Battle of Britain Overview:

Battle of Britain (1969) was a Action - Drama Film directed by Guy Hamilton and produced by Harry Saltzman, Benjamin Fisz and John Palmer.

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Battle Of Britain – part 8

By Tom on Feb 3, 2013 From The Old Movie House

Gripes and Kudos Laurence Olivier played Sir Hugh Dowding Trevor Howard played Sir Keith Park Ralph Richardson played ... Read full article


Battle Of Britain – part 7

By Tom on Jan 28, 2013 From The Old Movie House

The All Too Real and Some nice touches Germany attacked and bombed London ruthlessly and randomly. No one was safe, and no place was free of the possibility of being bombed. If it was English it was fair game. What you’re about to see are screen captures from the film, and some actual photos o... Read full article


Battle Of Britain – part 6

By Tom on Jan 27, 2013 From The Old Movie House

The Pilots Even though it was called The Battle Of Britain it’s a popular misconception to think the pilots who flew for Britain were entirely British. Even though the vast majority were indeed British (2,500) they did get a great deal of help from 147 Poles, 101 New Zealanders, 94 Canadians, ... Read full article


Battle Of Britain – part 5

By Tom on Jan 22, 2013 From The Old Movie House

What happens next is a very ordinary human fault . They got lost. A German air crew with a desire to return to their respective homes early drops their bombs on what they think isn’t London. The navigator doesn’t seem to have a clue where London is. He says it’s six kilometers b... Read full article


Battle Of Britain – part 4

By Tom on Jan 20, 2013 From The Old Movie House

A Stuka crashing at Ventnor radar station The scan below is a depiction of the radar system Britain had at the time of the Battle Of Britain. It’s from the book by Karen Farrington entitled World War II – Ground, Sea & Air Battles. If you want to look at it in detail would might be w... Read full article


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Quotes from

Squadron Leader Canfield: The *engine's* overheating, and so am *I*! Either we stand down, or *blow up*! Now *which* do you want?


Sgt. Pilot Chris: [the British Spitfire pilots are having an easy time shooting down the feared German Stuka Dive Bombers] It's like shooting rats in a barrel.
Squadron Leader Canfield: *You'll* be "in a barrel", if you don't watch out for the *fighters*!


Senior civil servant: Churchill puts great faith in radar.
Air Chief Marshall Sir Hugh Dowding: It's vital, but it won't shot down aircraft.
Senior civil servant: Ha... well I must say you don't, exactly exude a spirit of optimism.
Air Chief Marshall Sir Hugh Dowding: God willing we will hold out minister.
Senior civil servant: I see. So I tell the cabinet, that you're trusting in radar and praying to God, is that right?
Air Chief Marshall Sir Hugh Dowding: [chuckles] more accurately the other way round. Trusting in god and praying for radar. But the essential arithmetic is that our young men will have to shoot down their young men at the rate of four to one, if we're to keep pace at all.


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Facts about

The Spitfires, Hurricanes, Messerschmitts and Heinkels were repainted into authentic 1940 colors, but were so perfectly camouflaged that they could not be seen against the ground or sky. Most of the aerial scenes were filmed with cloud in the background so the aircraft could be seen.
The Junkers 87 Stuka dive bombers used in the film are model airplanes filmed in Malta, the only ones not real (the Percival Prentice aircraft which had been modified to represent Junkers 87 aircraft were found to be too dangerous to use). Their dive-bombing technique is not very real: Stukas will usually dive to 60-90ยบ and release their bombs while diving (not pulling up).
This movie was made about twenty-six years after the Frank Capra 'Why We Fight' documentary, The Battle of Britain, considered to have the same or similar title to this movie. The slight difference in wording of the titles is that the later picture drops the definite article (i.e. the "the") in its title.
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Also directed by Guy Hamilton




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Also produced by Harry Saltzman




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Also released in 1969




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More "World War II" films



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