ThiefHott Too much of everything

Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Micitype Pretty Good

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Leofwine_draca ANGELS ONE FIVE is a somewhat ordinary British WW2 drama about RAF fighters battling the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain. Most of the action is centred around a control room on the ground which is actually a positive because this film's dated, cheesy special effects are the worst thing about it. Other than that it feels like a propaganda picture made about ten years too late.Jack Hawkins plays the stern captain in charge of his raw recruits; John Gregson stands out playing the greenest of the lot. The usual character conflict and typical drama ensue, but the film does quite a good job of representing the look and feel of the war in the skies. The usual familiar faces play in support, including Sam Kydd, Victor Maddern, Harry Fowler, and Ronald Adam.

l_rawjalaurence 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.

bkoganbing 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.

Leslie Willan I first saw this film over 40 years ago, as a young boy and was absolutely enthralled by it. I always watch it whenever the opportunity arises, and I still find it a very moving film.By modern standards the special effects are not up to much, but the film cleverly gets around this by centering much of the action in the operations room, which helps to build up the tension and adds to the sense of desperation.Touching little scenes, such as hanging out the light on landing, when the rest of the house has been reduced to a pile of rubble, help to capture the spirit of a nation which simply refused to be beaten.The ending of the film is also very memorable, when the young pilot,who was is as keen as mustard and raring to get into the scrap, is very quickly shot down and killed. It serves to remind us that most of "the few" who lost their lives were indeed very young men.Overall - a very good film.