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The Dam Busters (film)
Encyclopedia
The Dam Busters is a 1955 British Second World War war film
starring Michael Redgrave
and Richard Todd
and directed by Michael Anderson
. The film recreates the true story of Operation Chastise
when in 1943 the RAF's
617 Squadron
attacked the Möhne
, Eder
and Sorpe
dams in Germany
with Wallis's "bouncing bomb
". The film was based on the books The Dam Busters
(1951) by Paul Brickhill
and Enemy Coast Ahead
(1946) by Guy Gibson.
The film falls into two parts. The first part involves Wallis struggling to develop a means of attacking Germany
's dams in the hope of crippling German heavy industry
. Working for the Ministry of Aircraft Production
, as well as doing his own job at Vickers, he works feverishly to make practical his theory of a bouncing bomb
which would skip over the water to avoid protective torpedo nets
. When it came into contact with the dam, it would sink before exploding, making it much more destructive. Wallis calculates that the aircraft will have to fly extremely low (150 feet) to enable the bombs to skip over the water correctly, but when he takes his conclusions to the Ministry he is told that lack of production capacity means they cannot go ahead with his proposals.
Angry and frustrated, Wallis secures an interview with Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris (played by Basil Sydney
), the head of RAF Bomber Command
, who at first is reluctant to take the idea seriously. But he is eventually convinced and takes the idea to the Prime Minister
, who authorises the project.
The second part of the film involves Bomber Command forming a special squadron of Lancaster
bombers, 617 Squadron, to be commanded by Wing Commander Guy Gibson. He recruits experienced crews, especially those with low-altitude flight experience. While they train for the mission, Wallis continues his development of the bomb but has problems, such as the bomb breaking apart upon hitting the water. This requires the drop altitude to be reduced to 60 feet. With only a few weeks to go, he succeeds in fixing the problems and the mission can go ahead.
The bombers attack the dams. Several Lancasters and their crews are lost, but the overall mission succeeds and two dams are breached. The film's reflective last minutes convey the poignant mix of emotions felt by the characters – triumph over striking a successful blow against the enemy's industrial base is greatly tempered by the sobering knowledge that many died in the process of delivering it.
Cast notes:
bombers supplied by the RAF. The aircraft, four of the final production B.VIIs, had to be taken out of storage and specially modified by removing the mid-upper gun turret
s to mimic 617 Squadron's special aircraft, and cost £130 per hour to run, which amounted to a tenth of the film's costs. A number of Avro Lincoln bombers were also used as "set dressing." (An American cut was made more dramatic by depicting an aircraft flying into a hill and exploding. This version used stock footage
from Warner Brothers of a B-17 Flying Fortress, not a Lancaster.)
The Upper Derwent Valley
in Derbyshire
(the test area for the real raids) doubled as the Ruhr valley for the film. The scene where the Dutch
coast is crossed was filmed between Boston, Lincolnshire
and King's Lynn
, and other coastal scenes near Skegness
. Additional aerial footage was shot above Windermere
, in the Lake District
.
While RAF Scampton
, where the real raid launched, was used for some scenes, the principal airfield used for ground location shooting was RAF Hemswell
, a few miles north and still an operational RAF station at the time of filming. Guy Gibson had been based at Hemswell in his final posting and the airfield had been an operational Avro Lancaster base during the war. At the time filming took place it was then home to No. 109 Squadron
and No. 139 Squadron RAF
, who were both operating English Electric Canberra
s on electronic counter measures and nuclear air sampling missions over hydrogen bomb test sites in the Pacific and Australia
. However, part of the RAF's fleet of ageing Avro Lincolns had been mothballed at Hemswell prior to being broken up and several of these static aircraft appeared in background shots during filming, doubling for additional No 617 Squadron Lancasters. The station headquarters building still stands on what is now an industrial estate and is named Gibson House. The four wartime hangars also still stand, little changed in external appearance since the war.
Serving RAF pilots from both squadrons based at Hemswell took turns flying the Lancasters during filming and found the close formation and low level flying around Derwentwater and Windermere exhilarating and a welcome change from their normal high level solo Canberra sorties.
Three of the four Lancaster bombers used in the film had also appeared in the Dirk Bogarde
film Appointment in London
two years earlier.
The film is accurate historically with only a few minor exceptions, mostly derived from Paul Brickhill's book, which itself was written when much detail about the raid was not yet in the public domain:
, the Dambusters March
by Eric Coates
, is for many synonymous with the film, as well as with the exploit itself. As a reminder of British success, it remains a favourite military band
item at flypast
s and can be heard at football
games during England matches. One version released featured dialogue extracts from the film's (the bombing run).
and directed by first time director Christian Rivers
, began production in 2008. Jackson said in the mid-1990s that he became interested in remaking the 1954 film, but found that the rights had been bought by Mel Gibson
. In 2004, Jackson was contacted by his agent, who said Gibson had dropped the rights. The rights were purchased by Sir David Frost, from the Brickhill family
in 2005. Stephen Fry
is writing the script of the film. It will be distributed by Universal Pictures
and StudioCanal
. Filming was planned to commence in early 2009, on a budget of USD 40 million, although no project-specific filming had begun as of May 2009.
