Angels One Five
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Angels One Five | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | George More O'Ferrall |
| Produced by | John W. Gossage Derek N. Twist |
| Written by | Pelham Groom (story) Derek N. Twist |
| Starring | Jack Hawkins Michael Denison Dulcie Gray |
| Cinematography | Christopher Challis |
| Editing by | Daniel Birt |
| Release date(s) | 30 April 1954 (USA) |
| Running time | 98 min. |
| Country | UK |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Angels One Five is a 1952 film directed by George More O'Ferrall, and starring Jack Hawkins, Michael Denison, Dulcie Gray, John Gregson and Cyril Raymond. The plot centres on a young fighter pilot immediately before and during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. Some scenes in the film were shot at RAF Uxbridge, home to a wartime operations room.
"Angels One Five" refers to RAF radio procedure words, from the Second World War, meaning an altitude of 15,000 feet.
[edit] Plot
The film begins with a replacement, Pilot Officer T. B. "Septic" Baird (John Gregson), landing his Hawker Hurricane at "Pimpernel" Squadron's airfield. Just as he touches down however, a straggler from an earlier mission taxis across his path. Septic's quick reactions allow him to "leapfrog" the other Hurricane, averting a costly disaster. However, this causes him to crash his replacement plane into the bungalow of Squadron Leader Barry Clinton (Cyril Raymond) at the end of the runway.
This earns Septic the wrath of his new squadron leader, Peter Moon (Michael Denison), because he damaged his plane. The crash also injures the ligaments in Septic's neck, which he is able to self diagnose, as he had been a medical student before the war. The next morning, Septic is told by Group Captain "Tiger" Small (Jack Hawkins) that he will not be able to fly until his neck is healed, so he will instead serve in the operations room for the time being.
Several days later, with the risk of a bombing attack on the airfield, and all of Pimpernel Squadron's Hurricanes scrambled, Tiger orders all aircraft to take-off and fly out of harm's way until the raid is over. With Tiger quickly assembling all available pilots and finding aircraft to fly, Septic wins a foot race with Small to claim the last spare Hurricane for himself. He then proceeds to shoot down a Bf-110 from the attacking force. His delight is short lived however when he is admonished by Moon for leaving his radio set to transmit, preventing the returning Hurricanes from being diverted to an undamaged airfield. A crestfallen Septic returns to his ground duties.
Eventually a reinstated Septic joins in Pimpernel's operations, but he is mortally wounded while shooting down another enemy aircraft. His last words are heard over the Sector control room tannoy (public-address system). Despite a desperate plea from Small to re-enact their earlier foot race, Septic passes out and crashes to his death.
