a plane flying very low the day of the crash. But they didn't know about the crash until they heard a radio news broadcast Saturday evening that said a plane had crashed in the Newfoundland wilds with a famous doctor on board. Villagers on snowshoes found the wreck site five days after the crash and carried the men out on sleighs. Captain Mackey was the only survivor. Banting died from injuries and exposure.

Joss Auckland plays the unshakable Winston Churchill perfectly. Nothing more needs to be said about the great politician, author and orator who truly is one of the great men of the 20th century.

This film is a fantastic period drama that uses actual events to tell an enchanting story. It was quite enjoyable to watch the events leading up to the establishment of the Ferry Command unfold and the four hour running time seem to fly by. My only disappointment with part one was having to wait until the following night to see the second half. I am eagerly awaiting a rebroadcast or release to video so I can enjoy this entertaining film again.

It is refreshing to see Newfoundlanders portrayed as something other than comedic simpletons. This film is a showcase for the hospitality, generosity, wit, and intelligence for which Newfoundlanders have long been known.

It is unfortunate the filmmakers were unable to delve deeper into some of the events that occurred during that time such as German U-Boats landing in Newfoundland and Labrador to obtain fresh water and establish weather stations, or the sinking of the S. S. Caribou by a U-Boat.

There is a great deal of history in Newfoundland and it is always exciting when someone takes the time to present it to the world in such an entertaining and enjoyable manner. It is clear the filmmakers researched this subject very carefully and made certain that what was presented is historically accurate.

I hope this inspires others to dig into our history and heritage to create other cinematic works.

That this was definitely not a great production. Although I admit that the story was entertaining and the acting wasn't bad. The computer generated imaging was terrible, and in almost in every scene I could see historical inaccuracies. All in all, a very amateurish production. Here are some factual inaccuracies I found.

• The DC-3 shown was equipped with the wrong engines (modern turboprops), and of course sounded nothing like a DC-3.

• One scene shows a de Havilland Chipmunk trainer in a hangar. There were no Chipmunks in service in 1940; the first one flew in 1946.

• The RCAF ensign with maple leaf roundel was not in use in 1940. Use of the RCAF ensign with the leaf in the roundel wasn't used until 1941. If you saw a flag in 1940 it would have been the RAF ensign.

• The USAAF landed in Gander in a Lancaster bomber. The USAAF did not use Lancasters, and certainly couldn't have been using them in 1940 since they were not yet in active operational service.

• A modern dial tone could be heard during overseas telephone calls between Bennett and Lord Beaverbrook.

As others have noted, this film's low budget clearly shows. Moreover, in an effort I expect to make it more palatable to prime time TV audiences, it is melodramatic in the extreme, and distractedly so to anyone with an interest in aviation history.

On a positive note, the film captures some of the reality surrounding the establishment of a wartime transoceanic air ferry service. The contribution made to the Allied effort was immense. Tens of thousands of desperately needed multi-engine aircraft were delivered to the Royal Air Force and others. The alternative of transport by ship in U-boat infested waters was too risky and inefficient. Moreover, reliance wholly on military air crew would have been too wasteful of scarce resources.

"Above and Beyond" unfortunately reduces heroic history to theatrical pablum. Hopefully and before too long, another production organization will step up and do it right. The story is too important not to be told or, as is necessary in this case, retold.

I rather enjoyed this movie. The costumes were excellent, the music was fantastic and the acting, if not Oscar worthy, was solid. The actors portraying the Newfoundlanders did themselves credit by portraying down-home, friendly characters in true East Coast style. Liane Balaban, who played Shelagh Emberly, was not great, her delivery lacked any real emotion but she carried herself well and wore the '40s era fashion with style. Richard E. Grant was amazing as Captain Bennett and Joss Ackland brought Churchill to life with vitality. Allan Hawco, who played Nathan Burgess, was a joy to watch, his performance was excellent. All in all it was wonderful to watch a movie about WWII which promoted Canadians and Newfoundlanders and our involvement in the war effort.