Weta Workshop
is making the models and special effects for the film and have made 10 life size Lancaster bombers.
The last living pilot of the strike team, Les Munro
, joined the production crew in Masterton as technical adviser. Jackson will also use newly declassified War Office
documents to ensure the authenticity of the film.
in the climax of the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
is heavily influenced by the climactic sequence of The Dam Busters. In the former film rebel pilots have to fly through a trench while evading enemy fire and fire a proton torpedo at a precise distance from the target in order to destroy the entire base with a single explosion; if one run fails another run must be made by a different pilot. In addition to the similarity of the scenes, some of the dialogue is nearly identical in the two films. Star Wars also ends with an Elgarian-style march, like The Dam Busters.
In the 1982 film Pink Floyd The Wall
, scenes from The Dam Busters can be seen and heard playing on a television set several times during the film.
Two television advertisements were made for a brand of beer, Carling Black Label, which played on the theme of The Dam Busters. Both were made before the English football team broke a 35-year losing streak against Germany. The first showed a German guard on top of a dam catching a bouncing bomb as if he were a goalkeeper. The second showed a British tourist throwing a Union Flag
towel which skipped off the water like a bouncing bomb to reserve a pool-side seat before the German tourists could reserve them with their towels. Both actions were followed by the comment "I bet he drinks Carling Black Label".
In 1999, British television network ITV
broadcast a censored version of the film, removing all utterances of "Nigger" (the real name
of the unit's mascot, a black labrador). ITV blamed regional broadcaster London Weekend Television
, which in turn alleged that a junior staff member had been responsible for the unauthorised cuts. When ITV again showed a censored version in June 2001, it was condemned by Index on Censorship
as "unnecessary and ridiculous" and because the edits introduced continuity errors.
In 2004, the magazine Total Film
named The Dam Busters the 43rd greatest British film of all time. Although it has been praised as one of the greatest war films of all time it focuses on the technicalities of destroying the enemy's dams, rather than the enemy himself. The film does not attempt to gloss over the losses sustained amongst the airmen nor the devastation caused by the flooding of the enemy countryside.
The British Channel 4
screened the censored American version in July 2007, in which the dialogue was dubbed so as to call the dog Trigger, this screening taking place just after the planned remake was announced. For the remake, Peter Jackson has said no decision has been made on the dog's name, but is in a "no-win, damned-if-you-do-and-damned-if-you-don't scenario", as changing the name could be seen as too much political correctness
, while not changing the name could offend people. Further, executive producer Sir David Frost was quoted in The Independent as stating: "Guy sometimes used to call his dog Nigsy, so I think that's what we will call it. Stephen has been coming up with other names, but this is the one I want." In June 2011, Stephen Fry mentioned in an interview that the dog would be called Digger in the remake to avoid offending modern audiences. In September 2007, as part of the BBC Summer of British Film series, The Dam Busters was shown at selected cinemas across the UK in its uncut format.
On 16 May 2008, a commemoration of the 65th anniversary was held at Derwent Reservoir, including a flypast by a Lancaster
, Spitfire
and Hurricane
. The event was attended by Richard Todd
and Les Munro
, the only pilot from the original raid still living, as well as Mary Stopes-Roe, the elder daughter of Sir Barnes Wallis
.
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
starring Michael Redgrave
Michael Redgrave
Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave, CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.-Youth and education:...
and Richard Todd
Richard Todd
Richard Todd OBE was an Irish-born British stage and film actor and soldier.-Early life:Richard Todd was born as Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd in Dublin, Ireland. His father, Andrew William Palethorpe Todd, was an Irish physician and an international Irish rugby player who gained three caps for...
and directed by Michael Anderson
Michael Anderson (director)
Michael Joseph Anderson, Sr. is an English film director, best known for directing The Dam Busters , Around the World in 80 Days and Logan's Run .-Early life:...
. The film recreates the true story of Operation Chastise
Operation Chastise
Operation Chastise was an attack on German dams carried out on 16–17 May 1943 by Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, subsequently known as the "Dambusters", using a specially developed "bouncing bomb" invented and developed by Barnes Wallis...
when in 1943 the RAF's
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
617 Squadron
No. 617 Squadron RAF
No. 617 Squadron is a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland. It currently operates the Tornado GR4 in the ground attack and reconnaissance role...
attacked the Möhne
Möhne
The Möhne is a small-size river in western Germany , right tributary of the Ruhr. The Möhne passes the towns of Brilon, Rüthen, Warstein. There is large articifical lake near the mouth of the river, the Möhne Reservoir, used for hydro power generation and leisure activities....
, Eder
Eder
The Eder is a 177 km long river in Germany, and a tributary of the Fulda River. It was first mentioned by the Roman historian Tacitus as the Adrana in the territory of the Chatti....
and Sorpe
Sorpe
The Sorpe Dam is a dam near the small town of Sundern in the German district of Hochsauerland in North Rhine-Westphalia.Like the Biggesee, the Möhne Reservoir and the Verse reservoir, the Sorpe's reservoir is one of the major artificial lakes of the Sauerland's Ruhrverband reservoir association...
dams in Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
with Wallis's "bouncing bomb
Bouncing bomb
A bouncing bomb is a bomb designed specifically to bounce to a target across water in a calculated manner, in order to avoid obstacles such as torpedo nets, and to allow both the bomb's speed on arrival at the target and the timing of its detonation to be pre-determined...
