Michael Redgrave

The Go-Between recounts the secret love affair between a beautiful heiress and a poor tenant farmer, told by the twelve-year-old boy who is hired to be their message bearer.

This musical version of James Hilton's novel concerns shy, withdrawn English schoolteacher Arthur Chipping, who falls for flashy showgirl Katherine Bridges while teaching at Brookfield Boys' School outside London in the 1920's. Arthur Chipping (Peter O'Toole) is an academic teaching at Brookfield Boys' School outside of London in the 1920's. Although he does what he considers best for his students, they don't much like him, nicknaming him "Ditchy", short for "dull as ditch water". His life changes when he meets Katherine Bridges (Petula Clark), a music-hall actress with a questionable past. She affectionately calls him Mr. Chips. Despite their differences they fall in love. He realizes that their relationship will have many obstacles to overcome. He doesn't particularly like the world she's part of, including her friends and profession, and she doesn't exactly fit the mold of a teacher's wife. They decide to get married and she foregoes her career to be Mrs. Chips, living on campus at the wife of a teacher at a proper boys' school. She needs to learn the rules, or at least bend them to her sensibilities, although she vows to never embarrass him. Katherine's arrival at Brookfield might change Chips' standing at the school. Further changes ensue for the Chips and Brookfield with the onset of World War II. —Huggo

The film opens during the Battle of France in May 1940, with RAF pilots evacuating a small airfield in advance of the German Blitzkrieg. The pilots, along with British and French military, leave just as German aircraft arrive and execute a heavy strafing attack. RAF Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding (Laurence Olivier), realizing that an imminent invasion of Great Britain will require every available aircraft and airman to counter it, stops additional aircraft being deployed to France so that they are available to defend Britain. The camera looks over of the deserted beaches of Dunkirk while the BBC relays British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's declaration that "what General Weygand called the battle of France is over, the Battle of Britain is about to begin". Albert Kesselring arrives to inspect a large German airfield in captured France. Hundreds of Heinkel bomber aircraft are stationed under his command. Luftwaffe commanders are stunned when the Fuhrer informs them that the British are not their "natural enemy" and delays their attack while attempting a diplomatic settlement. In neutral Switzerland, the German ambassador (Curt Jürgens) officially proposes new peace terms to his British counterpart (Ralph Richardson), stating that continuing to fight the "masters" of Europe is hopeless. The Briton replies that his country will fight on. In England, commanders celebrate their good fortune, using the delay to build up their strength and continually train their pilots and ground controllers. The wait finally ends when Luftwaffe pilots receive orders to move to the front, where troops are preparing for a sea-borne invasion. The campaign begins with the Luftwaffe launching an early morning assault on "Eagle Day". The plan is to destroy the RAF on the ground before they have time to launch their Spitfire and Hurricane fighters. The Luftwaffe is aware of the British radar installations, and plan to attack them with their Stuka dive bombers. The fighter pilots question this, wondering if it is better if the British are warned by radar and come up to fight, where they can be shot down. Eagle Day proves highly successful, knocking two radar stations out of action and heavily bombing a number of the British airfields. British losses are relatively light, but the RAF is in the process of building its strength, and many of the pilots who lack combat experience are shot down. The airfields are heavily damaged, with many aircraft destroyed on the ground, and their ability to repair and rearm seriously affected. Adding to the RAF's problems is a battle between the commanding officers of 11 Group, Keith Park (Trevor Howard), and 12 Group, Trafford Leigh-Mallory (Patrick Wymark). 