Flying Fortress (1942)

Director:

Walter Forde

Writers:

Brock Williams (screenplay) and
Gordon Wellesley (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

5 December 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

Blazing from the screen... out of the Blazing skies!

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Male Female Relationship | Royal Canadian Air Force | Air Raid | Airplane Accident | Airplane

Cast

Richard Greene	...	James 'Jim Spence Jr.
Carla Lehmann	...	Sydney Kelly, reporter for Manhattan News Service
Betty Stockfeld	...	Lady DeBorah 'Debbie' Ottershaw (as Betty Stockfield)
Donald Stewart	...	Mr. William 'Sky' Kelly
Basil Radford	...	Captain Wilkinson
Charles Heslop	...	Herrington, Spence's butler
Sidney King	...	Lord 'Squeakum' Ottershaw
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joss Ambler	...	Sheepshead (uncredited)
Robert Beatty	...	Connor, 'Low Down' reporter (uncredited)
John Boxer	...	Meterologist (uncredited)
Peter Croft	...	Radio operator (uncredited)
Tommy Duggan	...	(uncredited)
Hubert Gregg	...	Fire controller (uncredited)
William Hartnell	...	Gaylord Parker, English cabbie (uncredited)
Kenneth Henry	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Billy Holland	...	Group commander (uncredited)
Bill Kennedy	...	Manhattan News radio announcer (uncredited)
Andreas Malandrinos	...	(uncredited)
Percy Parsons	...	Coroner (uncredited)
Edward Rigby	...	Dan Billings (uncredited)
John Slater	...	Air raid warden (uncredited)
John Stuart	...	Captain Harvey, Atlantic Ferry pilot (uncredited)
Jack Watling	...	Rear gunner (uncredited)
Michael Whittaker	...	Beam gunner (uncredited)
Frank Wilcox	...	Judge at hearing (uncredited)
Gerry Wilmot	...	Control tower operator (uncredited)

Directed by
Walter Forde

Writing credits
Brock Williams		(screenplay) and
Gordon Wellesley		(screenplay) &
Edward Dryhurst		(screenplay)

Original Music by
Jack Beaver		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Basil Emmott		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Terence Fisher

Art Direction by
Norman G. Arnold		(as Norman Arnold)

Production Management
Harold Richmond	....	production manager
Percy Hermes	....	assistant production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Brian Humphries	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Ernest A. Royls	....	sound
Cecil Thornton	....	sound (as Cecil W. Thornton)

Special Effects by
George Blackwell	....	special effects (as George E. Blackwell)
Henry Harris	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Gus Drisse	....	aerial photographer
Gus Drisse	....	camera operator

Music Department
Jack Beaver	....	musical director (as Jack Beauer)

Production Companies

• Warner Brothers-First National Productions

Distributors

• Warner Bros. (1942) (UK) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Pictures (1942) (USA) (theatrical) (as Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.)

Other Companies

• Atlantic Ferry Service  cooperation acknowledged
• Royal Air Force (RAF)  cooperation acknowledged
• Teddington Studios  post-production facilities

Runtime:

UK:109 min | USA:68 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #8684)

Filming Locations:

Teddington Studios, Teddington, Middlesex, England, UK

Company:

Warner Brothers-First National Productions

Trivia:

This film had its U. S. television premiere on Turner Classic Movies on 24 September 2007 during TCM's festival of films made by Warner Brothers at Teddington Studios in the UK.

The plane is the strongest character

This movie is a mixture of the B-17 Flying Fortress, an inane class struggle, and superficial love interests. The are some exceptional scenes of the damage caused during the first London blitz of World War Two, yet little more of interest. The real star of the film is the B-17, with a typical bombing raid over Berlin, a propaganda target for 1942. It is an interesting docudrama of the early B-17's use during the war, so early that the navigator uses celestial fixes. Don't bail out on this movie without seeing it first.