Battle of Britain is a 1969 British war film documenting the events of the Battle of Britain, the war for aerial supremacy between the German Luftwaffe and the defending Royal Air Force waged over British skies during summer of 1940. The nature of the subject drew many respected British actors to accept roles as key figures of the battle, including Laurence Olivier as Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, Trevor Howard as Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, and Patrick Wymark as Air Vice-Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory. Directed by Guy Hamilton and produced by Harry Saltzman and S. Benjamin Fisz, it also starred Michael Caine, Christopher Plummer, and Robert Shaw as Squadron Leaders. The script by James Kennaway and Wilfred Greatorex was based on the book The Narrow Margin by Derek Wood and Derek Dempster.

The film endeavoured to be a generally accurate account of the Battle of Britain, when in the summer and autumn of 1940 the British RAF inflicted a strategic defeat on the Luftwaffe and so ensured the cancellation of Operation Sea Lion, Adolf Hitler's plan to invade Britain. The film is notable for its spectacular flying sequences. It was on a far larger scale than had been seen on film before, or since, making the film's production very expensive.

Plot

The Battle of France rages in June 1940. It has turned against both the British and French. RAF pilots evacuate a small airfield in advance of German advance forces. The pilots, along with British and French military, leave just as Luftwaffe aircraft arrive and execute a heavy strafing attack. As the deserted beaches of Dunkirk are shown, where retreating British forces were overwhelmed and driven into the sea by the Wehrmacht, the BBC reports British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's declaration that "what General Weygand called the 'Battle of France' is over. The Battle of Britain is about to begin."

In neutral Switzerland, the German ambassador, Baron von Richter, proposes new peace terms to his British counterpart, Sir David Kelly, stating that with the fall of France and U.S. still determinedly isolationist continuing to fight alone is hopeless. Kelly retorts, "Don't threaten or dictate to us until you're marching up Whitehall ... and even then we won't listen." Hitler delays, hoping that Britain will accept peace terms; British commanders use the delay to build up their strength, training pilots and ground controllers.

The campaign to conquer Britain by air begins with the German air force launching an early morning assault on "Eagle Day". It seeks to destroy the RAF on the ground before it has time to launch its Spitfire and Hurricane fighters. Two British radar stations at Ventnor and Dover are put out of action and a number of RAF airfields are damaged or destroyed, but losses are relatively light. A gruelling battle of attrition ensues, with airfields in Southern England under repeated attack.

Tensions develop between commanding officers of RAF 11 Group, Keith Park, and 12 Group, Trafford Leigh-Mallory. Leigh-Mallory is tasked with protecting 11 Group's airfields while Park's forces are aloft engaging the enemy, but in raid after raid 12 Group aircraft are nowhere to be seen. Called to meet Dowding, Leigh-Mallory explains that the "Big Wing" tactic he has devised to assemble an air armada to attack the Germans from above takes time to form up, while Park complains that it takes too long, and the tactic is simply not working.

The turning point in the Battle occurs when a squadron of German bombers lost in bad weather at night jettison their bombs, which accidentally fall on London. In retaliation to what was seen as attacks on London, the RAF attacks Berlin. An enraged Adolf Hitler publicly orders London to be razed. This takes the pressure off the RAF Fighter airfields, which had been suffering for some time before.

Hermann Göring arrives in France to personally command the assault, confident that the end of the campaign nears. Their first northbound sorties skirt the RAF, which is still defending its airfields to the south, and the Germans bomb unopposed. Night attacks follow and London burns.

To supplement Commonwealth forces, the RAF has begun accepting and training foreign pilots who have escaped German-occupied countries. The main difficulty is their lack of English-language skills. While on a training flight, a Free Polish Air Force squadron accidentally runs into an unescorted flight of German bombers. Ignoring commands to avoid engagement by their British training officer, they peel off and shoot down several bombers with aggressive if unorthodox tactics. Park rewards the unit by elevating it to operational status, leading Dowding to do the same for the Canadian and Czech trainees.

While discussing the day's events, Park and Dowding examine the German switch to London. Given a respite, Park notes that he will be able to repair his airfields and bring his squadrons back to near full strength. Dowding observes that although enemy bombers can reach London, their fighter escort can only provide ten minutes of cover. He concludes that "turning on London could be the Germans' biggest blunder."

