La grande aventure

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.

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.

This is a fairly interesting British film produced during WW-II on the subject of RAF crew training. Although produced by the RAF, there are some people involved in this production who would become better known in later years, including the directer, John Boulting, writer Terrance Rattigan and actors Richard Attenborough, Jack Watling and David Tomlinson. Also present is well-known British actor John Justin ("The Thief of Bagdad"), who was then serving in the RAF. Also appearing is the well-known American film actor Edward G. Robinson, who supposedly participated in this film without pay in order to help the British war effort.

The film itself is surprisingly well done for a military production made under wartime conditions, and it probably presents a fairly accurate depiction of WW-II RAF flight training and bomber operations. For instance, it is true that thousands of British aircrew were trained in Canada and the U.S. during WW-II.

It is nearly forgotten today that there were no less than seven airfields operated in the U.S. as British Flight Training Schools which were completely separate from USAAF and US Navy training facilities. Although the schools were operated on behalf of the RAF, they employed American civilian pilots as flight instructors rather than British or American military personnel. That probably explains the somewhat unusual uniform worn by Edward G. Robinson in the film, in which he depicts one of those American civilian flight instructors.

This film still holds the viewer's interest, both as a story and as a historical document of the period during which it was produced.

Made by the RAF Film Unit, this is essentially a celebratory film that starts off a bit propagandist in nature but actually turns into quite an enjoyable and characterful wartime story. It centres around "Wilton" (Richard Attenborough - who did actually serve in the Royal Air Force) who joins up intent on being a pilot. He passes through basic training and is sent to Canada where he encounters "Dean" (Edward G. Robinson) whose job it is to teach him to fly a plane. Thing is, he can fly the thing ok - but his landings look like they were designed by Barnes Wallace! "Dean" recommends he switch to navigating, but the young man feels that a demotion, a failure, and so it falls to his colleagues to instil in him the critical value of that role to all aboard. The last half of the film leaves the training behind as he and his crew are involved in a perilous bombing raid over Germany and, somewhat shot-up, have to make their way back home to safety. The film takes it's time to get going, maybe a wee bit too long spent developing the characters - but that does pay off as the denouement approaches and "Wilton" - and the audience - find the values of loyalty and teamwork re-iterated and reinforced. The cast consists plenty of familiar faces including a rare appearance from Bessie Love and they gel well together to deliver a sense of inter-reliability and comradeship. Very much at the better end of these feel-good dramas, this, and well worth a watch.

"That same day [30th August 1944], the RAF Film Unit arrived at Methwold with all of the necessary equipment to shoot the Squadron Lancasters for sequences in a movie titled 'Journey Together'. Great pains were taken to exclude No. 149's Stirlings from any of the shots." From "Strong By Night" History and Memories of No. 149 (East India) Squadron Royal Air Force 1918/19 - 1937/56; John Johnston and Nick Carter; An AIR-Britain Publication.

In one of the external scenes of a Lancaster Squadron Station, there is a fleeting glimpse of a Lancaster in the background sporting the Squadron code letters "OJ" of 149 Squadron. The Squadron had just completed conversion from Stirlings to Lancasters and most of the Stirlings were still at Methwold, hence the comment about excluding them from any of the shots although whether that was at the RAF's or director's insistence is not explained.