They Flew Alone
Encyclopedia
They Flew Alone is a 1942
British
, black-and-white
, biopic, drama
, propaganda
, war film
, directed
by Herbert Wilcox
and starring Anna Neagle
, Robert Newton
and Edward Chapman
. It was produced
by RKO Radio Pictures.
, the British pilot who had gained world attention in the 1930s for her exploits, and who had joined the Air Transport Auxiliary
at the outbreak of the Second World War. It was intended to be both a film honouring Johnson, who had died in 1941, and a propaganda
call to arms at the height of the war years.
1942 in film
The year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...
British
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
, black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
, biopic, drama
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
, propaganda
Propaganda film
The term propaganda can be defined as the ability to produce and spread fertile messages that, once sown, will germinate in large human cultures.” However, in the 20th century, a “new” propaganda emerged, which revolved around political organizations and their need to communicate messages that...
, war film
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...
, directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Herbert Wilcox
Herbert Wilcox
Herbert Sydney Wilcox was a British film producer and director.-Early life:Wilcox's mother was from County Cork, Ireland, but he was born in Norwood and attended school in Brighton...
and starring Anna Neagle
Anna Neagle
Forming a professional alliance with Wilcox, Neagle played her first starring film role in the musical Goodnight Vienna , again with Jack Buchanan. With this film Neagle became an overnight favourite...
, Robert Newton
Robert Newton
Robert Newton was an English stage and film actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the most popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys...
and Edward Chapman
Edward Chapman (actor)
Edward Chapman was an English actor who starred in many films and television programmes, but is chiefly remembered as "Mr. Wilfred Grimsdale", the officious superior and comic foil to Norman Wisdom's character of Pitkin in many of his films from the late 1950s and 1960s.Chapman was born in...
. It was produced
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
by RKO Radio Pictures.
Synopsis
The film chronicled the life of Amy JohnsonAmy Johnson
Amy Johnson CBE, was a pioneering English aviator. Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, Johnson set numerous long-distance records during the 1930s...
, the British pilot who had gained world attention in the 1930s for her exploits, and who had joined the Air Transport Auxiliary
Air Transport Auxiliary
The Air Transport Auxiliary was a British World War II civilian organisation that ferried new, repaired and damaged military aircraft between UK factories, assembly plants, transatlantic delivery points, Maintenance Units , scrap yards, and active service squadrons and airfields—but not to...
at the outbreak of the Second World War. It was intended to be both a film honouring Johnson, who had died in 1941, and a propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
call to arms at the height of the war years.
Cast
- Anna NeagleAnna NeagleForming a professional alliance with Wilcox, Neagle played her first starring film role in the musical Goodnight Vienna , again with Jack Buchanan. With this film Neagle became an overnight favourite...
as Amy JohnsonAmy JohnsonAmy Johnson CBE, was a pioneering English aviator. Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, Johnson set numerous long-distance records during the 1930s... - Robert NewtonRobert NewtonRobert Newton was an English stage and film actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the most popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys...
as Jim Mollison - Edward ChapmanEdward Chapman (actor)Edward Chapman was an English actor who starred in many films and television programmes, but is chiefly remembered as "Mr. Wilfred Grimsdale", the officious superior and comic foil to Norman Wisdom's character of Pitkin in many of his films from the late 1950s and 1960s.Chapman was born in...
as Mr. Johnson - Nora SwinburneNora SwinburneNora Swinburne was a British actress, born Leonora Mary Johnson in Bath, Somerset, daughter of Henry Swinburne Johnson and his wife Leonora Tamar ....
as ATAAir Transport AuxiliaryThe Air Transport Auxiliary was a British World War II civilian organisation that ferried new, repaired and damaged military aircraft between UK factories, assembly plants, transatlantic delivery points, Maintenance Units , scrap yards, and active service squadrons and airfields—but not to...