". The film was based on the books The Dam Busters
The Dam Busters (book)
The Dam Busters is a 1951 book by Paul Brickhill about Royal Air Force Squadron 617, originally commanded by Wing Commander Guy Gibson V.C. during World War II...
(1951) by Paul Brickhill
Paul Brickhill
Paul Chester Jerome Brickhill was an Australian writer, whose World War II books were turned into popular movies.-Biography:...
and Enemy Coast Ahead
Enemy Coast Ahead
Enemy Coast Ahead is an autobiographical book recounting the World War II flying career of Wing Commander Guy Gibson VC, DSO, DFC. It covers his time in Bomber Command from the very earliest days of war in 1939 through to 1943....
(1946) by Guy Gibson.
Plot
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
's dams in the hope of crippling German heavy industry
Heavy industry
Heavy industry does not have a single fixed meaning as compared to light industry. It can mean production of products which are either heavy in weight or in the processes leading to their production. In general, it is a popular term used within the name of many Japanese and Korean firms, meaning...
. Working for the Ministry of Aircraft Production
Minister of Aircraft Production
The Minister of Aircraft Production was the British government position in charge of the Ministry of Aircraft Production, one of the specialised supply ministries set up by the British Government during World War II...
, as well as doing his own job at Vickers, he works feverishly to make practical his theory of a bouncing bomb
Bouncing bomb
A bouncing bomb is a bomb designed specifically to bounce to a target across water in a calculated manner, in order to avoid obstacles such as torpedo nets, and to allow both the bomb's speed on arrival at the target and the timing of its detonation to be pre-determined...
which would skip over the water to avoid protective torpedo nets
Torpedo nets
Torpedo nets were a passive naval warship defensive device against torpedoes. Their use was common practice from the 1890s through World War II...
. When it came into contact with the dam, it would sink before exploding, making it much more destructive. Wallis calculates that the aircraft will have to fly extremely low (150 feet) to enable the bombs to skip over the water correctly, but when he takes his conclusions to the Ministry he is told that lack of production capacity means they cannot go ahead with his proposals.
Angry and frustrated, Wallis secures an interview with Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris (played by Basil Sydney
Basil Sydney
Basil Sydney was an English actor who made over fifty screen appearances, most memorably as Claudius in Laurence Olivier's 1948 film of Hamlet. He also appeared in classic films like Treasure Island , Ivanhoe and Around the World in Eighty Days , but the focus of his career was the legitimate...
), the head of RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
, who at first is reluctant to take the idea seriously. But he is eventually convinced and takes the idea to the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, who authorises the project.
The second part of the film involves Bomber Command forming a special squadron of Lancaster
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
bombers, 617 Squadron, to be commanded by Wing Commander Guy Gibson. He recruits experienced crews, especially those with low-altitude flight experience. While they train for the mission, Wallis continues his development of the bomb but has problems, such as the bomb breaking apart upon hitting the water. This requires the drop altitude to be reduced to 60 feet. With only a few weeks to go, he succeeds in fixing the problems and the mission can go ahead.
The bombers attack the dams. Several Lancasters and their crews are lost, but the overall mission succeeds and two dams are breached. The film's reflective last minutes convey the poignant mix of emotions felt by the characters – triumph over striking a successful blow against the enemy's industrial base is greatly tempered by the sobering knowledge that many died in the process of delivering it.
Cast
- Richard ToddRichard ToddRichard Todd OBE was an Irish-born British stage and film actor and soldier.-Early life:Richard Todd was born as Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd in Dublin, Ireland. His father, Andrew William Palethorpe Todd, was an Irish physician and an international Irish rugby player who gained three caps for...
as Wing Commander Guy GibsonGuy GibsonWing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson VC, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, RAF , was the first CO of the Royal Air Force's 617 Squadron, which he led in the "Dam Busters" raid in 1943, resulting in the destruction of two large dams in the Ruhr area... - Michael RedgraveMichael RedgraveSir Michael Scudamore Redgrave, CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.-Youth and education:...
as Dr. Barnes WallisBarnes WallisSir Barnes Neville Wallis, CBE FRS, RDI, FRAeS , was an English scientist, engineer and inventor. He is best known for inventing the bouncing bomb used by the RAF in Operation Chastise to attack the dams of the Ruhr Valley during World War II... - Ursula JeansUrsula JeansUrsula Jean McMinn was a British actress on film, stage, and television.Ursula Jeans was born in Shimla, British India, to British parents, and brought up and educated in London. She was the youngest of three siblings...
as Mrs. Molly Wallis - Basil SydneyBasil SydneyBasil Sydney was an English actor who made over fifty screen appearances, most memorably as Claudius in Laurence Olivier's 1948 film of Hamlet. He also appeared in classic films like Treasure Island , Ivanhoe and Around the World in Eighty Days , but the focus of his career was the legitimate...