12 Group is tasked with protecting 11 Group's airfields while 11 Group meets the enemy, but in raid after raid 12 Group aircraft are nowhere to be seen. Called to meet Dowding, Leigh-Mallory explains that the "Big Wing" tactic takes time for form up, while Park complains that the tactic simply isn't working. Dowding ends the debate by pointing out it makes little difference; the problem is not the tactics but a critical shortage of pilots. Dowding wearily remarks, "We're fighting for survival, and losing". The turning point occurs when a squadron of German bombers becomes lost in bad weather at night and drops bombs on London. In retaliation, the RAF launches an attack on Berlin. Though the damage is negligible, Adolf Hitler is enraged, and publicly orders London to be razed. Hermann Goring (Hein Riess) arrives in France to personally lead the attack, confident that the end of the battle nears. Their first attack skirts the RAF, who are still defending their airfields to the south, and they bomb unopposed. Nighttime attacks follow, and London burns. Meanwhile, to supplement Commonwealth forces, the RAF has been forming units of foreign pilots who have escaped German-occupied countries; the main difficulty is their lack of English-language skills. While on a training flight, a Free Polish squadron accidentally runs into a flight of German bombers without escort. Ignoring the commands of their British training officer, they peel off one by one and shoot down several of the bombers. Park rewards them by elevating them to operational status, leading Dowding to do the same for the Canadian and Czech squadrons as well. While discussing the day's events, Park and Dowding examine the German switch to London. Given a respite, Park notes that he will be able repair his airfields and bring his squadrons back to full strength. Dowding adds that 12 Group units north of London are now all within range, while enemy fighters are at the extreme edge of their own range. He concludes that "turning on London could be the German's biggest blunder." The next German daytime raid is met by a massive response; watching his formations build up in 11 Group's operations room, Wing Commander Willoughby (Robert Flemyng) wryly states "this should give them something to think about." RAF fighters are arranged into large groups and attack with all force, overwhelming the Germans and breaking up their raid. Goring is incensed, ordering his fighters remain with the bombers, an order the pilots hate. Losses continue to mount on both sides. The climactic air battle of 15 September 1940 arrives, with Winston Churchill in attendance at 11 Group's operations room. In the underground bunker, British ground control personnel order every squadron into the air to meet the massive attack. Intense combat over the London sky follows, with both sides taking heavy losses. The outcome is so confused that Dowding refuses to pass comment on the events. The next day the RAF anxiously await a raid that never comes. Two German anti-aircraft gunners, who had earlier protected a French port teeming with Kriegsmarine vessels and landing barges, now observe a deserted harbor basin. Goring leaves the front, accusing his commanders of betrayal. As the campaign draws to a close, the words of Winston Churchill appear onscreen: "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.

In early 1942, aeronautical engineer Barnes Wallis (Michael Redgrave) (assistant chief designer, Aviation Section, Vickers-Armstrong Ltd) is struggling to develop a means of attacking Germany's dams in the hope of crippling German heavy industry. It takes Germans 100 tons of water to produce 1 ton of steel. and the entire industrial area of Ruhr depends on 3 dams for its water supply. These 3 dams alone hold 400 million tons of water. Barnes lives with his wife Mrs Molly Wallis (Ursula Jeans) and kids. Barnes is working late nights trying to develop his solution and this worries Molly. Barnes initial plan was to drop a 10-ton bomb into the dam from 40,000 ft, but there was no plane large enough to carry such a bomb. The trick is to get the bomb right next to the dam wall, as any distance between the bomb and dam creates a cushion of water that absorbs the shock wave of the bomb completely. Working for the Ministry of Aircraft Production, as well as his own job at Vickers, he works feverishly (over many months) to make practical his theory of a bouncing bomb which would skip over the water to avoid protective torpedo nets. When it hit the dam, backspin would make it sink whilst retaining contact with the wall, making the explosion far more destructive. Wallis calculates that the