Vainqueur du ciel

The credits advise that some events and depictions of people/events have been altered for story telling purposes , so this film is not a strictly accurate history of Douglas Bader. Also played down somewhat is Baders arrogance and foolhardiness which lead to his disability in the first place. Still as a inspiration for disabled people and as an almost factual account of Baders life and as film entertainment , it's pretty good. Made reasonably close to the war years it is able to capture the feeling of those years quite well. It is a trifle 'stiff upper lip - what ?' but Kenneth More as usual turns in a good performance. Focusing mainly on Baders attempts, and resulting achievements in war time flying, after a crash means both lower legs have to be amputated. Quite gritty and not too sentimental this offering from director Lewis Gilbert stacks up well against similar films of the time.

For those who have seen and enjoyed "The Dam Busters"(1954) about British Bomber Command in WWII, this bio-pic about Douglas Bader and British Fighter Command provides an excellent companion film. Douglas Bader (pronounced "Baader") is excellently portrayed by Kenneth More in another stirring British Bulldog role, (see also his role of 2nd Officer Lightoller in "A Night to Remember (1958).Our hero joins Cranwell (British RAF Officer Flying School) in 1928 and soon proves he has natural flying ability.He also excells at cricket and rugby but is not so hot at the academics coming 17/19 in the exams.Discipline is also a bit of a problem for him and he has to learn that "...rules are for the obedience of fools and for the guidance of wise men".At Cranley he meets a friend, and the two fly over to the Reading Flying Club in the early 1930's when Bader rashly accepts a dubious challenge to exhibit his aerobatic skill when the crowds are not present.The result was a near fatal crash that resulted in him having both legs amputated.The scene with nurse Brace is genuinely touching - I have seen this film many times and it always brings a tear to my eye.While recovering with other injured men they go on a jaunt in one of the chap's Bentley with Douglas, as usual, driving at breakneck speed with his peg leg on the accelerator.Miraculously they all arrive in one piece at a tea room and it is there that Douglas meets Thelma who is helping a friend by waiting on table "...cream or plain?".On a return trip to the cafe Douglas is distraught to see Thelma in the company of a young man coming out of the rain but is then relieved when she informs him that he is her brother.They informally marry and as there was nothing in "King's Regulations" about cripples being able to continue flying in the RAF and since a desk job was not to Bader's liking, he left and got a mundane job in civvy street.Although cricket and rugby were now ruled out, he did find he could compete on level terms at golf.The film shows the very determined spirit of Bader as he struggles to come to terms with his appalling injuries and after many falls, his success in being able to literally stand on his own two (though artificial) feet.

Ominously a news stand proclaims, "Hitler succeeds Hindenberg".That was 1933.The action moves forward to 1940 and as Britain had been at war with Germany since September 1939, it was looking for trained RAF pilots.Bader once again applies and passes his flying test but there still are, "Kings Regulations", to overcome.Bader confronts the medical officer with irrefutable logic and this time is accepted back into the officer fold.He is given a squadron of Canadian pilots (which includes the future famous group captain Turner, played by Lee Paterson) who are very dispirited because they have lost most of their uniforms and equipment in France after the hasty evacuation of the B.E.F. at Dunkirk in May 1940.To win their respect he gives a tour de force of his flying skill to prove that, although he has tin legs, this does not dim his fierce determination to succeed.His injuries have also instilled into him a combative approach and fierce loyalty and friendship to his men which is soon reciprocated by them.However, there are apparantly no spares to make the Hawker Hurricanes serviceable and as we all know, forms have to be completed in triplicate!."What seems to be the problem" asks Bader to his chief mechanic."The channels appear to be blocked" is the reply."Well we shall ruddy well have to unblock them" Bader says uncompromisingly and he then goes over the head of the pettifogging quartermaster by telling Group that his squadron is not operational without parts and spares.How the viewer will applaud this slayer of bureaucrats!Eventually the spares arrive and Bader is then able to report to Group that his squadron is finally operational.

The film artfully splices actual RAF WWII combat footage in this B&W film and shows the success Bader's new approach to the old idea of formation flying had with the top brass.Eventually Bader becomes Wing Commander of "The Duxford Wing".Early in the war Bader's luck runs out and he is shot down over France.The Germans even ask the RAF to drop a spare artificial leg down, as he left the other jammed in the cockpit when he baled out.He fails to escape and is made a P.O.W.Mocking the Germans (or "Goon Baiting") got him into trouble and he is moved from camp to camp , eventually ending up at the notorious Colditz Castle where he ends the war.After the German surrender in May 1945 he reminds Thelma there is still the war against Japan to be waged.

This film depicts the public school ethos of officers in the RAF very well with the usual British phlegm, reserve and applomb shown in British war movies of the 1950's.Every actor is very convincing in his part and I always enjoy acted real life docu-dramas - so much more convincing than mere fiction.I hope readers of this review who are like-minded, will similarly enjoy viewing this great WWII movie.

What do you mean, you haven't seen this film? A classic World War 2 RAF adventure film depicting the true British spirit of one man's (Douglas Bader) fight to overcome the loss of both legs in a flying accident, to become a Wing Commander in the Battle of Britain. Lewis Gilbert keeps the film crackling along at a fast pace with Kenneth More, at the peak of his form, delivering the goods with a first rate supporting cast - don't miss it.

