''Squadron Leader X'' is a 1943 British World War II spy drama directed by Lance Comfort and starring Eric Portman and

Ann Dvorak Ann Dvorak (born Anna McKim; August 2, 1911 – December 10, 1979) was an American stage and film actress. Asked how to pronounce her adopted surname, she told ''The Literary Digest'' in 1936: "My fake name is properly pronounced ''vor'shack ...

. The screenplay was adapted by

Miles Malleson William Miles Malleson (25 May 1888 – 15 March 1969) was an English actor and dramatist, particularly remembered for his appearances in British comedy films of the 1930s to 1960s. Towards the end of his career he also appeared in cameo roles i ...

and Wolfgang Wilhelm from a short story by Emeric Pressburger.

Plot

Erich Kohler ( Eric Portman), a crack Luftwaffe pilot who speaks fluent English, is ordered by his superior, Inspector Siegel ( Frederick Richter) to drop a "stick" of bombs on the Belgian city of Ghent. He is further instructed to bail out of his aircraft wearing a British RAF uniform, gain the confidence of the local populace and then try to convince them that the British are responsible for the bombing of civilian targets in Belgium. Despite being able to have a convincing English accent, and equipped with a photograph of his "wife" and a packet of

Players Players may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Players'' (1979 film), a film starring Ali MacGraw * ''Players'' (2012 film), a Bollywood film * ''Players'' (Dicks novel), a novel by Terrance Dicks, based on the television series ''Doc ...

cigarettes, the plan goes awry when Kohler falls into the hands of the Belgian Resistance. The resistance members believe they are doing him a favour by arranging for him to be smuggled to Britain among a group of downed RAF bomber crew who are being returned that night. On arriving in Britain, Kohler escapes and makes his way to London where he tries to get in touch with old contacts, only to find that most have been interned on the Isle of Man. He does manage, however, to contact British nurse Barbara Lucas (

), an old flame who once had Nazi sympathies, but is not willing to help him. Kohler then takes refuge with the Krohns (

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and Beatrice Varley), a couple who are reluctant Nazi agents due to threats being made of harm to family members in Germany if they fail to co-operate. Kohler finds himself being hunted both by the British MI5 and by German officials furious at his bungled mission in Belgium. Dr. Schultz ( Henry Oscar), a ruthless Gestapo officer, confronts and accuses Kohler of inefficiency and cowardice. A shoot-out follows and Schultz is killed. Meanwhile, MI5 agent Inspector Milne ( Walter Fitzgerald) picks up Kohler's trail. Kohler manages narrowly to avoid arrest and steals a

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 ...

fighter aircraft in which to fly back to Germany. Over the English Channel, he is spotted by German fighters who believe they are engaging a British pilot, and shoot the aircraft down.

Cast

* Eric Portman as Erich Kohler *

as Barbara Lucas * Walter Fitzgerald as Inspector Milne *

as Mr. Krohn * Beatrice Varley as Mrs. Krohn * Henry Oscar as Dr. Schultz * Barry Jones as Bruce Fenwick * Charles Victor as Marks * Marjorie Rhodes as Mrs. Agnew * David Peel as Michael Bertholt * Aubrey Mallalieu as Pierre * Mary Merrall as Miss Thorndike * Carl Jaffe as Luftwaffe Colonel * Frederick Richter as Inspector Siegel

Production

''Squadron Leader X'' featured a Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft and a Klemm Kl 25 light aircraft. In a contemporary review, ''The Cinema'' declared: "The air-sequences, made with official Air Ministry co-operation, are among the most actionful and breath-taking ever screened".

Reception

''Squadron Leader X'' was exceptionally well received by some critics on its release, with Lionel Collier in his review for the '' Picturegoer'', named it, "one of the best spy melodramas yet made". The '' Monthly Film Bulletin'' spoke of "a cast that is of the highest order" and summarised the film as "an exciting story, well scripted and produced with tremendous attention to detail". Film historian Bertil Skogsberg in ''Wings on the Screen: A Pictorial History of Air Movies'' (1987) called some sequences "fairly exciting but otherwise (an) uninteresting thriller." Aviation film historian James H. Farmer in ''Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation'' (1984) had a similar appraisal, that, ''Squadron Leader X'' was "overlong".Farmer 1984, p. 328.

Preservation status

There is no record of ''Squadron Leader X'' ever being re-shown after its original release. The British Film Institute has been unable to trace a print for inclusion in the BFI National Archive, and currently classes the film as "missing, believed lost". ''Squadron Leader X'' is included on the BFI's " 75 Most Wanted" list of missing British feature films."News: 'Squadron Leader X'."
'' British Film Institute'', 2019. Retrieved: 22 August 2010. Film historians in the 21st century have also evinced a major increase in interest in Comfort's directorial career and ''Squadron Leader X'' is a vital missing piece of his filmography.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Farmer, James H. ''Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation''. Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: Tab Books Inc., 1984. . * Pendo, Stephen. ''Aviation in the Cinema''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. . * Skogsberg, Bertil. ''Wings on the Screen: A Pictorial History of Air Movies''. London: Tantivy Press, 1987. .

External links

British Film Institute 75 Most Wanted entry
with extensive notes * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Squadron Leader X 1943 films 1940s war films British war films British spy films British aviation films World War II films made in wartime British black-and-white films Belgium in fiction Films set in Belgium Films directed by Lance Comfort Lost British films Films scored by William Alwyn 1940s lost films 1940s spy films Films about the Belgian Resistance 1940s English-language films 1940s British films