Review of Battle of Britain (1969) by Stuart K — 01 Feb 2011

Produced by Bond producer Harry Saltzman and directed by Goldfinger's Guy Hamilton, this is based on The Narrow Margin by Derek Wood and Derek Dempster, a book that depicted one of our finest hours during the war.

It's a tale of victory in the face of incredible odds, and the film contains some of the most spectacular aerial cinematography ever put into a film. The film depicts the Battle of Britain, which took place in the skies over the South of England and the English Channel.

France has been conquered by the Nazi's, and the British army return to the UK. Now, the Luftwaffe are taking to attacking radar outposts and airfields across the UK. RAF Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding (Laurence Olivier) decides to bring in every aircraft the UK has, and cancels any that are going to France in order to defend the UK from the Nazi's.

And thus began one of the most courageous battles of the skies of Britain in the Summer and Autumn of 1940. The RAF were outnumbered, but they were able to defeat the Nazi's, causing them to retreat for now.

The character side of the film does sag a bit, but the aerial action and seeing the mighty Spitfire in action against the Hun is always amazing. The cast includes Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Robert Shaw, Christopher Plummer, Curt JÃ 1/4rgens, Edward Fox, Susannah York, Ian McShane, Kenneth More, Michael Redgrave and Ralph Richardson.