as Sir Arthur HarrisSir Arthur Harris, 1st BaronetMarshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Travers Harris, 1st Baronet GCB OBE AFC , commonly known as "Bomber" Harris by the press, and often within the RAF as "Butcher" Harris, was Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of RAF Bomber Command during the latter half of World War... - Patrick BarrPatrick BarrPatrick David Barr was a British film and television actor.Born in Akola, India, Patrick Barr went from stage to screen with The Merry Men of Sherwood . He spent the 1930s playing various beneficent authority figures and "reliable friend" types...
as Captain Joseph "Mutt" SummersJoseph SummersCaptain Joseph "Mutt" Summers, CBE , was chief test pilot at Vickers-Armstrongs and Supermarine.During his career Summers flew numerous prototype aircraft , from the Supermarine Spitfire, to the Vickers Valiant... - Ernest ClarkErnest ClarkErnest Clark was a British actor of stage, television and film.-Early life:Clark was the son of a master builder in Maida Vale, and was educated nearby at St Marylebone Grammar School. After leaving school he became a reporter on a local newspaper in Croydon...
as Honorable Ralph CochraneRalph CochraneAir Chief Marshal Sir Ralph Alexander Cochrane, GBE, KCB, AFC, RAF was a British pilot and Royal Air Force officer, perhaps best known for his role in Operation Chastise, the famous "Dambusters" raid.... - Peter ArnePeter ArnePeter Arne was a British character actor best known for various performances in British film and television, including supporting roles in the television series The Avengers, Danger Man, as well as villains in Blake Edwards' Pink Panther series, in a career that spanned 40 years...
(uncredited) as Staff Officer (Flt/Lt) to Air-Vice Marshal Cochrane - Derek FarrDerek FarrDerrick Capel Farr was a British actor who appeared regularly in British films and television from 1938 until his death in 1986....
as Group Captain J.N.H. WhitworthJohn WhitworthAir Commodore John Nicholas Haworth Whitworth CB, DSO, DFC and Bar, RAF was a Royal Air Force pilot in the 1930s and a commander during and after the Second World War.... - Charles CarsonCharles Carson (actor)-Selected filmography:* The Loves of Ariane * Dreyfus * Many Waters * Marry Me * The Chinese Puzzle * Monsieur Albert * Men of Tomorrow * Leap Year...
as Doctor - Stanley Van Beers as David PyeDavid Randall PyeSir David Randall Pye CB FRS was a British mechanical engineer and academic administrator.Pye was born in Hampstead, London and educated at Tonbridge School and Trinity College, Cambridge.He was appointed CB in 1937;...
- Colin TapleyColin TapleyColin Tapley was a British actor. Born in New Zealand, he served in the Royal Air Force and an expedition to Antarctica before winning a Paramount Pictures talent contest and moving to Hollywood. He acted in several films before returning to Britain during the Second World War as a flight...
as Dr. W.H. GlanvilleWilliam GlanvilleSir William Henry Glanville CB CBE was a British civil engineer. During WWII he and the Road Research Laboratory were involved in important war work, developing temporary runways, beach analysis, and tank and aircraft design... - Raymond HuntleyRaymond HuntleyRaymond Huntley was an English actor who appeared in dozens of British films from the 1930s through to the 1970s...
as National Physical Laboratory Official - Hugh ManningHugh ManningHugh Manning was an English film and television actor. He is best remembered as the Reverend Donald Hinton, in the soap opera Emmerdale, a role he played from 1977 until 1989.-Early life:...
as Ministry of Aircraft Production Official - Laurence NaismithLaurence NaismithLaurence Naismith was an English actor.Naismith appeared in films such as Carrington VC , Richard III , Sink the Bismarck! , Jason and the Argonauts , and Diamonds Are Forever . He also starred in a children's ghost film The Amazing Mr Blunden...
as Farmer - Harold SiddonsHarold SiddonsHarold Siddons was a British film and television actor, appearing in Genevieve, The Dam Busters, Appointment in London, They Who Dare, The Purple Plain, Quatermass and the Pit, A Night To Remember and The Wrong Arm of the Law...
as Group Signals Officer - Harold GoodwinHarold Goodwin (English actor)Harold Goodwin was an English actor born in Wombwell, Yorkshire, England.Goodwin trained at RADA and was a stage actor at Liverpool repertory theatre for 3 years...
as Wing Comdr. Gibson's Batman - Brewster MasonBrewster MasonBrewster Mason was an English stage actor who also made some notable film and television appearances.He was born in Kidsgrove, Staffordshire and made his stage debut at the Finsbury Park Open Air Theatre in 1947. He then appeared on stage in repertory theatre, in London's West End and on Broadway...
as Flight Lieutenant R.D. Trevor-Roper - Tony Doonan as Flight Lieutenant R.E.G. Hutchison
- Nigel Stock as Flying Officer F.M. Spafford
- Brian NissenBrian NissenBrian Nissen was a British actor and television continuity announcer.-Biography:Nissen made an early appearance in Laurence Olivier's film of Shakespeare's Henry V, and made many TV, film and stage appearances, including The Dam Busters , and the television series The New Adventures of Charlie...
