Journey Together

This British propaganda film was intended to show folks what the process was like going to RAF training school for pilots, navigators and the like. The story focuses primarily on a character played by a young Richard Attenborough. However, one thing surprised me about this one...and that was many of the trainees were sent to the United States for training. And, Edward G. Robinson appears as an American flight instructor!

So is this any good? Yes. Unlike some propaganda films, this one is very high on realism, low on jingoism and is told in a semi-documentary style. No evil, snarling Germans or Japanese in this one, as it just focuses on what it's like to go through training. Because of this, it's more like a historical record of the RAF for future generations. Overall, a very well made film...one that is well worth your time.

I was fortunate to be one of the students at one of the BFTS training schools in Texas. The main theme, was to show students that flunked the flying course that it was just as important to be retrained as a navigator or other crew member. The principal flight instructor was Edward G Robinson who is not listed. He gave his services free out of respect for the war effort. The "few" refer to the original fighter pilots that that served at the beginning of the war '39 to '42

W.H.Stannard Ex RAF.

Journey Together is a film made with a lot of the acting talent that was still in the Royal Air Force in 1945. In that respect it was like the David Niven film The Way Ahead which was done while Niven and the rest of the male members of that cast were still in the service. In this case Richard Attenborough who had made a big impression in a small role in In Which We Serve got to star in this film about a young enlistee in the RAF who wants to be a pilot.

From the days of Eddie Rickenbacker to the days of Tom Cruise in Top Gun the glamor spot in the Air service of any country is being a pilot. You get the commission, the rank, and the best of the female groupies around. Attenborough's no different, but he does not make it as a pilot.

However while training in Arizona he gets to work with instructor Edward G. Robinson who washes him out as a pilot, but says he can make it as a navigator. As Robinson puts it the pilot is just glamorized driver, he was the whole show in those single engine biplanes from World War I, but in this war he's just the head of crew and they all have jobs to do.

Particularly the navigator and Robinson and I agree it takes brains to be a navigator, to read those charts and instruments and plot a right course. He fails, everybody fails.

Attenborough gets a chance in combat to show how important navigators are and what he does is what you see Journey Together for.

The presence of Edward G. Robinson albeit in a small role insured a few more dollars for the American market. But the film is Attenborough's and he does a fine job in the lead. Journey Together is a nicely plotted war film and aviation buffs will love seeing those vintage British airplanes.

I had no idea what to expect when I started watching Journey Together. The intro didn't help: in lieu of credits, it merely states that the movie was acted and produced entirely by "Members of the Royal Air Force."

Well, it must have been a grand time to be in the RAF, because the star turns out to be a very young Richard Attenborough. He's supported by a roster of faces familiar to any fan of old British movies. It's harder to believe that Edward G Robinson was in the RAF, but maybe they gave him an honorary commission or something. He's got a very nice bit as a gruff American flight instructor.

It's typical of British film-making that what could have been a dreary propaganda film, badly dated as soon as it was made, turns out to be cracking little drama, with interesting characters and clever situations. Not to give away too much, Attenborough wants to be a pilot, but his plans take an interesting left turn. Will he rise to the occasion?

That question is presented with a good deal of very realistic piloting detail. I did some flying myself at one time, and this movie brought back a lot of my training. The flight-crew accoutrements of the period were particularly interesting, and realistically portrayed.

If you're debating whether to bother with yet another WW2 wartime propaganda flick, fear not: Journey Together is much more. It's a satisfying little drama, evocative of its time, and highly entertaining. It's also a particularly good depiction of the experience of aviation.

This is in many aspects an ideal war film for its consistently documentary and realistic character, showing just how it was to get trained as an Air Force pilot. Not everyone made it, but those who didn't instead got the chance of proving the more indispensable for their supporting effort, in this case Richard Attenborough as the very young and green navigator. Although a documentary film with no real romantic thriller plot but just plain hands-on realism all the way, it is terrific at times and has some memorable scenes worthy of Powell-Pressburger. It was in fact written by Terrence Rattigan and directed by the famous Boulting brothers, who practically only accomplished masterpieces, usually totally realistic ones and not seldom of a documentary character. Besides Richard Attenborough, there is Edward G. Robinson, playing a part of an American instructor voluntarily without being paid, and another very young George Cole is among the crew. In brief, this is a very enjoyable and enriching film for its very positive and edifying character, and the music by Gordon Jacob also adds to its lasting interest and quality. It's a thriller, but it is real.