Squadron Leader X
Encyclopedia
Squadron Leader X is a 1943
British World War II spy drama, directed by Lance Comfort
and starring Eric Portman
and Ann Dvorak
. The screenplay was adapted by Miles Malleson
and Wolfgang Wilhelm from a short story by Emeric Pressburger
.
pilot who speaks fluent and accentless English, is instructed by his superiors to drop a cargo of bombs on the Belgian city of Ghent
and then to bale out of his plane wearing a British RAF uniform, gain the confidence of the local populace and then try to convince them that the British are responsible for the bombing of civilian targets in Belgium. The plan goes awry when he falls into the hands of the Belgian Resistance, who believe they are doing him a favour by arranging for him to be smuggled to Britain among a group of downed RAF pilots who are being returned that night.
On arriving in Britain Kohler escapes and makes his way to London where he tries to get in touch with old contacts, only to find that most have been interned on the Isle of Man
. He does however manage to contact British nurse Barbara Lucas (Dvorak), an old flame who once had Nazi sympathies, and takes refuge with the Krohns (Martin Miller
and Beatrice Varley
), a couple who are reluctant Nazi agents due to threats being made of harm to family members in Germany if they fail to co-operate.
Kohler finds himself being hunted both by the British MI5
and by German officials furious at his bungled mission in Belgium. He is traced by Dr. Schultz (Henry Oscar
), a ruthless Gestapo
officer, who accuses him of inefficiency and cowardice. A shoot-out follows and Schultz is killed. Meanwhile MI5 agent Milne (Walter Fitzgerald
) picks up Kohler's trail. Kohler manages narrowly to avoid arrest and steals a Hawker Hurricane
in which to fly back to Germany. Over the English Channel
, he is spotted by German fighters who believe they are engaging a British pilot, and shoot the plane down.
s Lionel Collier naming it "one of the best spy melodramas yet made", and The Cinema declaring: "The air-sequences, made with official Air Ministry
co-operation, are among the most actionful and breath-taking ever screened". The Monthly Film Bulletin
spoke of "a cast that is of the highest order" and summarised the film as "an exciting story, well scripted and produced with tremendous attention to detail".
There is no record of the film ever having been reshown after its original release. The British Film Institute
has been unable to trace a print for inclusion in the BFI National Archive
, and currently classes the film as "missing, believed lost". Squadron Leader X is included on the BFI's "75 Most Wanted
" list of missing British feature films. Due to the seemingly unanimous praise it attracted in its time, and the fact that the 21st century has seen a major increase in interest from film historians in Comfort's directorial career and Squadron Leader X is a vital missing piece of his filmography, the film is named the third "most wanted" of all, behind only The Mountain Eagle
(Alfred Hitchcock
) and Two Crowded Hours
(Michael Powell
).
1943 in film
The year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
British World War II spy drama, directed by Lance Comfort
Lance Comfort
Lance Comfort was an English film director and producer born in Harrow, London.With a career spanning over 25 years he became one of the most prolific film directors in Britain though never gained critical attention and remained on the fringes of the film industry creating mostly B movies.Comfort...
and starring Eric Portman
Eric Portman
Eric Portman was a distinguished English stage and film actor...
and Ann Dvorak
Ann Dvorak
Ann Dvorak was an American film actress.Asked how to pronounce her adopted surname, she told The Literary Digest: "My name is properly pronounced vor'shack. The D remains silent...
. The screenplay was adapted by Miles Malleson
Miles Malleson
William 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...
and Wolfgang Wilhelm from a short story by Emeric Pressburger
Emeric Pressburger
Emeric Pressburger was a Hungarian-British screenwriter, film director, and producer. He is best known for his series of film collaborations with Michael Powell, in a multiple-award-winning partnership known as The Archers and produced a series of classic British films, notably 49th Parallel , The...
.
Plot
Erich Kohler (Portman), a crack LuftwaffeLuftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
pilot who speaks fluent and accentless English, is instructed by his superiors to drop a cargo of bombs on the Belgian city of Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
and then to bale out of his plane wearing a British RAF uniform, gain the confidence of the local populace and then try to convince them that the British are responsible for the bombing of civilian targets in Belgium. The plan goes awry when he falls into the hands of the Belgian Resistance, who believe they are doing him a favour by arranging for him to be smuggled to Britain among a group of downed RAF pilots who are being returned that night.
On arriving in Britain Kohler escapes and makes his way to London where he tries to get in touch with old contacts, only to find that most have been interned on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
. He does however manage to contact British nurse Barbara Lucas (Dvorak), an old flame who once had Nazi sympathies, and takes refuge with the Krohns (Martin Miller
Martin Miller (Czech actor)
Martin Miller, born Rudolph Muller was a Czech character actor who played many small roles in British films and television series from the early 1940s until his death...
and Beatrice Varley
Beatrice Varley
Beatrice Varley was a British actress who appeared in a variety of television and film roles between 1936 and 1964...
), a couple who are reluctant Nazi agents due to threats being made of harm to family members in Germany if they fail to co-operate.
Kohler finds himself being hunted both by the British MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
and by German officials furious at his bungled mission in Belgium. He is traced by Dr. Schultz (Henry Oscar
Henry Oscar
Henry Oscar was an English stage and film actor.Born as Henry Wale, he changed his name and began acting in 1911 and appeared in a wide range of films, including Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much , Fire Over England , The Four Feathers , Hatter's Castle ,...