as Flight Lieutenant A.T. Taerum - Robert ShawRobert Shaw (actor)Robert Archibald Shaw was an English actor and novelist, remembered for his performances in The Sting , From Russia with Love , A Man for All Seasons , the original The Taking of Pelham One Two Three , Black Sunday , The Deep and Jaws , where he played the shark hunter Quint.-Early life...
as Flight Sergeant J. Pulford - Peter Assinder as Pilot Officer G.A. Deering
- Richard LeechRichard LeechRichard Leech , born Richard Leeper McClelland, was an accomplished actor.Richard Leeper McClelland was born in Dublin, Ireland, son of Isabella Frances and Herbert Saunderson McClelland, a lawyer. He was educated at Haileybury and Trinity College, Dublin...
as Squadron Leader H.M. Young - Richard ThorpRichard ThorpRichard Thorp is an English actor, who appeared in such great British films as The Dambusters and the 1957 film The Barrets of Wimpole Street.. He is best known for playing the part of Alan Turner on ITV soap Emmerdale since 1982. Previous TV roles included Dr...
as Squadron Leader H.E. Maudslay - John FraserJohn Fraser (actor)-External links:* http://www.johnfraser.org/...
as Flight Lieutenant J.V. Hopgood - David Morrell as Flight Lieutenant W. Astell
- Bill KerrBill KerrWilliam 'Bill' Kerr is an Australian film and television actor. He was born into a performing arts family in Cape Town, South Africa, but grew up in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia....
as Flight Lieutenant H.B. "Micky" MartinHarold Brownlow MartinAir Marshal Sir Harold Brownlow Morgan "Micky" Martin, KCB, DSO & Bar, DFC & Two Bars, AFC was an Australian pilot in the Royal Air Force.... - George BakerGeorge Baker (actor)George Baker, MBE was an English actor and writer. He was best-known for portraying Tiberius in I, Claudius, and Inspector Wexford in The Ruth Rendell Mysteries.-Personal life:...
as Flight Lieutenant D.J.H. Maltby - Ronald Wilson as Flight Lieutenant D.J. Shannon
- Denys Graham as Flying Officer L.G. Knight
- Basil Appleby as Flight Lieutenant R.C. Hay
- Tim TurnerTim TurnerNot to be confused with the TV character Timmy Turner of The Fairly OddParents.Tim Turner , was a British actor who performed in the 1950s and 1960s....
as Flight Lieutenant J.F. Leggo - Ewen SolonEwen SolonEwen Solon was a New Zealand-born actor, who worked extensively in both the United Kingdom and Australia....
as Flight Sergeant G.E. Powell
Cast notes:
- Richard ToddRichard ToddRichard Todd OBE was an Irish-born British stage and film actor and soldier.-Early life:Richard Todd was born as Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd in Dublin, Ireland. His father, Andrew William Palethorpe Todd, was an Irish physician and an international Irish rugby player who gained three caps for...
, who plays Guy Penrose Gibson, took part in the airborne assault on Pegasus BridgePegasus BridgePegasus Bridge is a bascule bridge , built in 1934, that crossed the Caen Canal, between Caen and Ouistreham, in Normandy, France....
on D-DayD-DayD-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
. - This was Patrick McGoohanPatrick McGoohanPatrick Joseph McGoohan was an American-born actor, raised in Ireland and England, with an extensive stage and film career, most notably in the 1960s television series Danger Man , and The Prisoner, which he co-created...
's feature film debut, playing a guard posted outside a briefing room where the crews are being told of their mission. His only lines are spoken to Gibson's dog. - This was also one of Robert ShawRobert Shaw (actor)Robert Archibald Shaw was an English actor and novelist, remembered for his performances in The Sting , From Russia with Love , A Man for All Seasons , the original The Taking of Pelham One Two Three , Black Sunday , The Deep and Jaws , where he played the shark hunter Quint.-Early life...
's first films. He plays Flight SergeantFlight SergeantFlight sergeant is a senior non-commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and several other air forces which have adopted all or part of the RAF rank structure...
J. Pulford, DFMDFMDFM is a three letter abbreviation which could mean or stand for:* a pseudonym of Paul Van Dyk* D. F. M. Strauss* Dan for Mayor, a Canadian comedy television series starring Fred Ewanuick* Department of Family Medicine...
, a member of Gibson's crew.
Production
The flight sequences of the film were shot using real Avro LancasterAvro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
bombers supplied by the RAF. The aircraft, four of the final production B.VIIs, had to be taken out of storage and specially modified by removing the mid-upper gun turret
Gun turret
A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...
s to mimic 617 Squadron's special aircraft, and cost £130 per hour to run, which amounted to a tenth of the film's costs. A number of Avro Lincoln bombers were also used as "set dressing." (An American cut was made more dramatic by depicting an aircraft flying into a hill and exploding. This version used stock footage
Stock footage
Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures and file footage are film or video footage that may or may not be custom shot for use in a specific film or television program. Stock footage is of beneficial use to filmmakers as it is sometimes less expensive than shooting new...
from Warner Brothers of a B-17 Flying Fortress, not a Lancaster.)
