Angels One Five (1954)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Set in England before the American entrance into World War II but made some seven years after the war ended, this personal drama of the life of squadron pilots is often touching, but mostly quite familiar. Many American films (as well as a few other classic British films) have touched on the same subject, and where this one succeeds is in its quiet moments as the interconnecting human relationships come full circle as personal conflict disappears for the benefit of a mission, in this case, keeping the English coastline safe from the invasion of those nasty Jerry's who cowardly invade in the middle of the night and create much chaos in their wake. With the squadron under the command of the stern but likable Jack Hawkins, the arrival of a new but inexperienced pilot (John Gregson) creates some tension. Much of the film deals with the day to day life of these young anxious pilots, but mostly focuses on Gregson, making a serious mistake during a spontaneous mission where the lives of the other pilots are put in danger because of his failure to stick to detail.The most important moment of this film occurs as one of the characters makes it clear through subtle hints that they will not be returning from their mission. The looks on the faces of the pilots and their leaders shows their horror over this revelation and creates an indelible human moment that can't be ignored. Even when Gregson is called on the carpet for his serious mistake, there's the feeling that the commander is both disappointed and quietly proud of him, unwilling to punish him, but not able to completely dismiss it either. The way Gregson deals with this is also very haunting, as are some of the more quiet moments when a last party is given before the rumored raid of the German air force occurs. I feel that this is a film that has so many key moments that it is a film that has to be viewed numerous times to fully appreciate, and that its moral lesson of every action these pilots commit be fully detailed and not just by the book (as Gregson is accused of knowing too much about without the actual experience of knowing what to do), and that every action has a consequence that can make a mission fail and thus cost many lives. In the fight for freedom, details like this are ones that are very important to stick to, and even the top officers must maintain some composure even in the worst of situations.

Producers: John W. Gossage, Derek Twist. A Templar Production, released in the U.K. by Associated British. Released in Australia by 20th Century-Fox on 25 November 1953. Released in the U.S.A. by Stratford, May, 1954. Copyright in the U.S. by Stratford Pictures Corp., 25 February 1953. New York opening simultaneously at the Beekman, Gramercy and 8th Street Playhouse: 29 April 1954. U.K. release: May 1954. Sydney opening at the Embassy. Location scenes filmed at Kenley Aerodrome, Surrey. 98 minutes. 8,820 feet.(Available on an Optimum DVD).NOTES: Number ten at British ticket windows for 1952.COMMENT: Far above Mr. O'Ferrall's usual standard, thanks to solid acting and an interesting script that provides plenty of action. Some of the miniature work (particularly the closing shot) is not the best but generally special effects and production values are first-class.OTHER VIEWS: Despite the high-sounding title (it means that aircraft are flying at a height of 15,000 feet), this is a routine drama of the wartime R.A.F. True, better films have been made about war in the air, but rarely have I seen one which is more sincere. To an ex-serviceman, the feeling is there, strong and indefinable, that these were the men he knew, fought with and laughed with. The sensation of reality is well maintained throughout the film with the exception of the few air combat scenes which are rather artificial. "Angels One Five" tells the story of some of the "Few," the men who flew the Hurricanes and Spitfires during the Battle of Britain in 1940. These were the men, who, outnumbered six to one by the Germans, managed to stave off the Luftwaffe. - Leo Basser.

Angels One Five covers a lot of the same ground as the more lavishly produced Battle Of Britain. But the same story about just a very few defending the realm and so many owing their freedom and their very existence to this relatively small bunch of men and women. One thing I do have to point out is that the contribution made by the women working in the operation center.Jack Hawkins is a stern and resolute commander of a coastal Royal Air Force Base. He's got some strict standards of behavior, the strictest being for himself. The bulk of the film is concerning the arrival of a new pilot who doesn't near and endear himself to Hawkins by crashing a a new Hurricane fighter that he was ferrying to the base. John Gregson plays the new man and Hawkins assigns him to the operations center, the better for him to see a whole picture of their situation before flying.Gregson in his own way is stiff and formal, memorizing a whole book of regulations. But that's hardly a substitute for experience and common sense.Some aerial combat situations, but mostly this movie is about the day to life on the base and the attacks there on. In the best stiff upper lip tradition they follow what Horatio Nelson said about England expects every man (and woman) to do his duty.And so they did and rather gloriously.

My first negative review on IMDb - prompted by strong disagreement with the positive reviews "Angels One Five" has on here.I found this to be the worst written British war film I've ever seen - a sophomoric, by-the-numbers "Way to the Stars" rip-off. There's nothing compelling or original about it. The airmen come across as gratingly camp airHEADS. And the film singularly fails to convey either of the portentous bookending Churchill quotations.For propaganda/entertainment purposes, I'd recommend real classics of the genre like "The First of the Few", "The Way to the Stars", "The Dam Busters" or even so-so flicks like "Reach for the Sky" and "Battle of Britain". A disappointing waste of time and talent which is of historical interest/value only.