|
''Appointment in London'' (known as ''Raiders in the Sky'' in the U.S.) is a 1953 British war film set during the Second World War and starring Dirk Bogarde. The film was directed by Philip Leacock and based on a story by John Wooldridge, who as an RAF bomber pilot flew 108 operational sorties over Europe.〔Coldstream 2005, p. 181.〕 Wooldridge, who after the war established himself as a successful film composer before being killed in a car accident in 1958, also wrote the film score and participated in writing the screenplay. ''Appointment in London'' is set in an RAF Bomber Command squadron during 1943 and tells of a wing commander's attempt to finish his third and final tour of 30 operations. A sub-plot involves his relationship with a widowed wren in whom an American observer attached to his base is also interested. ==Plot== Wing Commander Tim Mason (Dirk Bogarde) is nearing the end of his third tour of operations, meaning he has flown nearly 90 missions over Germany. Having twice volunteered to continue operational flying, Mason is keen to make it a round 90 "ops", but just as he is nearing the end of his tour he receives orders banning him from further flying. Meanwhile, losses are mounting and several raids are being seen as failures, so that some of the members of his crews, Brown (Bill Kerr) and "The Brat" Greeno (Bryan Forbes) among them, are thinking that there must be a "jinx" at work. Soon afterwards, "The Brat" is caught sending unauthorised telegrams off the station. These turn out to be written to his wife, Pam (Anne Leon), rather than anything more sinister; however, Mason reprimands Greeno for the lapse in security. A few days later, Greeno's aircraft fails to return from a raid and Mason agrees to meet Pam, who has asked to see him. With only one more flight to go, he accepts that the decision to ground him was for his own good, and he visits Brown's aircraft as Brown and his crew prepare to take off on a mission. As the crew board the Lancaster the large 4,000 lb "cookie" bomb that is part of the bomber's load, slips from the bomb shackles and injures one of the crew. With no time to obtain a replacement crew member, US observer Mac Baker (William Sylvester) takes his place. Mason decides to go as well, to reassure the crew's worries about the jinx, and the bomber takes off. During the attack on the target, the Pathfinder plane directing the raid is shot down, causing the remaining bombers to begin bombing inaccurately. Hearing and seeing this, Mason takes the Pathfinder's place on the radio, broadcasting corrections and accurate instructions, and the bombing becomes accurate again. Listening-in to the Pathfinder's broadcast back in Britain, Mason's commanding officer, Group Captain Logan (Ian Hunter) hears Mason's voice and realises that he's disobeyed orders and flown on the operation. However, Mason's intervention turns the raid from a probable a failure to a success, so on Mason's return Logan greets him at his aircraft. At the end of the mission, Mason, along with Brown and Greeno's wife Pam, take a taxi to Buckingham Palace to receive an award from King George VI. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Appointment in London」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|