''For Those in Peril'' is a 1944 British war film produced by

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ...

that marked the directorial debut of

Charles Crichton Charles Ainslie Crichton (6 August 1910 – 14 September 1999) was an English film director and editor. Born in Wallasey, Cheshire, he became best known for directing many comedies produced at Ealing Studios and had a 40-year career ...

. The film was developed from a short story by

Richard Hillary Flight Lieutenant Richard Hope Hillary (20 April 1919 – 8 January 1943) was an Anglo-Australian Royal Air Force fighter pilot during the Second World War. He wrote the book '' The Last Enemy'' about his experiences during the Battle of Brit ...

, an RAF pilot killed in action in January 1943. The basic and relatively slight storyline of ''For Those in Peril'' was an end to produce a film with a documentary feel and an element of wartime

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

. The film stars

Ralph Michael Ralph Michael (26 September 1907 – 9 November 1994) was an English actor. He was born as Ralph Champion Shotter in London. His film appearances included ''Dead of Night'', ''A Night to Remember (1958 film), A Night to Remember'', ''Children ...

and David Farrar. The title is taken from the maritime hymn

Eternal Father, Strong to Save "Eternal Father, Strong to Save" is a British hymn traditionally associated with seafarers, particularly in the maritime armed services. Written in 1860, its author, William Whiting, was inspired by the dangers of the sea described in Psalm ...

: Oh hear us when we pray to thee, for those in peril on the sea. The film is cut with many sections of true life footage of the motor launches in action.

Plot

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

a fighter pilot bails-out over the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

. Lost in the vast sea he floats but is unaided. Observers on the coast at the

White Cliffs of Dover The White Cliffs of Dover is the region of English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliff face, which reaches a height of , owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint, deposi ...

assess that it is too late. He is dead. We are then introduced to various characters on a coastal air sea rescue base on the Sussex coast. Aspiring RAF pilot Pilot Officer Rawlings (Ralph Michael) has failed to make the grade in training as a mainstream pilot and grudgingly accepts the alternative of joining the crew of Launch 183 (which the crew call Sally), an air-sea rescue craft skippered by Flight Lieutenant Murray (David Farrar). Rawlings is initially resentful and bored by the apparent mundane and un-exciting life, until the vessel is called on to rescue the three man crew of an RAF bomber shot down in mid-Channel, in a small rubber dinghy in the fog. The three survivors encounter a German trawler, Konigin, in the fog and are keen not to be seen. The fog clears and the three men send up a kite. They are spotted by a

Supermarine Walrus The Supermarine Walrus (originally designated the Supermarine Seagull V) was a British single-engine amphibious biplane reconnaissance aircraft designed by R. J. Mitchell and manufactured by Supermarine at Woolston, Southampton. The Walrus f ...

seaplane. They try to warn it not to land as here are mines in the water, but they are too late. The men paddle themselves out of the minefield. At the point where the two launches (134 and 183) spot the men the German trawler reappears. It has a mounted gun on the front and a battle commences. HSL 134 is hit. The larger naval vessel RML 529 arrives and provides enough fire power to scare the Germans off. 183 rescues the men and takes 134 on tow. Having accomplished the rescue, the boat runs into an enemy minefield and is also then attacked by German fighters. When Murray is killed, Rawlings has to take charge and bring the vessel back. 134 is in trouble had everyone transfers to 183. RML 518 escorts them home.

Cast

* David Farrar as Flight Lieutenant Murray *

as Pilot Officer Rawlings * Robert Wyndham as Squadron Leader Leverett *

John Slater John Slater may refer to: Business and government *John Slater (industrialist) (1776–1843), (American) father of John Fox Slater, brother and partner of Samuel Slater *John Fox Slater (1815–1884), American philanthropist, son of John Slater ( ...

as Aircraftman 1st Class Wilkie * Robert Griffith as Coxswain * John Batten as Wireless Officer * Tony Bazell as Lieutenant Overton (credited as Anthony Bazell) *

Peter Arne Peter Arne (born Peter Randolph Michael Albrecht; 29 September 19241 August 1983) was a British character actor. He made more than 50 film appearances including roles in ''Ice Cold in Alex'', ''The Moonraker'', '' Conspiracy of Hearts'' and ''V ...

as Junior Officer * Leslie Clarke as Aircraftman 1st Class Pearson *

James Robertson Justice James Robertson Justice (15 June 1907 – 2 July 1975) was a British actor. He is best remembered for portraying pompous authority figures in comedies including each of the seven films in the ''Doctor'' series. He also co-starred with Grego ...

as Operations Room Officer (uncredited)

Production

HSL 164 with RAF Hurricane off Colombo c1943

''For Those in Peril'' was designed to publicise a little-known unit of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

, the Air Sea Rescue Unit, which was set up in 1941 to save those in distress at sea, particularly airmen who had been shot down or forced to ditch in the water. In common with a number of other war-related films made by Ealing at this time, the plot was subservient to the propaganda message; name actors were generally not used and genuine sailors featured in the action scenes. Location filming took place mainly in the area around the port of Newhaven in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, with the

sequences being shot off the Sussex coast. Crichton later recalled: "(My) first picture ... was a propaganda picture called ''For Those in Peril'' where we rushed around the Channel in high speed motorboats, boats which were used for picking up crashed airmen and so on. It's a horrifying thing to say, but it was very exciting". Principal photography took place in mid-1943 at the Ealing studios and on location, with the participation of the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...

and

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in filming. Royal Navy Patrol Service (RNPS) armed trawlers and other auxiliary craft, together with Royal Navy coastal craft (motor launches and torpedo boats) from HMS ''Aggressive'', Shoreham, were made available. A Royal Air Force

air-sea rescue aircraft of No. 28 Air Sea Rescue unit and a Douglas DB-7 Boston bomber were also featured.

Reception

''For Those in Peril'' was one of the few British productions that appeared in 1944–1945. Its semi-documentary style suited its role as a

propaganda film A propaganda film is a film that involves some form of propaganda. Propaganda films spread and promote certain ideas that are usually religious, political, or cultural in nature. A propaganda film is made with the intent that the viewer will ad ...

. Film historian George Perry considered this film to be the closest Charles Crichton ever got to "documentary realism during his long Ealing career".Perry 1991, p. 76.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Evans, Alun. ''Brassey's Guide to War Films''. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books, 2000. . * Perry, George. ''Forever Ealing: A Celebration of the Great British Film Studio.'' London: Pavilion Books, 1991. .

External links

* * *
Review of film
at ''Variety'' {{DEFAULTSORT:For Those In Peril 1944 films 1944 war films British war films British aviation films 1944 directorial debut films British black-and-white films Ealing Studios films 1940s English-language films Films about shot-down aviators Films directed by Charles Crichton Films produced by Michael Balcon World War II films made in wartime