Angels One Five

Any film that contains such immortal lines as " They've really caught us with both pairs of trousers at the cleaners this time!" definitely deserves a 10.

"Angels One-Five" would make a wonderful double-feature along with the 1969 classic "The Battle of Britain". While both films have to do with the same battle and the same time period, they both approach it from completely different ways. "Angels" is a personal film--showing one particular unit and especially one brand-new pilot to the group. On the other hand, "The Battle of Britain" tries to do the impossible--encapsulate the entirety of the battle in one film! Plus, "The Battle of Britain" is a stunning film because of its amazing aerial sequences--whereas those in "Angels" are not particularly good, though this really isn't the focus of the film--it's more on people.

Baird is a new pilot arriving in a replacement fighter plane. However, due to an accident (which really isn't his fault), he gets in hot water with his immediate supervisor. Then, after shooting down his first plane, he gets in hot water with the base commander! Can Baird manage to pull it all together and make himself useful or will he crash and burn (literally)? The film does a nice job of capturing the look and feel of the war from the point of view of Baird and he's a nice sympathetic character. While you don't learn much about how Britain prevailed, it is a nice portrait of one particular brave but inexperienced man--something rarely seen in war films. Very enjoyable and I actually have little to criticize--it was a top-notch production aside from the air sequences.

By the way, if you are an aviation nut like myself, you'll notice that the planes in both movies are completely different--mostly because of the supply of planes available to both productions at that particular time (one film borrowed planes from the Portuguese air force and the other from the Spanish--which were both still flying WWII vintage planes at the time the films were made). For example, in "The Battle of Britain", the only German bombers shown are HE-111s and British are mostly shown flying Spitfires (though many other types of planes were used in the battles). However, "Angels" shows the Brits flying Hurricanes (which is more realistic, as more of these were used during that time than the more modern Spitfires) and you see other German bombers (such as a Ju-88). So, you not only see the war from a different perspective, but entire different aircraft as well!

Angels One Five covers a lot of the same ground as the more lavishly produced Battle Of Britain. But the same story about just a very few defending the realm and so many owing their freedom and their very existence to this relatively small bunch of men and women. One thing I do have to point out is that the contribution made by the women working in the operation center.

Jack Hawkins is a stern and resolute commander of a coastal Royal Air Force Base. He's got some strict standards of behavior, the strictest being for himself. The bulk of the film is concerning the arrival of a new pilot who doesn't near and endear himself to Hawkins by crashing a a new Hurricane fighter that he was ferrying to the base. John Gregson plays the new man and Hawkins assigns him to the operations center, the better for him to see a whole picture of their situation before flying.

Gregson in his own way is stiff and formal, memorizing a whole book of regulations. But that's hardly a substitute for experience and common sense.

Some aerial combat situations, but mostly this movie is about the day to life on the base and the attacks there on. In the best stiff upper lip tradition they follow what Horatio Nelson said about England expects every man (and woman) to do his duty.

And so they did and rather gloriously.

I'm watching this right after the terrorist attacks on London. Immediately, the Brits snapped back to this period, the so-called Battle of Britain where a few outnumbered airmen held off the bad guys. They've since forgotten that the bad guys were the Germans (not the Nazis), but they'll never, ever forget the unifying experience of the battle.

Since Hitler discovered the phenomenon, nations have defined themselves through film.

This movie is one of the best examples. Sure, there's some military stuff here... and there's war on. But this centers on the nature of the people and there's not much aerial battle that we see. The point is to trot out all the personalities and characteristics that define what it means to be British.

We've got pluck, we've got steadfastness, we've got earnestness and innocence, some kindly but firm officers who tie the whole thing together and then there's the rowdy humor.

Thin stuff when you think of it, but enough to build a nation.

Ted's Evaluation: 2 of 3 -- Has some interesting elements

One of a slew of World War II dramas that appeared from British studios at the beginning of the Fifties, ANGELS ONE-FIVE centers on the brief career of T. B. ("Septic") Baird (John Gregson), who joins the Pimpernel Squadron as a tyro pilot, shoots down a German plane but breaks Air Force protocol as a result, but ends up bravely sacrificing his life in an aerial dog-fight against impossible odds.

George More O'Ferrall's docu-drama makes some important points about the virtues of teamwork. Led by Peter Moon (Michael Denison), the squadron works as a unit, each member sacrificing personal gain for maximum efficiency. On the ground they enjoy their fair share of joshing - making fun of Baird's penchant for chess - but when called out to battle they set aside their jokes and dedicate themselves to the task in hand, even when they are exhausted. Anyone stepping out of line, such as the mechanic Wailes (Harold Goodwin) is sternly reprimanded.

At the head of the entire station stands "Tiger" Small (Jack Hawkins), someone who sets an example of dedication to his men. But he is not without his frailties - during a German raid he rushes to a machine- gun and fires on enemy planes, thereby sacrificing his role as leader. On the other hand he possesses sufficient humanity to understand the importance of leisure-time, which is why we see him supping beer in the officers' mess and trying to make the newbie Baird feel at home.

The film reflects the class and gender attitudes of its time, with the largely upper-middle class pilots and the forelock-touching working-classes (Harry Fowler, Victor Maddern) supporting them. The women have largely passive roles, especially Nadine Clinton (Dulcie Gray), whose husband Barrie (Cyril Raymond) controls operations during any raids. Her role is simply to look after the house and provide moral succor where necessary. Other women fulfill more significant roles, especially in the Operations Room, but they remain subservient to Clinton and his male superiors.

Some of the lines in Derek Twist's script might seem rather archaic today - especially the determination to preserve stiff upper lips even under the most extreme pressure. On the other hand we cannot deny the cast and director's sincerity of purpose to recreate a time during the Battle of Britain when the Royal Air Force were heavily outnumbered yet still managed to protect the country from obliteration by the Luftwaffe. Nothing was ever easy for them; and they did manage to maintain morale even under the most extreme circumstances.

The film's final shot says it all - a view of the ruined Operations Room in the middle of an airfield pockmarked by bomb-craters. Despite the heavy attack, everyone followed Prime Minister Winston Churchill's dictum to keep going on despite every attempt to prevent them.