Underplayed Gems

An Airman's Letter to His Mother (1941)

An Airman's Letter to His Mother poster
Directed by
Michael Powell
Genre
documentary film, propaganda film
Country
United Kingdom
Runtime
6 min
Rating
6.5 of 10 from 4 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

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How it feels

This short documentary recreates a real letter from a British bomber pilot to his mother during World War II. The film presents the pilot's words as a tribute to the sacrifice and duty of airmen.

solemnpatrioticrestrainedpoignantstirringintimatewartime

What happens

An Airman's Letter to His Mother is a 1941 documentary-style British propaganda short film directed by Michael Powell and narrated by John Gielgud and Powell. It was based on an actual letter from a British bomber pilot to his mother published in The Times in June 1940. Subsequently, the letter was published as a pamphlet and received wide distribution in the UK. "The letter in question had touched a nation's heart and made a popular film subject." (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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