aircraft will have to fly extremely low (150 feet (46 m) & 250 mph) 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 (Factory space, raw materials as well as skilled labor to produce bombs of a completely new design) means they cannot go ahead with his proposals. Barnes is able to get a few dummy bombs made and tests them with Captain Joseph "Mutt" Summers (Patrick Barr), Chief Test Pilot, Vickers-Armstrong Ltd. They prove the concept, but the ministry says production of full-scale bombs is impossible. Angry and frustrated, Wallis secures an interview with Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris (Basil Sydney), Air Chief Marshal GOC-in-C, the head of RAF Bomber Command, who at first is reluctant to take the idea seriously. Eventually, however, he is convinced and takes the idea to the Prime Minister, who authorizes the project. The attack has to happen in May, when the water level is the highest in the dams. That leaves only 2 months to prepare the bombs and train a squadron. Bomber Command led by Air Vice-Marshal Ralph Cochrane (Ernest Clark), AOC, No. 5 Group RAF forms a special squadron of Lancaster bombers, 617 Squadron, to be commanded by Wing Commander Guy Gibson (Richard Todd) (CO of 617 Squadron and pilot of "George"), and tasked to fly the mission. He recruits experienced crews, especially those with low-altitude flight experience. The squad is hosted by Group Captain John Whitworth (Derek Farr), station commander, RAF Scampton. Flight Lieutenant Richard Trevor-Roper (Brewster Mason), rear gunner of "George", Flight Lieutenant Robert Hutchison (Anthony Doonan), wireless operator of "George", Flying Officer Frederick Spafford (Nigel Stock), bomb aiming specialist of "George", Flight Lieutenant Torger Taerum (Brian Nissen), navigator of "George", Flight Sergeant John Pulford (Robert Shaw), flight engineer of "George", Pilot Officer Andrew Deering (Peter Assinder), front gunner of "George". Squadron Leader Melvin "Dinghy" Young (Richard Leech), pilot of "Apple". Squadron Leader Henry Maudslay (Richard Thorp), pilot of "Zebra". Flying Officer Les Knight (Denys Graham), pilot of "Nancy". Flight Lieutenant John Hopgood (John Fraser), pilot of "Mother". Flight Lieutenant Bill Astell (David Morrell), pilot of "Baker". Flight Lieutenant Dave Shannon (Ronald Wilson), pilot of "Leather". Flight Lieutenant David Maltby (George Baker), pilot of "Johnny". Flight Lieutenant H. B. "Micky" Martin (Bill Kerr), pilot of "Popsie", Flight Lieutenant Bob Hay (Basil Appleby), bomb aiming specialist of "Popsie" & Flight Lieutenant Jack Leggo (Tim Turner), navigator of "Popsie" Gibson gets 10 bombers to start training his crews. They practice low level flying and photograph all the big lakes of Britain in the process. Maintaining 150 ft is impossible as at that height the altimeters of the planes don't work. Over still water at night, it is near impossible to get a good sense of the height. Gibson has the idea to use to converging beams of light, that converge at precisely 150 ft to get over their height issue. 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 (18 m). With only a few weeks to go, he succeeds in fixing the problems and the mission can go ahead. The squad has flown for 2000 hours and dropped 2000 practice bombs to get their aims and timing right. The bombers attack the dams. Gibson makes 3 teams. 1st team of 9 planes to attacks Mohne and Eder. 2nd team of 5 planes to attack Sorpe. 3rd team of 5 planes as mobile replacements. It is a full moon night, so normal ops are out, and they are the only ones flying. The crews have their meals and prepare for the mission just like any other normal day. Eight Lancasters and their crews are lost, but two dams are breached, and the overall mission succeeds. The first attack on Mohne by 3 planes is unsuccessful, and 1 plane is shot down. the 5th bomb on Mohne produces a breach and the 1st team moves on to Eder. There are only 4 bombs left for Eder. But the dam has a difficult approach, and a mountain right up front. The planes can't get the height right and one plane flies into the mountain. The last bomb on Eder breaks it. Wallis later encounters Gibson, clearly affected by the loss of the crewmen, but Gibson stresses the squadron knew what they were facing but they went in regardless of the odds. Before they part Wallis asks if Gibson will finally get some sleep. Gibson says he cannot; he has to write letters to the dead airmen's next of kin.

