''Angels One Five'' is a 1952 British

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...

directed by

George More O'Ferrall Edward George More O'Ferrall (4 July 1907 – 18 March 1982) was a pioneering British film and television producer and director, as well as an actor. Biography More O'Ferrall was born in Bristol, England, to an aristocratic Anglo-Irish family. ...

and starring

Jack Hawkins John Edward Hawkins, CBE (14 September 1910 – 18 July 1973) was an English actor who worked on stage and in film from the 1930s until the 1970s. One of the most popular British film stars of the 1950s, he was known for his portrayal of mili ...

Michael Denison John Michael Terence Wellesley Denison (1 November 191522 July 1998) was an English actor. He often appeared with his wife, Dulcie Gray, with whom he featured in several films and more than 100 West End theatre productions. After a conventiona ...

Dulcie Gray Dulcie Winifred Catherine Savage Denison, (''née'' Bailey; 20 November 1915 – 15 November 2011), known professionally as Dulcie Gray, was a British actress, mystery writer and lepidopterist. While at drama school in the late 1930s she met ...

John Gregson Harold Thomas Gregson (15 March 1919 – 8 January 1975), known professionally as John Gregson, was an English actor of stage, television and film, with 40 credited film roles. He was best known for his crime drama and comedy roles. He was cr ...

Cyril Raymond Cyril William North Raymond MBE (13 February 1899 – 20 March 1973) was a British character actor. He maintained a stage and screen career from his teens until his retirement, caused by ill health, in the 1960s. His many stage, film and tele ...

and

Veronica Hurst Veronica Patricia Hurst (born Patricia Wilmshurst; 11 November 1931 – 15 November 2022) was a British film, stage and television actress. Hurst was born in Malta and brought up in Tooting, London. Early career Hurst was awarded the Leverhul ...

. Based on the book ''What Are Your Angels Now?'' by Pelham Groom (who was also

technical adviser In film production, a technical advisor is someone who advises the director on the convincing portrayal of a subject. The advisor's expertise adds realism both to the acting and to the setting of a movie. Nipo T. Strongheart Nipo T. Stronghear ...

to the film under his full title of W/Cdr. A. J. C. Pelham Groom), the plot centres on a young fighter pilot immediately before and during the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

in the Second World War. Some scenes in the film were shot at

RAF Uxbridge RAF Uxbridge was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Uxbridge, within the London Borough of Hillingdon, occupying a site that originally belonged to the Hillingdon House estate. The British Government purchased the estate in 1915, three years ...

, where there was a wartime operations room. "Angels One Five" refers to RAF radio procedure from the Second World War. Angels stands for altitude. One Five means 15,000 feet. The film was the first British post-war production to deal with the Battle of Britain.Pendo 1985, p. 175.

Plot

In 1940, a replacement,

Pilot Officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

T. B. "Septic" Baird (John Gregson), is landing his

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

at "Pimpernel" Squadron's airfield. Just as he touches down, a damaged aircraft from an earlier mission taxis across his path. Septic's quick reactions allow him to "leapfrog" the other Hurricane, averting a costly disaster but he crashes his replacement aircraft into the

bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a b ...

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

Barry Clinton (Cyril Raymond) at the end of the runway. This earns Septic the wrath of his new squadron leader, Bill Ponsford (Andrew Osborn), because he damaged a replacement aircraft. The crash also injures the

ligament A ligament is the fibrous connective tissue that connects bones to other bones. It is also known as ''articular ligament'', ''articular larua'', ''fibrous ligament'', or ''true ligament''. Other ligaments in the body include the: * Peritoneal li ...

s 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 Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

"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. Several days later, with the risk of a bombing raid 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

Messerschmitt Bf 110 The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often known unofficially as the Me 110,Because it was built before ''Bayerische Flugzeugwerke'' became Messerschmitt AG in July 1938, the Bf 110 was never officially given the designation Me 110. is a twin-engine (Des ...

from the attacking force. His delight is short-lived when he is admonished by Small and Sqn Ldr Peter Moon (Michael Denison) for leaving his radio set on transmit, preventing the returning Hurricanes from being warned to divert 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 a German aircraft. His last words are heard over the Sector control room

tannoy Tannoy is a British manufacturer of loudspeakers and public address systems. Founded by Guy Fountain in London in 1926 as the Tulsemere Manufacturing Company, today the company is part of the Music Tribe group of brands. History Tannoy Ltd is ...