Commandant - Joan Kemp-Welch as Mrs. Johnson
- Brefni O'RorkeBrefni O'Rorke-Filmography:* The Ghost of St. Michael's * Love on the Dole * This Man Is Dangerous * Jeannie * Cottage to Let * Hatter's Castle * The Black Sheep of Whitehall...
as Mac - 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 Lord WakefieldCharles Wakefield, 1st Viscount WakefieldCharles Cheers Wakefield, 1st Baron Wakefield , was a British businessman.-Early life:Wakefield was born in Liverpool, in 1859, the son of John Wakefield, and his wife Margaret, née Cheers, and was educated at the Liverpool Institute.-Business career:Wakefield patented the Wakefield lubricator for... - Martita HuntMartita HuntMartita Hunt was an English theatre and film actress.-Early life:Hunt was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 30 January 1900 to British parents Alfred and Marta Hunt...
as Miss Bland - Anthony Shaw as Official
- Eliot MakehamEliot MakehamEliot Makeham , sometimes credited as Eliott Makeham or Elliot Makeham, was an English film and television actor.-Early life and education:He was born Harold Elliott Makeham in 1882, in London, England....
as Mayor of Croydon - David HorneDavid Horne (actor)-Biography:British actor and playwright David Horne began his film career in the 1930s, after a distinguished early career in the theatre. He was generally seen portraying pompous, self-satisfied characters...
as Solicitor - Miles MallesonMiles MallesonWilliam Miles Malleson was an English actor and dramatist, particularly known for his appearances in British comedy films of the 1930s to 1960s. Towards the end of his career he also appeared in cameo roles in several Hammer horror films, with a fairly large role in The Brides of Dracula as the...
as Vacuum Salesman - Aubrey MallalieuAubrey MallalieuAubrey Mallalieu was an English actor with a prolific career in supporting roles in films in the 1930s and 1940s....
as Bill, the Barber - Charles VictorCharles VictorCharles Victor was a British actor who appeared in a number of films and television between 1938 and 1965.-Selected filmography:* Return of the Frog * Hell's Cargo * Contraband...
as Postmaster - Hay PetrieHay PetrieHay Petrie , born David Hay Petrie, was a Scottish actor noted for playing eccentric characters, among them Quilp in The Old Curiosity Shop , the McLaggen in The Ghost Goes West and Uncle Pumblechook in Great Expectations .Hay Petrie went to St Andrew’s Academy, Dundee, and St...
as Old General - John SlaterJohn Slater (actor)John Slater was a British character actor usually seen as lugubrious, amiable cockney types.His father was an antiques dealer. After attending St. Clement Danes School, Slater began acting in farce at the Whitehall Theatre. He first appeared on film in 1938, remaining active in the industry up to...
as Officer on Interview Panel - Percy ParsonsPercy ParsonsPercy Parsons was an American-born actor and singer who worked largely in the British film industry.-Selected filmography:* Suspense * Happy Ever After * The Man from Toronto * Red Wagon...
as Man - Cyril SmithCyril Smith (actor)Cyril Bruce Smith was a Scottish actor who began his career as a child in the 1900s and went on to appear in over 100 films between 1914 and his death almost 50 years later.-Career:...
as Radio Operator On 'Aquitania' - George MerrittGeorge Merritt (actor)George Merritt was a British film and television actor.-Selected filmography:* The W Plan * The Lodger * I Was a Spy * Crime on the Hill * The Silver Spoon...
as Reporter - Muriel GeorgeMuriel GeorgeMuriel George was an English singer and film actress. She appeared in some 55 films between 1932 and 1955.She also appeared on the variety stage and sang on radio with her husband, Ernest Butcher for thirty years...
as Kitty, the Housekeeper - Ian FlemingIan Fleming (actor)Ian Fleming was an Australian born character actor with credits in over 100 British movies.He is perhaps best known for playing Dr. Watson in a series of Sherlock Holmes movies of the 1930s opposite Arthur Wontner's Holmes...
as Secretary - William HartnellWilliam HartnellWilliam Henry Hartnell was an English actor. During 1963-66, he was the first actor to play the Doctor in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Early life:...
as Scotty - Arthur HamblingArthur HamblingArthur Hambling was a British actor, he was best known for appearances in the films Henry V and The Lavender Hill Mob .-Selected filmography:* The Scoop * French Leave...
as Policeman - Peter GawthornePeter GawthornePeter Gawthorne was an Irish actor, probably best known for his roles in Will Hay films. Gawthorne was one of Britain's most called-upon bit part actors during the 1940s and 50s....
as RAF Officer - Ronald ShinerRonald ShinerRonald Alfred Shiner was a British stand-up comedian and comedic actor whose career encompassed film, West End theatre and music hall.-Career:...
as Stag Lane, the Mechanic