An architect, visiting an English country house, realizes the other guests are familiar from his recurring nightmare. When they share their tales of the supernatural, he is filled with a growing dread. Architect Walter Craig (Mervyn Johns), seeking the possibility of some work at a country farmhouse, soon finds himself once again stuck in his recurring nightmare. Dreading the end of the dream that he knows is coming, he must first listen to all the assembled guests' own bizarre tales. —Doug Sederberg <vornoff@sonic.net> Walter Craig (Mervyn Johns), an architect, is summoned down to a house called Pilgrim's Farm by a prospective client whom he does not know. On arrival, he experiences strongly the feeling that he has been to the place before. He is taken into the house and introduced by his host to a group of people. These also are familiar, though none of them appear to know him. After somewhat constrained greetings, he tells them that he has met them all, and the house, and the situation is a recurring dream. He explains how this dream always starts quietly and pleasantly, at the present moment, but after a certain small incident invariably begins to darken into a ghastly nightmare, culminating in horror, a horror of his own creation, from which he wakes up sweating with fear. He never remembers his dream for more than a few moments after waking, until the next time it occurs. He then describes the incident which will mark the turning point of his dream, the breaking of a pair of glasses belonging to one of the party, a psychiatrist. Increasingly fascinated, the party one by one reveal that each has at some time undergone an "inexplicable" experience. The narration of these make up the body of the movie. Architect Walter Craig (Mervyn Johns) drives to a farmhouse in the countryside of London and he is welcomed by the owner, Eliot Foley (Roland Culver). Foley introduces him to psychiatrist Dr. Van Straaten (Frederick Valk), his friend Joan Cortland (Googie Withers), his young neighbor Sally O'Hara (Sally Ann Howes), and race car driver Hugh Grainger (Anthony Baird). Craig says that he has the sensation of déjà vu since he had had a nightmare with them in that house, but one lady is missing. However, Mrs. Foley (Mary Merrall) arrives, completing the characters of his dream. The skeptical Dr. Van Straaten does not believe in the supernatural, but the guests describe supernatural events that they have lived. Grainger had a car accident and then a premonition that saved his life; Sally had met a ghost during Christmas; Eliot and his wife had lived an evil experience with a haunted mirror; two golfers loved the same woman and decide to win her in a game, but one of them dies and haunts the other; and Dr. Van Straaten tells the story of a ventriloquist with double personality that is dominated by his dummy. But when Dr. Van Straaten accidentally breaks his glasses and the power goes out, the nightmare continues. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Architect Walter Craig has just arrived at Pilgrim's Farm in the Kent countryside for the weekend on the invitation of its owner, Eliot Foley, who, on reputation, wants to hire him for a renovation, Craig never having met Foley until this moment with everything up to this point having been conducted over the telephone. But for Craig, it is all a case of déjà vu as he not only has seen Foley before, but also the farmhouse, and the other guests at the farm: Foley's mother, Hugh Grainger, Sally O'Hara, Joan Cortland, and Dr. Van Straaten. He has seen them all together like they are now in this very living room in a recurring dream, he even aware that there will be a late arrival of a dark-haired young woman, which is indeed the case. But he remembers little beyond this scant outline as the dream is always a fleeting thought after he awakens until he dreams it again. For some understanding of what is happening, Craig turns primarily to Van Straaten, who he is aware from his dream is a psychiatrist before Van Straaten divulges it himself. Because of the supernatural nature of the situation and wanting the doctor's take, Grainger, O'Hara and Cortland go on to tell stories in which they were directly involved which had a similar supernatural element of an evil and/or deathly nature, that death sometimes for they themselves. Even before Foley and Van Straaten proceed to tell similar stories of their own of which they were peripherally involved, Craig believes that danger awaits him if he stays. Van Straaten is able to convince him to face his fears for reality to play out, dream or no dream, instead of running away. Will Craig live to see the answers if they indeed are forthcoming? —Huggo