''Squadron Leader X'' is a 1943 British World War II spy drama directed by

Lance Comfort Lance Comfort (11 August 1908 – 25 August 1966) was an English film director. He was a prolific maker of B movies from 1945 to 1965. Early life Lance Comfort was born in Harrow, London on 11 August 1908. Career In a career spanning over ...

and starring

Eric Portman Eric Harold Portman (13 July 1901 – 7 December 1969) was an English stage and film actor. He is probably best remembered for his roles in three films for Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger during the 1940s. Early life Born in Halifax, ...

and Ann Dvorak. 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 ...

and Wolfgang Wilhelm from a short story by

Emeric Pressburger Emeric Pressburger (born Imre József Pressburger; 5 December 19025 February 1988) was a Hungarian-British screenwriter, film director, and producer. He is best known for his series of film collaborations with Michael Powell, in a collaborat ...

. Unfortunately, the

BFI National Archive The BFI National Archive is a department of the British Film Institute, and one of the largest film archives in the world. It was founded as the National Film Library in 1935; its first curator was Ernest Lindgren. In 1955, its name became th ...

currently considered this film as "missing, believed lost".

Plot

Erich Kohler (

), a crack

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

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 Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

. 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 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 The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

. He does manage, however, to contact British nurse Barbara Lucas ( Ann Dvorak), an old flame who once had Nazi sympathies, but is not willing to help him. Kohler then takes refuge with the Krohns ( Martin Miller and

Beatrice Varley Beatrice Evelyn Varley (11 July 1896 – 4 July 1964) was an English actress who appeared in television and film roles between 1936 and 1964. She made her screen debut in the 1936 film ''Tomorrow We Live'' and began to portray a variety of ...

), 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 MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), officially the Security Service, is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Gov ...

and by German officials furious at his bungled mission in Belgium. Dr. Schultz (

Henry Oscar Henry Wale (14 July 1891 – 28 December 1969), known professionally as Henry Oscar, was an English stage and film actor. He changed his name and began acting in 1911, having studied under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Dr ...

), a ruthless

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

officer, confronts and accuses Kohler of inefficiency and cowardice. A shoot-out follows and Schultz is killed. Meanwhile, MI5 agent Inspector Milne (

Walter Fitzgerald Walter Fitzgerald Bond (18 May 1896 – 20 December 1976) was an English character actor. Early life Born in Stoke, Plymouth, Fitzgerald was a former stockbroker before he began his theatrical training at RADA. He joined the British Army durin ...

) 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 that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

fighter aircraft in which to fly back to Germany. Over the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

, he is spotted by German fighters who believe they are engaging a British pilot, and shoot the aircraft down.

Cast

as Erich Kohler * Ann Dvorak as Barbara Lucas *

as Inspector Milne * Martin Miller as Mr. Krohn *

as Mrs. Krohn *

as Dr. Schultz * Barry Jones as Bruce Fenwick *

Charles Victor Charles Victor (10 February 1896 – 23 December 1965) was a British actor who appeared in many film and television roles between 1931 and 1965. He was born Charles Victor Harvey. Born in Southport, Lancashire, England, Victor was a fourth- ...

as Marks *

Marjorie Rhodes Marjorie Rhodes (9 April 1897 – 4 July 1979) was a British actress. She was born Millicent Wise in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. Career One of her better-known roles was as Lucy Fitton, the mother in Bill Naughton's pl ...

as Mrs. Agnew * David Peel as Michael Bertholt *

Aubrey Mallalieu Aubrey Mallalieu (8 June 1873 – 28 May 1948) was an English actor with a prolific career in supporting roles in films in the 1930s and 1940s. Mallalieu began life as George William Mallalieu, the son of William Mallalieu (c. 1845–1927), a ...

as Pierre *

Mary Merrall Mary Merrall (5 January 1890 – 31 August 1973), born Elsie Lloyd, was an English actress whose career of over 60 years encompassed stage, film and television work. Stage career Merrall's stage career started in her teens, making her first stag ...

as Miss Thorndike *

Carl Jaffe Carl Jaffe (21 March 1902 – 12 April 1974) was a German actor. Jaffe trained on the stage in his native Hamburg, Kassel and Wiesbaden before moving to Berlin, where his career began to develop. In 1933 Jaffe changed his stage name to Fran ...

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 The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...

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 ''Picturegoer'' was a fan magazine published in the United Kingdom between 1911 and 23 April 1960. Background The magazine was started in 1911 under the name ''The Pictures'' and in 1914 it merged with ''Picturegoer''. Following the merge it was ...

'', named it, "one of the best spy melodramas yet made". The ''

Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' 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 The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

has been unable to trace a print for inclusion in the

, 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'."
''

'', 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 Films set in Belgium Films directed by Lance Comfort Lost British films Lost war films Films scored by William Alwyn 1940s lost films 1940s spy films Films about the Belgian Resistance 1940s English-language films 1940s British films English-language war films