The next German daytime raid is met by large groups of RAF fighters attacking en masse, which overwhelm the German raiders. Luftwaffe losses are so severe an incensed Göring orders German fighters remain with the bombers. Deprived of both of altitude and speed, they are easy prey for British fighters attacking from above. For the first time German losses outweigh British.

The climactic air battle of 15 September 1940 arrives, with British ground control ordering every squadron into the air, leaving no reserve. Intense combat over London leaves both sides with heavy losses.

The next day the RAF anxiously await a raid that never comes. Both German air and naval forces withdraw from the coast, leaving airfields abandoned and harbors empty. Göring leaves the front, accusing his commanders of betrayal. Dowding looks out over the gardens and up to the sky where the words of Winston Churchill appear onscreen: "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

Cast

The Battle of Britain has a large all-star international cast. The film was notable for its attempt to accurately portray the role of the Germans, with participants in the battle including Group Captain Tom Gleave, Wing Commander Robert Stanford Tuck, Squadron Leader Bolesław Drobiński and Luftwaffe Generalleutnant Adolf Galland involved as consultants. During the war, Drobiński had heavily damaged Galland's plane and forced him into a crash-landing. Subtitled German-speaking actors were cast, a departure from other English language British films in the postwar period, where Germans were often played by Anglophone actors.

British Commonwealth and Allies

  • Harry Andrews as Harold Balfour, Under-Secretary of State for Air
  • Michael Caine as Squadron Leader Canfield
  • Trevor Howard as Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, Air Officer Commanding No. 11 Group RAF
  • Ian McShane as Flight Sergeant Andy Moore
  • Kenneth More as Group Captain Barker, Station Commander at RAF Duxford
  • Laurence Olivier as Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief RAF, Fighter Command
  • Nigel Patrick as Group Captain Hope
  • Christopher Plummer as Squadron Leader Colin Harvey, a Canadian pilot in the Royal Air Force
  • Michael Redgrave as Air Vice-Marshal Douglas Evill, Senior Air Staff Officer Fighter Command
  • Ralph Richardson as Sir David Kelly, British Ambassador to Switzerland
  • Robert Shaw as Squadron Leader "Skipper"
  • Patrick Wymark as Air Vice-Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory, Air Officer Commanding No. 12 Group RAF
  • Susannah York as Section Officer Maggie Harvey, Colin's wife
  • John Baskcomb as Farmer
  • Michael Bates as Warrant Officer Warwick
  • Isla Blair as Andy's wife
  • Tom Chatto as Willoughby's Assistant Controller
  • James Cosmo as Jamie
  • Robert Flemyng as Wing Commander Willoughby
  • Barry Foster as Squadron Leader Edwards
  • Edward Fox as Pilot Officer Archie
  • Bill Foxley as Squadron Leader Evans
  • David Griffin as Sergeant Pilot Chris
  • Jack Gwillim as Senior Air Staff Officer
  • Myles Hoyle as Peter
  • Duncan Lamont as Flight Sergeant Arthur
  • Sarah Lawson as Skipper's wife
  • Mark Malicz as Pasco
  • André Maranne as French NCO
  • Anthony Nicholls as Minister
  • Nicholas Pennell as Simon
  • Andrzej Scibor as Ox
  • Jean Wladon as Jean Jacques

Germans and Axis

  • Curd Jürgens as Maximilian Baron von Richter, German Ambassador to Switzerland<!--, a role inspired by Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop. Ribbentrop had been Ambassador to Great Britain 1936–38. When Ralph Richardson as the British Ambassador in Switzerland, Sir David Victor Kelly, argues with Freiherr von Richter over Hitler's appeal to reason, Richardson tells von Richter that von Richter's years in England had left him none the wiser. --><!--inconsequential---In the scene which shows von Richter waiting for his audience with Hitler, the set is a partial reconstruction of the entrance to Hitler's cavernous office in the New Reich Chancellery, although the position in the building and ornamentation over the doorway are incorrect (see Historical Accuracy below).---make a case for even retaining this in the talk page--->
  • Hein Riess as Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, the Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe