Review of Appointment in London (1953) by Jonathan B — 24 Jun 2014

Dirk Bogarde stars as a WW II Wing Commander who has the ambition to complete 90 bombing missions before being settled to a desk job. He runs a tight and orderly crew and women are most definitely not allowed but then a chance encounter with Dinah Sheridan rather complicates his feelings.

Matters take a further twist when Bogarde is grounded on the eve of his final mission. Both Bogarde and Sheridan perform well in this cracking war movie made in the early 1950s. Like many such tales, it is not a complex plot but it is well played and directed and the scenes featuring the raids have enough of a tension about them to keep the action engaging.

There's a respectful handling of the loss of aircrew and the sacrifices made and this film certainly doesn't try to glamourise warfare. Typically of this era, there's a stiff upper lip attitude that fits the mood and there are some genuinely touching scenes such as when the wife of a dead pilot turns up to see where her late husband worked and meet some of his comrades.

I think Bogarde is one of our best actors and here, he's on fine form.