Underplayed Gems

Target for Tonight (1941)

Target for Tonight poster
Directed by
Harry Watt
Genre
documentary film, propaganda film
Country
United Kingdom
Runtime
48 min
Rated
U
Rating
5.9 of 10 from 14 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

This film follows a Wellington bomber crew on a bombing mission over Germany. It shows the cramped conditions inside the plane and some procedures of the ground crew. Though presented as a documentary, it includes scripted dialogue and studio shots.

matter-of-factearneststiltedgrittyconfinedinstructionaldatedpatrioticinterior-focused

What happens

Target for Tonight (or Target for To-Night) is a 1941 British World War II documentary film billed as filmed and acted by the Royal Air Force, all during wartime operations. It was directed by Harry Watt for the Crown Film Unit. The film is about the crew of a Wellington bomber taking part in a bombing mission over Nazi Germany. The film won an honorary Academy Award in 1942 as Best Documentary by the National Board of Review. Despite purporting to be a documentary there are multiple indicators that it is not quite as such: film shots include studio shots taken from the exterior of the aircraft looking into the cockpit whilst "in flight"; several stilted sections of dialogue are clearly scripted; on the ground shots of bombing are done using model trains; and several actors appear, including Gordon Jackson as the young rear gunner. The film does give a unique insight into the confined nature of the Wellington's interior and some of the nuances of day-to-day operation such as ground crew holding a blanket over the engine while it starts, in order to regulate oxygen intake. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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