The Upper Derwent Valley
Upper Derwent Valley
The Upper Derwent Valley is an area of the Peak District National Park in England. It largely lies in Derbyshire, but its north eastern area lies in Sheffield, South Yorkshire...
in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
(the test area for the real raids) doubled as the Ruhr valley for the film. The scene where the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
coast is crossed was filmed between Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston is a town and small port in Lincolnshire, on the east coast of England. It is the largest town of the wider Borough of Boston local government district and had a total population of 55,750 at the 2001 census...
and King's Lynn
King's Lynn
King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....
, and other coastal scenes near Skegness
Skegness
Skegness is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. Located on the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, east of the city of Lincoln it has a total resident population of 18,910....
. Additional aerial footage was shot above Windermere
Windermere (lake)
Windermere is the largest natural lake in England. It is a ribbon lake formed in a glacial trough after the retreat of ice at the start of the current interglacial. It has been one of the country’s most popular places for holidays and summer homes since the arrival of the Kendal and Windermere...
, in the Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
.
While RAF Scampton
RAF Scampton
Royal Air Force Station Scampton is a Royal Air Force station situated north of Lincoln in England, near the village of Scampton, on the site of an old First World War landing field.-First World War:...
, where the real raid launched, was used for some scenes, the principal airfield used for ground location shooting was RAF Hemswell
RAF Hemswell
RAF Hemswell was an airfield used by RAF Bomber Command for 20 years between 1937 and 1957 and saw most of its operational life during World War II. Later used by RAF Fighter Command as a nuclear ballistic missile base during the Cold War it closed to military use in 1967...
, a few miles north and still an operational RAF station at the time of filming. Guy Gibson had been based at Hemswell in his final posting and the airfield had been an operational Avro Lancaster base during the war. At the time filming took place it was then home to No. 109 Squadron
No. 109 Squadron RAF
No. 109 Squadron RAF was an aircraft squadron of the Royal Air Force during World War II. It operated Wellington VIs.-History:The squadron first formed on 1 November 1917 as 109 Squadron Royal Flying Corps at South Carlton in 1917 operating the de Havilland DH.9 until it was disbanded on 19 August...
and No. 139 Squadron RAF
No. 139 Squadron RAF
No. 139 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron that was fighter unit in World War I and a bomber unit from World War II until the 1960s.-Formation and World War I:...
, who were both operating English Electric Canberra
English Electric Canberra
The English Electric Canberra is a first-generation jet-powered light bomber manufactured in large numbers through the 1950s. The Canberra could fly at a higher altitude than any other bomber through the 1950s and set a world altitude record of 70,310 ft in 1957...
s on electronic counter measures and nuclear air sampling missions over hydrogen bomb test sites in the Pacific and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. However, part of the RAF's fleet of ageing Avro Lincolns had been mothballed at Hemswell prior to being broken up and several of these static aircraft appeared in background shots during filming, doubling for additional No 617 Squadron Lancasters. The station headquarters building still stands on what is now an industrial estate and is named Gibson House. The four wartime hangars also still stand, little changed in external appearance since the war.
Serving RAF pilots from both squadrons based at Hemswell took turns flying the Lancasters during filming and found the close formation and low level flying around Derwentwater and Windermere exhilarating and a welcome change from their normal high level solo Canberra sorties.
Three of the four Lancaster bombers used in the film had also appeared in the Dirk Bogarde
Dirk Bogarde
Sir Dirk Bogarde was an English actor and novelist. Initially a matinee idol in such films as Doctor in the House and other Rank Organisation pictures, Bogarde later acted in art-house films such as Death in Venice...
film Appointment in London
Appointment in London
Appointment in London is a 1952 war film starring Dirk Bogarde and set during World War II. The film was directed by Philip Leacock from a screenplay by John Wooldridge and Robert Westerby and based on an original story by Wooldridge...
two years earlier.
Historical accuracy
- Barnes WallisBarnes WallisSir Barnes Neville Wallis, CBE FRS, RDI, FRAeS , was an English scientist, engineer and inventor. He is best known for inventing the bouncing bomb used by the RAF in Operation Chastise to attack the dams of the Ruhr Valley during World War II...
said that he never encountered any opposition from bureaucracy. In the film, when a reticent official asks what he can possibly say to the RAF to persuade them to lend a Vickers WellingtonVickers WellingtonThe Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...
bomber for flight testing the bomb, Wallis suggests: "Well, if you told them that I designed it, do you think that might help?" Barnes Wallis was heavily involved with the design of the Wellington, as it used his geodesic construction method, but he was not the chief designer. - Instead of all of Gibson's tour-expired crew at 106 SquadronNo. 106 Squadron RAFNo. 106 Squadron RAF was a Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force squadron active from 1917 until 1919. It was also operative during World War II and in the post war period until 1963.- Establishment and early service :...
volunteering to follow him to his new command, only his wireless operator, Hutchinson, went with him to 617 Squadron. - Rather than the purpose as well as the method of the raid being Wallis' sole idea, the dams had already been identified as an important target by the Air MinistryAir MinistryThe Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
before the war. - Gibson did not devise the "spotlightSearchlightA searchlight is an apparatus that combines a bright light source with some form of curved reflector or other optics to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direction, usually constructed so that it can be swiveled about.-Military use:The Royal Navy used...
s altimeterAltimeterAn altimeter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level. The measurement of altitude is called altimetry, which is related to the term bathymetry, the measurement of depth underwater.-Pressure altimeter:...