I am going to be rather biased in my review of this film as Group Captain Sir Douglas Bader C.B.E., D.S.O, D.F.C is in my opinion, only one step lower than the Almighty himself, on par with Churchill, Wellington and Nelson as one of the greatest Englishmen that ever lived.

Some may argue that he was an arrogant and dogmatic man, and of course in many ways you will be right, but if you had lost both of your legs at the young age of 21 and had to fight every inch of the way just to be treated as an equal rather than a 'cripple', wouldn't you be a bit arrogant too? I know I sure as hell would be.

In those days Englishmen were Englishmen and that meant being forthright and brave, with Bader's situation the way it was, he just had to be a bit more forthright and bit more brave to prove to himself he was not a second rate Englishman, so don't knock him.

He was such a generous and kind man, who worked tirelessly and selflessly, to help people with similar disabilities to his own, especially children.

However his charitable work is not even hinted at in this film, which only covers the period from 1928 when he entered Cranwell R.A.F College, until 1945 and the end of the War.

We see the young Bader excel at sports like Cricket and Rugby and we see him take his first solo flights on his road to becoming not only one of the finest pilots in the R.A.F but one of the foremost aerobatic display pilots in the world.

But we see a dramatic and tragic fall from grace, as on 14th December 1931 Bader stupidly accepts a challenge to perform aerobatics at stupidly low height, and the result is the near fatal crash, which costs Bader both his legs, and the complete destruction of his entire way of life.

We then follow him, through a tough and trying, mental and physical battlefield as he tries to rebuild his shattered life. Bader has to come to terms with each obstacle on his road back to fitness and mobility, and through this film we almost feel as if we are struggling with him, from the first few jerky hops on a 'peg-leg' to the first tottering baby steps on the new state of the art artificial tin legs.

We the audience are so engrossed in his brave fight that we automatically reach out and are ready to catch him as he stumbles.

Once he has returned to full health and after being grounded and 'phased out' by the R.A.F., we follow Douglas into civilian life as he takes on an uninspiring job, his marriage to his beloved wife Thelma, and the pursuit of his new found love of golf, which he feels is a 'sport he can play on equal terms with anyone'

However when the Second World War erupts in 1939, Douglas once again takes up the fight with the R.A.F. in his mission to return to active service.

This time urgency seems to over ride caution and Bader is accepted, and is soon given a command of a squadron, in the run up to the Battle of Britain.

When Bader's own ideas of fighter tactics reach the ears of Fighter Command, he is given latitude to put these ideas in to action, and his squadron is soon joined by two others until eventually Bader was the first person to lead a formation of five squadrons into battle in a tactic known as The Duxford Wing.

However on the 9th August 1941, Bader's Spitfire collided with a Messerschmitt 109 and he was forced to bail out behind enemy lines, and as a result he spent the remainder of the war a P.O.W. in Germany, yet this set back did nothing to curb his British spirit or his dogmatic personality, as he regularly baited, insulted and outwitted the Germans at every occasion, making several escape attempts over the next four years.

The film ends with newly promoted Group Captain Bader, leading the ceremonial Battle of Britain victory fly past over London on 15th September 1945, showing actual footage of the formation, with Bader's Aeroplane flying solo in front.

Paul Brickhill's biography on Bader, on which this film is based, is a must read for anyone who is interested in this extraordinary life, and I thoroughly recommend it, as it goes into the finer detail, a motion picture could not possibly hope to cover.

However, even the book does not give a full biography of the man, as it was printed in 1954, when most of Bader's charitable achievements, the death of his wife, his Knighthood, second marriage and sudden death from heart failure at the age of 72 were still a long way off.

However the plus point of making a bio-pic of a character who was still living, was that Bader was able to have full input into the movie, most notably when it came to the casting of his wife. His exact words on this subject were, 'I'm not going to have some silly tart playing my wife.' But when Bader found out that Muriel Pavlow had been cast he was overjoyed and gave his full approval. Also he became great friends with Kenneth More who portrayed Douglas in the film, in fact the two had become so close he was deeply saddened and affected by More's death which occurred just a few weeks before his own.

However, Kenneth More, is the perfect Bader, Muriel Pavlow is a glamorous and heartfelt Thelma and Lewis Gilbert superbly directs, this story of courage and fortitude, a story of a hero amongst heroes, who despite his appalling disabilities, fights on to become not only a Battle of Britain ace, but an inspiration to millions of people worldwide.

'The channels are blocked? Then we'll ruddy well UNblock 'em!' This is the point in the film where I feel like cheering, as it perfectly sums up Bader's 'can do, will do' approach. It's the true story of Douglas Bader, a young flying enthusiast who went on to be a fearless WW2 Spitfire pilot, losing both legs in the process. His struggle to walk again, his courting of a pretty girl and his later formation of 'the big wing' in the fight against the Nazi invasion are laid out here with gusto, verve and a little humour. Kenneth More is excellent as Bader, using his natural, relaxed acting technique to give the part a free-wheeling energy. The very pretty Muriel Pavlow plays his wife who grows increasingly concerned at his derring-do, and there is a solid cast of British regulars of the time. The music is stirring, the direction brisk and the story itself is straight out of a Boys' Own comic. What more could you ask for? A perfect Sunday afternoon film.