Q Planes

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Q Planes
Directed by	Tim Whelan
Produced by	Irving Asher
Starring	Ralph Richardson Sir Laurence Olivier Valerie Hobson
Release date(s)	1939
Running time	82 min.
Country	U.K.
Language	English
IMDb profile

Q Planes is a 1939 spy film directed by Tim Whelan, starring Ralph Richardson, Sir Laurence Olivier and Valerie Hobson. It was produced by Irving Asher with Alexander Korda as executive producer.

1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Overall
4 Video
5 Release Dates
6 External links

[edit] Plot

Major Hammond of Scotland Yard (Ralph Richardson) is called in to investigate the mysterious disappearance of prototype British planes when on their test flights. At first Hammond is seen as an outsider at the factory, but he soon finds a friend in a star pilot Tony McVane (Sir Laurence Olivier) who helps him try to unravel the case. Hammond becomes convinced that the company secretary at the factory, Jenkins (George Curzon) is a foreign agent and follows him to London. Meanwhile, the mystery still remains unsolved when Tony returns to the aircraft factory, determained to make the next test flight. His plane is brought down by a powerful ray, beamed from a mysterious salvage ship. Tony is taken hostage on the ship, where he discovers many other missing pilots have suffered the same fate. Will Hammond come to McVane's rescue and save the day?

[edit] Cast

Sir Laurence Olivier as Tony McVane
Ralph Richardson as Major Hammond
Valerie Hobson as Kay Hammond
George Curzon as Jenkins
John Laurie as Newspaper Editor

[edit] Overall

It is obvious to see that the lead stars had fun making Q Planes, and the finished product shows this. Richardson gives a performance full of comic exuberance that was enjoyed by audiences. Richardson's character of Major Hammond could well be a premature James Bond, with the story almost like a premature Bond film. Olivier also gives a worthy performance, himself in real life an avid pilot (Olivier would later join the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm as a pilot during World War II).

The scene where Olivier's character fights with the enemy sailors, before holding them back with a mounted machine gun is both thrilling, and enjoyable, especially from a legendary actor best known for his brilliant Shakespeare performances.