), a ruthless Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
officer, who accuses him of inefficiency and cowardice. A shoot-out follows and Schultz is killed. Meanwhile MI5 agent Milne (Walter Fitzgerald
Walter Fitzgerald
Walter Fitzgerald was an English character actor.Born Walter Fitzgerald Bond in Keyham, Devon. Married 1st Rosalie Constance Grey in 1924.1s .2nd Angela Kirk in 1938. 3 sons 1 daughter....
) picks up Kohler's trail. Kohler manages narrowly to avoid arrest and steals a Hawker 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...
in which to fly back to Germany. Over the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, he is spotted by German fighters who believe they are engaging a British pilot, and shoot the plane down.
Cast
- Eric PortmanEric PortmanEric Portman was a distinguished English stage and film actor...
as Erich Kohler - Ann DvorakAnn DvorakAnn Dvorak was an American film actress.Asked how to pronounce her adopted surname, she told The Literary Digest: "My name is properly pronounced vor'shack. The D remains silent...
as Barbara Lucas - Walter FitzgeraldWalter FitzgeraldWalter Fitzgerald was an English character actor.Born Walter Fitzgerald Bond in Keyham, Devon. Married 1st Rosalie Constance Grey in 1924.1s .2nd Angela Kirk in 1938. 3 sons 1 daughter....
as Inspector Milne - Martin MillerMartin Miller (Czech actor)Martin Miller, born Rudolph Muller was a Czech character actor who played many small roles in British films and television series from the early 1940s until his death...
as Mr. Krohn - Beatrice VarleyBeatrice VarleyBeatrice Varley was a British actress who appeared in a variety of television and film roles between 1936 and 1964...
as Mrs. Krohn - Henry OscarHenry OscarHenry Oscar was an English stage and film actor.Born as Henry Wale, he changed his name and began acting in 1911 and appeared in a wide range of films, including Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much , Fire Over England , The Four Feathers , Hatter's Castle ,...
as Dr. Schultz - Barry JonesBarry Jones (actor)Barry Jones was an actor seen in British and American films, on American television and on the stage.-Biography:...
as Bruce Fenwick - 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 Marks - Marjorie RhodesMarjorie RhodesMarjorie Rhodes was a British actress.One of her best-known roles was as Lucy Fitton, the mother of Bill Naughton's northern comedy All in Good Time. She played the role on Broadway, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award in 1965...
as Mrs. Agnew - David PeelDavid Peel (actor)David Peel was a British film and television actor.He was born in London on June 19, 1920. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and was a minor player in a few films. In 1960, he was cast in the starring role of Baron Meinster in Hammer Film Productions The Brides of Dracula...
as Michael Bertholt - Aubrey MallalieuAubrey MallalieuAubrey Mallalieu was an English actor with a prolific career in supporting roles in films in the 1930s and 1940s....
as Pierre - Mary MerrallMary MerrallMary Merrall , born Elsie Lloyd, was an English actress whose career of over 60 years encompassed stage, film and television work.-Stage career:...
as Miss Thorndike - Carl JaffeCarl JaffeCarl Jaffe was a German Jewish actor. Jaffe trained on the stage in his native Hamburg, Kassel and Wiesbaden before moving to Berlin, where his career took off....
as Luftwaffe Colonel
Reception and later history
Squadron Leader X was exceptionally well-received by critics on its release, with PicturegoerPicturegoer
Picturegoer was a magazine published in the United Kingdom between 1913 and 1960. Its primary focus was contemporary films and the performers who appeared in them....
s Lionel Collier naming it "one of the best spy melodramas yet made", and The Cinema declaring: "The air-sequences, made with official Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The 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...
co-operation, are among the most actionful and breath-taking ever screened". The Monthly Film Bulletin
Monthly Film Bulletin
The Monthly Film Bulletin was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a narrow arthouse release. The MFB was edited in the mid-1950s by David Robinson, in the late...
spoke of "a cast that is of the highest order" and summarised the film as "an exciting story, well scripted and produced with tremendous attention to detail".
There is no record of the film ever having been reshown after its original release. The British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
has been unable to trace a print for inclusion in the BFI National Archive
BFI National Archive
The BFI National Archive is a department of the British Film Institute, and one of the largest film archives in the world. It was originally set up as the National Film Library in 1935; its first curator was Ernest Lindgren. In 1955 its name became the National Film Archive, and in 1992, the...
, and currently classes the film as "missing, believed lost". Squadron Leader X is included on the BFI's "75 Most Wanted
BFI 75 Most Wanted
The BFI 75 Most Wanted is a list compiled by the British Film Institute of their most sought-after British feature films not currently held in the BFI National Archive, and classified as "missing, believed lost". The films chosen range from quota quickies and B-movies to lavish prestige...
" list of missing British feature films. Due to the seemingly unanimous praise it attracted in its time, and the fact that the 21st century has seen a major increase in interest from film historians in Comfort's directorial career and Squadron Leader X is a vital missing piece of his filmography, the film is named the third "most wanted" of all, behind only The Mountain Eagle
The Mountain Eagle
The Mountain Eagle is a British silent film, and Alfred Hitchcock's second as director following The Pleasure Garden.-Plot:The film is set in Kentucky. J. P. Pettigrew's wife died giving birth to his son Edward who was born a cripple. Pettigrew hates John Fulton who also loved Pettigrew's wife...
(Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
) and Two Crowded Hours
Two Crowded Hours
Two Crowded Hours is a 1931 British comedy drama film directed by Michael Powell. It was made as a Quota quickie and is the first film where Powell is credited as the director.-Plot:...
(Michael Powell
Michael Powell (director)
Michael Latham Powell was a renowned English film director, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger...
).