THE CINEMA
4, The First ot the Few." At the Leicester Square.—" All Through the Night." At Warners.—" Guerillas of the Don." At the Tatier.
THE day is fast approaching when an aircraft will become capable of arousing the same poignant affections as were formerly reserved for schooners, brigs or galleons. The hero of The First of the Few is the Spitfire, and the film contrives to invest this shining, stream- lined creature with all the historical monumentalism of H.M.S. 'Victory.' It is the story of the Spitfire which shapes the film from the moment its designer, R. J. Mitchell, sees a vision of the future in the aero-dynamic efficiency of a hovering seagull, down to the days when his creation wins the Battle of Britain. We are from time to time reminded that this triumph of engineering is perhaps the most deadly lethal weapon the world has ever seen, but the grace- fulness of its lines and its sweeping command over the spaces of the sky are the qualities that remain in the memory. It is the late R. J. Mitchell who is "first of the few," and before the picture is over we come ourselves to share some of the light in his eye when he regards the successive phases of his achievement, for Leslie Howard presents the passionate devotion of the inventor with great sincerity. The film begins with a group of pilots preparing to take off to attack German raiders during the summer of 1940 when the fate of the country hung in the balance. The Station Com- mander—excellently played by David Niven—takes advantage of a period between " scrambles " to tell the story of their plane and its maker, and how he shared the epic story of the Spitfire and its principal test pilot. When we go back to the seashore picnic where Mitchell and his wife lie in the sun and watch the seagulls, we are therefore aware of what history holds in store. It is question- able whether this currently fashionable "flash back" technique does not spoil the mounting drama of the chronological story. The growing pattern of the historical process tends to be obscured by the romanticism (even sentimentalism) of the "flash back." Apart from this criticism of shape, there is little fault to be found with the taste and feeling of the film. As producer and director, Leslie Howard has remained conscious of the authentic basis of his material and the close proximity in time of his story. He has
• resisted the temptation always tosplay for dramatic or emotional effect, and the consequence is that he and his cast have contributed an admirable group of restrained and lifelike portraits. Even in Mitchell's visit to Germany he finds himself surrounded, not with monsters, but with human beings slightly but fatally handi- capped by a sense of, national megalomania. Unfortunately, however, we are treated to the conventional caricature of the Italians. I do not know what relation the film has to the actual details of Mitchell's private and public life, but the domestic background we are shown comes much nearer to recognisable human behaviour than the cinema has led us to expect from it. Rosamund John as Mrs. Mitchell is particularly impressive. All the human incident is, however, only background to the Spitfire itself. The flying sequences are not long and are simpler in conception than the usual spectacular " air-circus " episodes. There is something, however, about the simplicity with which they are shaped (a single silvery plane climbing more and more slowly and steeply to the top of the screen before turning on its back and swooping swiftly down again)—which fits with the austere lines of the picture and with the quiet rural peace of the designer's home. All Through the Night is good gangster drama, packed with thrills, comedy and first-class repartee. The loyal Humphrey Bogart admirer will perhaps regret the appearance of the fifth- column and substantial sections of comedy in this actor's grim world. Let it at once be said, however, that Bogart has never been more at home. The ingenuity of the situations would do credit to Hitchcock himself (an ordinary goods lift takes on a most sinister character) and the operations of the Fifth Colum- behind a facade of elegance gives Bogart an opportunity to apply direct, forceful and inelegant methods with a wry quip always ready on his lips. When, in the climax, Bogart calls upon all the gangsters and toughs of Broadway to help him clean up the spies' nest which is about to destroy the latest U.S. battleship, we have, for the first time, convincing evidence of something always sus- pected. Obviously America's gangsters have always been "good guys" at heart, anxious to spring to the defence of anything threatening the ancient traditions of their country. At any rate this might be deduced from the very short shrift they give the Nazis.
Guerillas of the Don is about the operations of the peasants, fishermen and miners of the Don Basin at the end of the last war. It is exciting, but the characters lack flesh and blood. The director has been so anxious to make good, topical propaganda that he appears to have forgotten that the best propaganda for the threatened peoples of Russia is to be derived from their human quality rather
than from the cold fanaticism of lay figures. EDGAR ANSTEY.
Previous page