(public-address system), when he tells Small that their planned return foot race will have to be "postponed indefinitely". Small replies "Your message received and understood. Out". The final shot is of Squadron Leader Clinton's wife Nadine (Dulcie Gray) hanging an oil lamp in the ruins of their bungalow to aid returning pilots.

Cast

as Group Captain 'Tiger' Small *

as Squadron Leader Peter Moon *

as Nadine Clinton *

as Pilot Officer 'Septic' Baird *

as Squadron Leader Barry Clinton *

as Betty Carfax *

Humphrey Lestocq Humphrey Lestocq (23 January 1919 – 29 January 1984) was a British actor, best known for his roles in '' Angels One Five'' (1952) and '' The Long Shadow'' (1961), and guest appearances in the television series '' The Avengers''. Lestocq s ...

as Flight Lieutenant "Batchy" Salter * Harold Goodwin as A.C. 2 Wailes *

Norman Pierce Norman Pierce (5 September 1900 – 22 March 1968) was a British actor. He was born in Southport, Lancashire. He died in Helions Bumpstead, Essex, England on 22 March 1968 at the age of 67. He played pub landlords and barmen in a number of ...

as 'Bonzo' *

Geoffrey Keen Geoffrey Keen (21 August 1916 – 3 November 2005) was an English actor who appeared in supporting roles in many films. He is well known for playing British Defence Minister Sir Frederick Gray in the ''James Bond'' films. Biography Early li ...

as Company Sergeant Major (Army Guard Section) *

Harry Locke Harry Locke (10 December 1913 – 7 September 1987) was an English character actor. He was born and died in London. He married Joan Cowderoy in 1943 and Cordelia Sewell in 1952. He was a good friend of the poet Dylan Thomas. Their friendship in ...

as Look Out *

John Harvey John Harvey may refer to: People Academics * John Harvey (astrologer) (1564–1592), English astrologer and physician * John Harvey (architectural historian) (1911–1997), British architectural historian, who wrote on English Gothic architecture ...

as SWO (Station Warrant Officer) *

Philip Stainton Philip Stainton (9 April 1908 – 1 August 1961) was an English actor. Stainton appeared in several Ealing comedies and major international movies. He specialized in playing friendly or exasperated uniformed policemen, but also appeared in ...

as Police Constable *

Vida Hope Vida Hope (16 December 1910 – 23 December 1963) was a British stage and film actress, who also directed stage productions. Life and career Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, to theatrical parents, she travelled widely as a child.Some of the Comp ...

as W.A.A.F. *

Amy Veness Amy Veness (26 February 1876 – 22 September 1960) was an English film actress. She played the role of Grandma Huggett in ''The Huggetts Trilogy'' and was sometimes credited as Amy Van Ness. Veness was born Amy Clarice Beart in Aldeburgh, Suff ...

as Aunt Tabitha *

Ronald Adam General Sir Ronald Forbes Adam, 2nd Baronet, (30 October 1885 – 26 December 1982) was a senior British Army officer. He had an important influence on the conduct of the British Army during the Second World War as a result of his long tenure ...

as Group Controller * Andrew Osborn as Squadron Leader Bill Ponsford *

Ewan Roberts Ewan Roberts (29 April 1914–10 January 1983) was a Scottish stage, film and television actor. On stage from 1935, his theatre work included a season with the Old Vic, in 1946-1947. In 1949 he appeared at the Adelphi Theatre in '' Castle in ...

as Medical Officer * Peter Jones as Operations Room Sentry * John Phillips as Engineering Officer * John Sharp as 'Boss' *

Joan Sterndale-Bennett Joan Sterndale-Bennett (5 March 191427 April 1996) was a British stage and film actress, best known as a character comedian for her work at the Players' Theatre in London. Career Born into a musical family, her father Thomas Case Sterndale Benn ...

as W.A.A.F. *

Colin Tapley Colin Edward Livingstone Tapley (7 May 1909 – 1 December 1995) was a New Zealand actor in both American and British films. Born in New Zealand, he served in the Royal Air Force and an expedition to Antarctica before winning a Paramount Pictur ...

as Adjutant *

Terence Longdon Terence Longdon (14 May 1922 – 23 April 2011) was an English actor. Biography Born Hubert Tuelly Longdon in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, England. During World War II, Longdon was a pilot with the Fleet Air Arm, protecting Atlantic conv ...

as Falk - Pimpernel Pilot *

Russell Hunter Adam Russell Hunter (18 February 1925 – 26 February 2004) was a Scottish television, stage and film actor. He played Lonely in the TV thriller series ''Callan'', starring Edward Woodward, and shop steward Harry in the Yorkshire Television si ...

