Underplayed Gems

One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942)

One of Our Aircraft Is Missing poster
Directed by
Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Genre
propaganda film
Country
United Kingdom
Runtime
1h 42m
Rated
NR
Rating
6.6 of 10 from 45 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A British bomber crew is shot down over the German-occupied Netherlands. With the help of friendly Dutch locals, they work together to evade capture and make their way back to England.

upliftingtensedeterminedpatrioticbriskhopefulsuspensefulwarm

What happens

One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (stylised on screen as ......one of our aircraft is missing) is a 1942 British black-and-white war film, mainly set in the German-occupied Netherlands. It was the fourth collaboration between the British writer-director-producer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and the first film they made under the banner of The Archers. Although considered a propaganda film and made under the authority of the Ministry of Information as part of a series of film productions aimed at morale in the United Kingdom, it is elevated by the story and production values above the usual jingoistic fare. Today, One of Our Aircraft Is Missing is considered one of the "best of British films of the era". A reversal of the plot of Powell and Pressburger's previous film, 49th Parallel (1941), One of Our Aircraft Is Missing has the British trying to escape with the help of various locals. In the 49th Parallel, the Germans stranded in Canada argued and fought amongst themselves, while the British fliers in this film work well together as a team. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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