" after visiting a theatre; it was suggested by Benjamin Lockspeiser of the Ministry of Aircraft Production after Gibson requested they solve the problem. It was a proven method used by RAF Coastal CommandRAF Coastal CommandRAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force . Founded in 1936, it was the RAF's premier maritime arm, after the Royal Navy's secondment of the Fleet Air Arm in 1937. Naval aviation was neglected in the inter-war period, 1919–1939, and as a consequence the service did not receive...
aircraft for some time. - The wooden "coat hanger" bomb sight intended to enable crews to release the weapon at the right distance from the target was not wholly successful; some crews used it, but others came up with their own solutions, such as pieces of string in the bomb-aimer's position and/or markings on the blister.
- No bomber flew into a hillside near a target on the actual raid. This scene, which is not in the original version, was included in the copy released on the North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n market (see above). (One bomber did crash near a target after being hit by the blast, and two or more may have crashed due to hitting power lines in the valleys.) - Some of the sequences showing the testing of Upkeep in the film are of MosquitoDe Havilland MosquitoThe de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
fighter-bombers dropping the naval version of the bouncing bomb, code-named "Highball", intended to be used against ships. This version of the weapon was never used operationally. - At the time the film was made, certain aspects of Upkeep were still held classified, so the actual test footage was censored to hide any details of the test bombs, and the dummy bombs carried by the Lancasters were spherical rather than the true cylindrical shape.
- The attack on the Eder dam clearly shows footage of a castle resembling "Schloss Waldeck" on the wrong side of the lake and dam during the attack. The position and angle of the lake in conjunction to the castle in reality obviously proves that the precise bombing-run would have needed a downhill approach to the west of the castle to line-up the aircraft in heading, altitude, speed and distance in time before being able to release the weapon precisely on target.
Continuity errors
- Around 38 minutes into the film, during footage of initial low-flying training, aircraft are clearly carrying the bombs, which were not yet available.
The Dambusters March
The main theme musicTheme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
, the Dambusters March
Dambusters March
The Dambusters March is Eric Coates' theme for the 1955 film The Dam Busters.-Origination:The composer's son Austin Coates recounted in a radio interview for the BBC that the march was not actually written for the film and had in fact been completed a few days before he was contacted by the producers...
by Eric Coates
Eric Coates
Eric Coates was an English composer of light music and a viola player.-Life:Eric was born in Hucknall in Nottinghamshire to William Harrison Coates , a surgeon, and his wife, Mary Jane Gwynne, hailing from Usk in Monmouthshire...
, is for many synonymous with the film, as well as with the exploit itself. As a reminder of British success, it remains a favourite military band
Military band
A military band originally was a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the title of Bandmaster or Director of Music...
item at flypast
Flypast
Flypast is a term used in the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth, and other countries to denote ceremonial or honorific flights by groups of aircraft and, rarely, by a single aircraft...
s and can be heard at football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
games during England matches. One version released featured dialogue extracts from the film's (the bombing run).
Remake
Work on a remake of The Dam Busters, produced by Peter JacksonPeter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
and directed by first time director Christian Rivers
Christian Rivers
Christian Rivers is a New Zealand visual effects art director and filmmaker. He first met Peter Jackson as a 17 year old, and storyboarded all of Jackson's films since Braindead. He also cameos in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King as a Gondorian soldier. He is set to make his...
, began production in 2008. Jackson said in the mid-1990s that he became interested in remaking the 1954 film, but found that the rights had been bought by Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
. In 2004, Jackson was contacted by his agent, who said Gibson had dropped the rights. The rights were purchased by Sir David Frost, from the Brickhill family
Paul Brickhill
Paul Chester Jerome Brickhill was an Australian writer, whose World War II books were turned into popular movies.-Biography:...
in 2005. Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
is writing the script of the film. It will be distributed by Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
and StudioCanal
StudioCanal
StudioCanal is a French-based production and distribution company that owns the third-largest film library in the world...
. Filming was planned to commence in early 2009, on a budget of USD 40 million, although no project-specific filming had begun as of May 2009.
Weta Workshop
Weta Workshop
Weta Workshop is a special effects and prop company based in Miramar, New Zealand, producing effects for television and film.Founded in 1987 by Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger as RT Effects, Weta Workshop has produced creatures and makeup effects for the TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys...
is making the models and special effects for the film and have made 10 life size Lancaster bombers.
The last living pilot of the strike team, Les Munro
Les Munro
Squadron Leader John Leslie Munro CNZM, DSO, QSO, DFC, JP is the last surviving pilot of the Dambusters Raid of May 1943....