as Raines - Pimpernel Pilot * Harold Siddons as Mortimer - Pimpernel Pilot *

Victor Maddern Victor Jack Maddern (16 March 1928 – 22 June 1993) was an English actor. He was described by ''The Telegraph'' as having "one of the most distinctive and eloquent faces in post-war British cinema." Life and career Born in Seven Kings, ...

as Airman *

Harry Fowler Henry James Fowler, MBE (10 December 1926 – 4 January 2012) was an English character actor in film and television. Over a career lasting more than six decades, he made nearly 200 appearances on screen. Personal life Fowler was born in Lamb ...

as Airman * Gordon Bell as "Ops B" *

Sam Kydd Samuel John Kydd (15 February 1915 – 26 March 1982) was a British-Irish actor. His best-known roles were in two major British television series of the 1960s, as the smuggler Orlando O'Connor in '' Crane'' and its sequel ''Orlando''. He als ...

as Mess Waiter

Production

''Angels One Five'' featured three Hawker Hurricane fighter aircraft: Hurricane Mk. Is (p2617 and L1592) on loan from the RAF and Hurricane Mk. IIc (LF363) loaned by

Hawker Aircraft Hawker Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer that was responsible for some of the most famous products in British aviation history. History Hawker had its roots in the aftermath of the First World War, which resulted in the bank ...

. An additional five Hurricane Mk. IIc aircraft (N ° 544, 554, 600, 601, 624) came from the

Portuguese Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 1 July , equipment = , equipment_label ...

. The aircraft were all painted in the colours of

No. 56 Squadron RAF Number 56 Squadron, nicknamed ''the Firebirds'' for their ability to always reappear intact regardless of the odds, is one of the oldest and most successful Squadron (aviation), squadrons of the Royal Air Force, with battle honours from many of ...

and were based at

RAF Kenley The former Royal Air Force Station Kenley, more commonly known as RAF Kenley was an airfield station of the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War and the RAF in the Second World War. It played a significant role during the Battle of Britai ...

during the filming. Other RAF types seen in the background include

North American Harvard The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces ...

training aircraft,

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) a ...

and

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

. The enemy aircraft were represented by a captured Messerschmitt Bf 110 G4 from the "German Force Aircraft Equipment Centre", Stanmore Park. It was scrapped after filming in 1952. Other enemy aircraft were depicted by models. Ronald Adam who plays the part of a Group Controller was the Fighter Group Controller at

RAF Hornchurch Royal Air Force Hornchurch or RAF Hornchurch is a former Royal Air Force sector station in the parish of Hornchurch, Essex (now the London Borough of Havering in Greater London), located to the southeast of Romford. The airfield was known as Sut ...

during the Battle of Britain. Squadron Leader Adam was a veteran of both the First and Second World Wars.

Music

The opening titles feature the

Royal Air Force March Past The "Royal Air Force March Past" is the official march of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and is used in some other Commonwealth air forces. The original score was completed by Walford Davies in 1918 for the new RAF. It combined the rhythm of the b ...

composed by Sir Henry Walford Davies KCVO OBE.

Reception

Box office

''Angels One Five'' was the ninth most popular at the British box office in 1952.

Critical response

Film critic

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

, in his review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', wrote that "there's something about any picture that recollects the R.A.F. and the triumphant Battle of Britain that this reviewer finds hard to resist. Maybe it's all those brave young pilots; maybe it's the climate of the operations rooms; maybe it's those Hurricanes and Spitfires barreling down the runways and clawing into the sky. The symbols of that kind of warfare and that phase of World War II are so heroically connected that they invariably stir a thrill. And one must say that this picture has a cast to do it proud."Crowther, Bosley
"Movie review: 'Angels One Five (1952)."
'

'', 30 April 1954. Aviation film historian Stephen Pendo remarked, ""Septic" Baird (John Gregson) and "Tiger" Small (Jack Hawkins)... play their roles with a reasonable degree of expertise."

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Pendo, Stephen. ''Aviation in the Cinema''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. . * Quill, Jeffrey, ''Spitfire: A Test Pilot's Story''. London: Crécy Publishing Ltd, 1998. .

External links

* * {{tcmdb title, 67391, Angels One Five 1952 films 1952 war films British war films British aviation films Battle of Britain films Films shot at Associated British Studios Films directed by George More O'Ferrall Royal Air Force mass media British black-and-white films 1950s English-language films 1950s British films