If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Fresh and Exciting

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Leslie Howard's last film was one that he starred in, produced, and directed, in England called The First of the Few; in the U.S. called Spitfire. The British title relates to Winston Churchill's words: "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."It is the story of R.J. Mitchell, who designed the Spitfire, a plane which helped win the Battle of Britain.The Spitfire had several advantages. It was difficult to shoot down since the planes flew higher and faster than what the Germans had. Also, it was easy for the Spitfire to refuel since they were on home ground, whereas the Germans had to return to Germany to refuel. In part, it was designed by Mitchell due to his concern that the British military could not stand up to the German military. Mitchell's brilliance was in combining elements that had been invented earlier to make one fabulous plane. He had some false starts, but he ultimately succeeded. In 1931, his design, S.6B, won the Scheider Trophy Competition and started things off. The plane later broke the world speed record.We don't learn too much about Mitchell himself. He was dedicated to his work to the point of exhaustion, so it's doubtful he had a hot social life. Unlike Howard's upper class, even-tempered Mitchell, the real Mitchell was athletic, lower class, and easily angered. Howard made his acting choices deliberately as Mitchell's family spent a lot of time on the set.Howard costars with David Niven as his pilot, who provided some lighter moments. And if you like that sort of thing, there is a lot of aerial footage.Mitchell died of rectal cancer in 1937 at the age of 42, so he didn't see all of his plane's success. Howard died in 1943 on KLM Royal Dutch Airlines/BOAC Flight 777, which was shot down over the Bay of Biscay by the Luftwaffe as the plane flew from Lisbon to the UK. He was 50.This is a strong propaganda film, well acted and well directed. It was filmed at an active fighter station, Ibsley, and the extras were real Battle of Britain fliers, and the film also showed the real people working on the plane.Anyone interested in Mitchell, his son wrote two books: R.J. Mitchell: World Famous Aircraft Designer, and R.J.Mitchell: Schooldays to Spitfire.As an aside, because this was a propaganda film, Niven was released from his MGM contract in exchange for distribution rights. When Samuel Goldwyn saw the film, he realized Niven was in a supporting role and re-edited the movie, cutting 40 minutes.This is a similar story to what happened to Tyrone Power when MGM borrowed him for Marie Antoinette. When Zanuck saw that Power played a supporting role, he never lent him out again, and Power was offered some huge films as in 1939 he moved into the top 10 box office stars. I think Niven was luckier, though he and Goldwyn fought for years.

The menace of Nazi Germany blackens Europe, with Great Britain preparing for Third Reich leader Adolf Hitler's onslaught. Then, we flashback to tell the story of aviator R.J. Mitchell (portrayed by Leslie Howard), as told by his close friend and favorite pilot Geoffrey Crisp (portrayed by David Niven)… Our hero is inspired by flying birds (and Divinity, when you factor in the opening) to design a sleeker airplane. But, more than the birds he watches with wife Rosamund John (as Diana) on the beach, R.J. Mitchell wants, "A bird that breaths fire and spits out death and destruction, a spitfire bird." The resulting "Spitfire" model finally gets off the ground, and will hopefully help defeat the Nazis in the present. But there are some challenges along the way...It's not smooth sailing (or flying) for this choppy propaganda film, either. The presence of Leslie Howard does make it seem classy, though, even if the star doesn't really deviate much from his established persona. Howard produced and directed, also. A World War I veteran, Howard probably would have soldiered up again if he were five or so years younger. Ironically, the popular actor was in a plane shot down by the Nazis in June 1943, making this his last characterization. Howard would direct one more film, "The Gentle Sex" (1943). A casualty of war, Leslie Howard left the film world far too soon.***** The First of the Few/ Spitfire (9/14/42) Leslie Howard ~ Leslie Howard, David Niven, Rosamund John, Roland Culver

Leslie Howard is R. J. Mitchell, the man who. with the help of his friend (David Niven) and the support of his wife (Rosamund John), designed the speedy monoplanes that won the Schneider Trophy in the 1920s and who later designed the superb British fighter, the Spitfire.In a modern biography, Mitchell would have to be beset by inner demons, which he would then have to conquer in order to succeed -- maybe booze, mental illness, satyriasis, or the heartbreak of eczema. But in 1942, the story couldn't be fitted into the usual Procrustean bed.Mitchell's only problem is that he discovers Germany's desire to conquer the known world and works himself to death inventing the airplane that will contribute to the failure of their plans.At one point, his doctor informs him with brutal candor that he either must give up his work and take a long vacation -- at least a year -- or he has only a few months left to live. (Oh, how I wish some doctor had told ME that. Or given me some other set of Aesculapian orders that would be easy to follow -- "Stay in bed for a year and drink plenty of fluids.") But the doctor is barking up the wrong tree. Mitchell's problem is that he has a Calvinist "calling." In designed the Spitfire he is fulfilling God's plan. The first mate of the Pequod, Starbuck, tried to tell Captain Ahab about all this in "Moby Dick." It was one thing to be a zealous whaler. By providing society with whale oil and ambergris they were doing a service to mankind and carrying out God's will, but Ahab's obsession with the White Whale was personal, and therefore blasphemous. No such problem with Mitchell and the Spitfire.And what an airplane Mitchell came up with! Oh, it had its weaknesses, couldn't dive abruptly, but when it came to appearances the Spitfire was more than a match for its adversary, the Bf 109. The thin wings were long, wide, and elliptical, like a bird's soaring. And its sleek nose ended in a bullet-shaped spinner. And it was a beauty to fly, quick and nimble, reluctant to stall out. Unlike many fighters of World War II its design suggested not so much power as elegance and grace.You don't actually get to learn much about the airplane though. You get to learn a lot about R. J. Mitchell, his friends, and his devotion to a cause. It's more of a flag waver than a broad topical study. How could it be otherwise in a 1942 British war movie? Leslie Howard, who looked and acted so English, was of Hungarian ancestry. He had a hand in every department of this film. He directed it himself, and it was his last film effort. His plane was lost over the sea a short time later.The movie must have meant a lot to wartime audiences. It could profitably be shown today in many high school and college classes because today's students tend to be so ahistorical that they get everything mixed up. When Barbara Tuchman ("The Guns of August") gave a guest lecture at a large Midwestern university on the causes of World War I, a student congratulated her for enlightening him. He'd always wondered why the other was called World War II.

'The First of the Few' relates the story of the development of the Supermarine Spitfire by R.J.Mitchell, although as almost anyone who knows anything about the 'Battle of Britain' will tell you, around 70% of the Royal Air Force's front line fighters were Hawker Hurricanes. Slower, but a more stable and resilient gun platform than the Spitfire. In the Battle of Britain (fought in the summer of 1940) the Royal Air Force deployed the Hurricanes against bombers, while the more agile Spitfires engaged their fighter escorts. The Hurricane was designed by Sydney Camm (1893-1966) who designed many post-war jet aircraft including the Hawker Hunter - maybe someone should make a film of his life. An uncle of mine was an ace with 6 kills to his credit, flying a Hurricane from Malta. His aircraft was short down by British anti-aircraft fire on 29-12-1941. No, there's nothing new about friendly fire. William Walton's music also makes a great contribution to the film, and is now rightly (popular as the 'Spitfire Prelude and Fugue')in the concert hall.