Biopic of Spitfire inventor R J Mitchell told as wartime propaganda. Howard headlines, but David Niven steals the film as close friend and pilot Geoff Crisp. Patriotic stuff!

This film is a sort of "Battle of Britain: The Overture". Made during World War II, it suffers a bit from its need to fulfill a propaganda brief. However, it is also a brilliant treatment of the story of how RJ Mitchell's part in the race for the Sch... (read more) This film is a sort of "Battle of Britain: The Overture". Made during World War II, it suffers a bit from its need to fulfill a propaganda brief. However, it is also a brilliant treatment of the story of how RJ Mitchell's part in the race for the Schneider Trophy sort of accidentally spawned his Supermarine Spitfire. The more numerous Hawker Hurricane's contribution gets airbrushed out, but then the Hurricane has had to get used to that a LOT in the last 70 years, so no surprise there.

Poignantly it was one of Leslie Howard's last films before the plane in which he was travelling was shot down.

It's funny to see the British wartime war movie-- much less forcefully positive than American ones. Probably something to do with palpable impending doom. The depiction of pre-war Germans and Italians is... interesting.