Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1940
Spies of the Air
Buy Spies of the Air now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
{{Infobox film
| name = Spies of the Air
| image = Spies-of-the-air-poster.jpg
| caption = Theatrical poster (Note: the US title on the theatre lobby card was 'Spies in the Air'.Brownlow 1997, p. 745.]
| director = David MacDonald
| producer = John Corfield
| writer = Bridget Boland
A.R. Rawlinson
| based_on = 'Official Secret' by Jeffrey Dell
| starring = Barry K. Barnes
Roger Livesey
Felix Aylmer
| music = Ronnie Munro
| cinematography = Bryan Langley
| editing = David Lean
| studio = British National Films
| distributor = Associated British Film Distributors (UK)
Film Alliance of the United States Inc. (US)
| released =
| runtime = 62 minutes
78 minutes (original UK release runtime)
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget =
}}
'Spies of the Air' (also known as 'Spies in the Air' and 'The Fifth Column') is a 1939 British adventure film directed by David MacDonald and based on the play 'Official Secret' by Jeffrey Dell. The film stars Barry K. Barnes, Roger Livesey, Basil Radford, Edward Ashley and Felix Aylmer. 'Spies of the Air' involves espionage in the period just before the outbreak of war in Europe that spawned a number of similar propaganda films linking aeronautics and spies. Films in both Great Britain and the United States centred on "... spies and fifth columnists (as) the staple diet of films made during the first year of the war."Murphy, Robert. [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/446224/ "War: The triumphs and tragedies of battle."] 'BFI Screen online', 20132014. Retrieved: 18 September 2014.
Plot
Before the outbreak of the Second World War, British test pilot Peter Thurloe (Barry K. Barnes) is involved in an illicit love affair with his employer's wife, Dorothy Houghton (Joan Marion). He is caught up in an elaborate scheme to steal secrets from Charles Houghton's (Roger Livesey) aviation company. Peter is suspected of betraying his country to a foreign power. Scotland Yard Inspector Colonel Cairns (Felix Aylmer) is aware that the plans of a top-secret aircraft would be of great interest to an enemy.
Cast
* Barry K. Barnes as Peter Thurloe
* Roger Livesey as Charles Houghton
* Felix Aylmer as Colonel Cairns
* Basil Radford as Madison
* Edward Ashley as Stuart
* Santos Casani as Foreigner
* Wallace Douglas as Hooper
* Everley Gregg as Mrs. Madison
* Joan Marion as Dorothy Houghton
* Henry Oscar as Porter
* John Turnbull as Sir Andrew Hamilton
Production
, is prominent in 'Spies of the Air'.
Filming took place at Nettlefold Studios, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, UK. The Air Ministry was interested in the production and allowed the latest Royal Air Force aircraft to be filmed from a commercial aircraft.Warren 1984, p. 103. A Percival Vega Gull (G-AEYC) and Miles M.14A Magister I/Hawk Trainer III (L6908) were featured in the film, as well as a brief glimpse of a de Haviland Dragon Rapide.[http://www.aeromovies.fr/articles.php?lng=en&pg=991 "English aircraft seen in movies."] 'Aeromovies (films d'aviation)' [French]. Retrieved: 18 September 2014.
Made in 1939 and released in March 1939 in the United Kingdom, by the time 'Spies of the Air' was in widespread release, war had already been declared.Mackenzie 2003, p. 25. For its US release in a much abridged form, the film was originally going to be re-titled as 'The Fifth Column', but Ernest Hemingway sued the production company, as he felt that the new title infringed on his 'The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories' anthology released the previous year. Hemingway won the suit, and the film reverted to its original title, although it also appeared as 'Spies in the Air'.[http://movies.tvguide.com/spies-of-the-air/review/118690 "Spies of the Air (1939)."] 'TV Guide'. Retrieved: 18 September 2014.[https://web.archive.org/web/20090114022844/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/52316 "Spies of the Air (1939)."] 'British Film Institute'. Retrieved: 18 September 2014.
Reception
'Spies of the Air' was quickly relegated to "second feature" status, as the release of the similar themed 'Q Planes ' (1939), with a much better known cast, overshadowed the more modest production. Hal Erickson wrote, "The flight sequences blend stock footage and newly-shot aerial scenes with acceptable expertise."Erickson, Hal. [http://www.allmovie.com/movie/spies-of-the-air-v111341 "Spies of the Air (1940)."] 'AllMovie', 2014. Retrieved: 18 September 2014.
After the lawsuit by Hemingway had been settled, 'Spies in the Air' had its US premiere in New York in 1940, and was reviewed by Bosley Crowther of 'The New York Times': "David MacDonald has purloined a page from the book of Alfred Hitchcock, but without the latter's sense of timing or knack of pointing a climax."Crowther, Bosley. [https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D02E2DA123EE432A25757C0A9619C946193D6CF "At the Rialto: Spies of the Air".] 'The New York Times', 4 July 1940.
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
* Brownlow, Kevin. 'David Lean: A Biography.' New York: St. Martins Press, 1997. .
* Mackenzie, S.P. 'British War Films, 193945.' London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2003. .
* Mavis, Paul. 'The Espionage Filmography: United States Releases, 1898 through 1999'. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, 2001. .
* Warren, Patricia. 'The British Film Collection 1896-1984'. London: Elm Tree Books, 1984. .
Buy Spies of the Air now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 1940