, joined the production crew in Masterton as technical adviser. Jackson will also use newly declassified War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
documents to ensure the authenticity of the film.
Influence
The attack on the Death StarDeath Star
The Death Star is a fictional moon-sized space station and superweapon appearing in the Star Wars movies and expanded universe. It is capable of destroying a planet with a single destructive super charged energy beam.-Origin and design:...
in the climax of the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
is heavily influenced by the climactic sequence of The Dam Busters. In the former film rebel pilots have to fly through a trench while evading enemy fire and fire a proton torpedo at a precise distance from the target in order to destroy the entire base with a single explosion; if one run fails another run must be made by a different pilot. In addition to the similarity of the scenes, some of the dialogue is nearly identical in the two films. Star Wars also ends with an Elgarian-style march, like The Dam Busters.
In the 1982 film Pink Floyd The Wall
Pink Floyd The Wall (film)
Pink Floyd—The Wall is a 1982 British live-action/animated musical film directed by Alan Parker based on the 1979 Pink Floyd album The Wall. The screenplay was written by Pink Floyd vocalist and bassist Roger Waters. The film is highly metaphorical and is rich in symbolic imagery and sound...
, scenes from The Dam Busters can be seen and heard playing on a television set several times during the film.
Two television advertisements were made for a brand of beer, Carling Black Label, which played on the theme of The Dam Busters. Both were made before the English football team broke a 35-year losing streak against Germany. The first showed a German guard on top of a dam catching a bouncing bomb as if he were a goalkeeper. The second showed a British tourist throwing a Union Flag
Union Flag
The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...
towel which skipped off the water like a bouncing bomb to reserve a pool-side seat before the German tourists could reserve them with their towels. Both actions were followed by the comment "I bet he drinks Carling Black Label".
In 1999, British television network ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
broadcast a censored version of the film, removing all utterances of "Nigger" (the real name
Nigger (dog)
Nigger was a male black labrador retriever belonging to Wing Commander Guy Gibson, and the mascot of 617 Squadron. Nigger died on 16 May 1943, the day before the famous "Dam Busters" raid, when he was hit by a car. He was buried at midnight as Gibson was leading the raid. "Nigger" was the codeword...
of the unit's mascot, a black labrador). ITV blamed regional broadcaster London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
, which in turn alleged that a junior staff member had been responsible for the unauthorised cuts. When ITV again showed a censored version in June 2001, it was condemned by Index on Censorship
Index on Censorship
Index on Censorship is a campaigning publishing organisation for freedom of expression, which produces an award-winning quarterly magazine of the same name from London. The present chief executive of Index on Censorship, since 2008, is the author, broadcaster and commentator John Kampfner, former...
as "unnecessary and ridiculous" and because the edits introduced continuity errors.
In 2004, the magazine Total Film
Total Film
Total Film is a British film magazine published 13 times a year by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offers film, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews and features...
named The Dam Busters the 43rd greatest British film of all time. Although it has been praised as one of the greatest war films of all time it focuses on the technicalities of destroying the enemy's dams, rather than the enemy himself. The film does not attempt to gloss over the losses sustained amongst the airmen nor the devastation caused by the flooding of the enemy countryside.
The British Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
screened the censored American version in July 2007, in which the dialogue was dubbed so as to call the dog Trigger, this screening taking place just after the planned remake was announced. For the remake, Peter Jackson has said no decision has been made on the dog's name, but is in a "no-win, damned-if-you-do-and-damned-if-you-don't scenario", as changing the name could be seen as too much political correctness
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
, while not changing the name could offend people. Further, executive producer Sir David Frost was quoted in The Independent as stating: "Guy sometimes used to call his dog Nigsy, so I think that's what we will call it. Stephen has been coming up with other names, but this is the one I want." In June 2011, Stephen Fry mentioned in an interview that the dog would be called Digger in the remake to avoid offending modern audiences. In September 2007, as part of the BBC Summer of British Film series, The Dam Busters was shown at selected cinemas across the UK in its uncut format.
On 16 May 2008, a commemoration of the 65th anniversary was held at Derwent Reservoir, including a flypast by a Lancaster
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
, Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
and Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
. The event was attended by Richard Todd
Richard Todd
Richard Todd OBE was an Irish-born British stage and film actor and soldier.-Early life:Richard Todd was born as Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd in Dublin, Ireland. His father, Andrew William Palethorpe Todd, was an Irish physician and an international Irish rugby player who gained three caps for...
and Les Munro
Les Munro
Squadron Leader John Leslie Munro CNZM, DSO, QSO, DFC, JP is the last surviving pilot of the Dambusters Raid of May 1943....
, the only pilot from the original raid still living, as well as Mary Stopes-Roe, the elder daughter of Sir Barnes Wallis
Barnes Wallis
Sir Barnes Neville Wallis, CBE FRS, RDI, FRAeS , was an English scientist, engineer and inventor. He is best known for inventing the bouncing bomb used by the RAF in Operation Chastise to attack the dams of the Ruhr Valley during World War II...
.