One of Our Aircraft Is Missing
One of Our Aircraft is Missing is a 1942 British black-and-white war film, mainly set in the German-occupied Netherlands. It was the fourth collaboration between the British writer-director-producer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and the first film they made under the banner of The Archers. Although considered a wartime propaganda film and made under the authority of the Ministry of Information as part of a series of film productions specifically aimed at morale in the United Kingdom, it is elevated by the story and production values above the usual jingoistic fare. Today, One of Our Aircraft is Missing is considered one of the "best of British films of the era".
A reversal of the plot of Powell and Pressburger's previous film, 49th Parallel, One of Our Aircraft is Missing has the British trying to escape with the help of various locals. In the 49th Parallel, the Germans stranded in Canada argued and fought amongst themselves, while the British fliers in this film work well together as a team.
Plot
The crew of an RAF Vickers Wellington bomber are forced to bail out over the Netherlands near the Zuider Zee after one of their engines is damaged during a nighttime raid on Stuttgart. Five of the six airmen find each other; the sixth goes missing. The first Dutch citizens they encounter, led by English-speaking school teacher Else Meertens, are suspicious at first as no aircraft is reported to have crashed in the Netherlands. After much debate and some questioning, the Dutch agree to help, despite their fear of German reprisals.Accompanied by many of the Dutch, the disguised airmen, led by the pilots, bicycle through the countryside to a football match where they are passed along to the local burgomaster. To their astonishment, they discover their missing crewman playing on one of the teams. Reunited, they hide in a truck carrying supplies to Jo de Vries.
De Vries pretends to be pro-German, blaming the British for killing her husband in a bombing raid. She hides them in her mansion, despite the Germans being garrisoned there. Under cover of an air raid, she leads them to a rowing boat. The men row undetected to the sea, but a bridge sentry finally spots them and a shot seriously wounds the oldest man, Sir George Corbett. Nevertheless, they reach the North Sea. They take shelter in a German rescue buoy, where they take two shot-down enemy aviators prisoner, but not before one sends a radio message. By chance, two British boats arrive first. Because Corbett cannot be moved, they simply tow the buoy back to England. Three months later, he is fully recovered, and the crew board their new four-engine heavy bomber, a Short Stirling.
Cast
As appearing in screen credits :| Actor | Role |
| Hugh Burden | John Glyn Haggard, pilot of B for Bertie |
| Eric Portman | Tom Earnshaw, second pilot |
| Hugh Williams | Frank Shelley, observer/navigator |
| Emrys Jones | Bob Ashley, wireless operator |
| Bernard Miles | Geoff Hickman, front gunner |
| Godfrey Tearle | Sir George Corbett, rear gunner |
| Googie Withers | Jo de Vries |
| Joyce Redman | Jet van Dieren |
| Pamela Brown | Else Meertens |
| Peter Ustinov | Priest |
| Alec Clunes | Organist |
| Hay Petrie | Burgomaster |
| Roland Culver | Naval Officer |
| David Ward | First German Airman |
| Robert Duncan | Second German Airman |
| Selma Vaz Dias | Burgomaster's wife |
| Arnold Marlé | Pieter Sluys |
| Robert Helpmann | De Jong |
| Hector Abbas | Driver |
| James B. Carson | Louis |
| Willem Akkerman | Willem |
| Joan Akkerman | Maartje |
| Peter Schenke | Hendrik |
| Valerie Moon | Jannie |
| John Salew | German Sentry |
| William D'Arcy | German Officer |
| Robert Beatty | Sgt. Hopkins |
| Michael Powell | Despatching Officer |
| Stewart Rome | Cmdr. Reynold |
Production
The title "One of Our Aircraft is Missing" is taken from a phrase that was often heard in contemporary news reports in the UK after a bombing raid, "one of our aircraft failed to return", which originally served as the working title of the screenplay but was then altered to a less-downbeat form. Although the screenplay was not completely developed by the time of production, Powell considered it "half-finished... it remained for most of the production." One of the reasons for continual revisions to the screenplay were the constant advances in wartime technology that were occurring. The Admiralty informed the producers and directors of the use of "lobster pots", floating steel platforms, hitherto unknown to the public, that had been anchored in the North Sea to facilitate rescue of downed airmen. When Powell learned of this innovation, he pointedly rewrote the screenplay to include this refuge as the means to deliver the crew to safety. With help from the Ministry of Information, permission to use these platforms was obtained.The actors that were gathered for the film included recognised stage and screen talents such as Eric Portman, Hugh Williams and Godfrey Tearle as well as newcomers such as Peter Ustinov making his film debut. Although mainly centred on male roles, Powell encouraged Pressburger to create a number of significant female characters. The result were strong, credible roles for both Pamela Brown and Googie Withers as female Dutch Resistance leaders. The main leads, Hugh Burden, Eric Portman, Hugh Williams, Emrys Jones, Bernard Miles, and Godfrey Tearle, formed the crew of "B for Bertie" and introduced themselves and their characters' positions on board the bomber in a progressive sequence that was filmed, like most of the aircraft interiors, in a Vickers Wellington "shell" supplied by the RAF, with working features such as lighting and electrically powered turrets.
bomber, a type featured in the film
To maintain an aura of authenticity, actual RAF bombers on "ops" were filmed but the aerial scene of the bombing of Stuttgart was created using a large-scale model at Riverside Studios, Hammersmith. The giant Wellington replica actually covered the entire studio floor and was rigged with lights and fitted for effects shots including explosions. On screen, the effect was striking and realistically duplicated the flight and bombing raid carried out at the start of the film.
Much of the outdoor sequences set in the Netherlands were shot at Boston in Lincolnshire, with many of the town's landmarks visible, for example, Shodfriars Quay and the railway swing bridge.
Notably, there is no scored music, Powell deliberately strove for "naturalism" relying on natural sounds that would be heard by the characters.
One of Our Aircraft is Missing was cut by 20 minutes for its original American release.
Reception
Box Office
According to Kinematograph Weekly the film was one of the most popular at the British box office in 1942, after Mrs Miniver, First of the Few, How Gree was My Valley, Reap the Wild Wind, Holiday Inn, Captains of the Clouds, and Sergeant York and before Hatter's Castle and Young Mr Pitt.Awards
One of Our Aircraft is Missing received two Oscar nominations, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger for Best Writing, Original Screenplay, and Ronald Neame and C. C. Stevens for Best Effects, Special Effects. Powell's nomination was the only Academy Award nomination he ever received in his career - Pressburger won an Academy Award for 49th Parallel and was nominated for The Red Shoes as well.One of Our Aircraft Is Missing joins other British war films as one of the most "well-remembered, accomplished, and enjoyed" realist films of the period.
In 2014, One of Our Aircraft is Missing was included in a set of war films packaged together and sold to raise funds for The Royal British Legion veterans organisation.