The Dam Busters
1954 British quad movie poster
Directed by	Michael Anderson
Written by	R. C. Sherriff Paul Brickhill (book The Dam Busters) Guy Gibson (book Enemy Coast Ahead)
Starring	Richard Todd Michael Redgrave Ursula Jeans Basil Sydney Patrick Barr Ernest Clark Derek Farr Harold Goodwin
Music by	Eric Coates Leighton Lucas
Cinematography	Erwin Hillier
Editing by	Richard Best
Distributed by	Pathé
Release date(s)	1954
Running time	124 min.
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Dam Busters is a 1954 British war film, set during the Second World War, and documenting the true story of the RAF's 617 Squadron, the development of the "bouncing bomb", and Operation Chastise - the attack on the Ruhr dams in Germany. It stars Michael Redgrave as Barnes Wallis, and Richard Todd as Wing Commander Guy Gibson. The movie was based on the books The Dam Busters by Paul Brickhill and Enemy Coast Ahead by Guy Gibson. It was re-mastered and re-released in September 2007 in the UK^[1]. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Michael Joseph Anderson (30 January 1920 - 18 July 2006) was a British film director. ... Robert Cedric Sherriff (6 June 1896 – 13 November 1975) was an English writer. ... Paul Chester Jerome Brickhill (December 20, 1916 – April 23, 1991) was an Australian writer, whose World War II books were turned into popular movies. ... The Dam Buster is a 1951 book by Paul Brickhill about Operation Chastise a mission by the British Royal Air Force to destroy German dams during World War II. ... Photo from 617 Squadron The dambusters Photo submitted by Roger Shenton - (taken by John Kramer) Photo of the Dambusters Memorial at Woodhall Spa. ... Enemy Coast Ahead is the title of the book written by Wing Commander Guy Gibson V.C.. One of the most recognized and popular books ever to come out of World War Two, it is the story of Gibsons wartime career in the Royal Air Force which ends in... Richard Todd (born June 11, 1919) is a British actor. ... Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (March 20, 1908—March 21, 1985) was an English actor of great renown. ... Ursula Jeans (May 5, 1906–April 21, 1973) was a British actress on film, stage, and television. ... Basil Sydney was a British actor who made over fifty screen appearances. ... Patrick Barr (born February 13, 1908—August 29, 1985) was a British actor born in India. ... Earnest Clark (born February 12, 1912 in London, England - died November 11, 1994 in Somerset, England) was a British actor who was an accomplished actor of stage, television and film. ... Harold Goodwin (October 22, 1917 - June 3, 2004) was a British actor born in Wombwell, Yorkshire, England. ... Eric Coates (August 27, 1886 – December 21, 1957) was an English composer of light music and a viola player. ... Erwin Hillier (September 2, 1911 – January 10, 2005) was German-born cinematographer known for his work in Britain cinema from the 1940s to 1960s. ... Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The war film is a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... “RAF” redirects here. ... For the video game see The Dam Busters (video game) No. ... The bouncing bomb was a kind of bomb designed by Barnes Wallis of Vickers-Armstrong at Brooklands, Surrey. ... Combatants No. ... For the conurbation see Ruhr Area. ... Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (March 20, 1908—March 21, 1985) was an English actor of great renown. ... Sir Barnes Neville Wallis, Kt, CBE, FRS, RDI, commonly known as Barnes Wallis, (26 September 1887 – 30 October 1979) was an English scientist, engineer and inventor. ... Richard Todd (born June 11, 1919) is a British actor. ... A Wing Commanders sleeve/shoulder insignia A Wing Commanders command flag Wing Commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. ... Photo from 617 Squadron The dambusters Photo submitted by Roger Shenton - (taken by John Kramer) Photo of the Dambusters Memorial at Woodhall Spa. ... The Dam Buster is a 1951 book by Paul Brickhill about Operation Chastise a mission by the British Royal Air Force to destroy German dams during World War II. ... Paul Chester Jerome Brickhill (December 20, 1916 – April 23, 1991) was an Australian writer, whose World War II books were turned into popular movies. ... Enemy Coast Ahead is the title of the book written by Wing Commander Guy Gibson V.C.. One of the most recognized and popular books ever to come out of World War Two, it is the story of Gibsons wartime career in the Royal Air Force which ends in...

The plot

The film falls into two distinct halves. First, Wallis struggles to develop a means of attacking Germany's dams, in the hope of crippling German heavy industry. Working for the Ministry of Aircraft Production, as well as doing his own job at Vickers, he works feverishly to make practical his theory of a bouncing bomb which would skip over the water to avoid protective torpedo nets. When it came into contact with the dam, it would sink before exploding, making it much more destructive. Wallis calculates that the aircraft will have to fly extremely low (60 feet) in order for the bombs to skip over the water correctly. But when he takes his conclusions to the Ministry, he is told that lack of production capacity means they cannot go ahead with his proposals. Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 2004. ... The bouncing bomb was a kind of bomb designed by Barnes Wallis of Vickers-Armstrong at Brooklands, Surrey. ... The torpedo, historically called a locomotive torpedo, is a self-propelled explosive projectile weapon, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater toward a target, and designed to detonate on contact or in proximity to a target. ...

Angry and frustrated, Wallis secures an interview with Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris (played by Basil Sydney), the head of Bomber Command, who at first is reluctant to take the idea seriously. But he is eventually convinced and takes the idea to the Prime Minister, who authorises the project. Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Travers Harris, 1st Baronet GCB OBE AFC RAF (April 13, 1892 - April 5, 1984), commonly known as Bomber Harris by the press, and often within the RAF as Butcher Harris[1], was commander of RAF Bomber Command and later a Marshal of... Basil Sydney was a British actor who made over fifty screen appearances. ... Bomber Command is an organizational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. ...

Bomber Command forms a special squadron of Lancaster bombers - 617 Squadron - to be commanded by Wing Commander Guy Gibson. He recruits experienced crews, especially those with low-altitude-flight experience. Whilst they train for the mission, Wallis continues his development of the bomb, but experiences problems. With only a few weeks to go, he succeeds in fixing them and the mission can go ahead. For the video game see The Dam Busters (video game) No. ... Photo from 617 Squadron The dambusters Photo submitted by Roger Shenton - (taken by John Kramer) Photo of the Dambusters Memorial at Woodhall Spa. ...

The bombers attack the dams. Several Lancasters and their crews are lost, but the overall mission succeeds and two dams are breached.

Filming

The flight sequences of the movie were filmed using real Avro Lancaster bombers supplied by the RAF. The aircraft, four of the final production B.VIIs, had to be taken out of storage and specially modified, and cost £130 per hour to run, which amounted to a tenth of the film's costs. A number of Avro Lincoln bombers were also reputedly utilised as "set dressing."^[2](An American cut was made more dramatic by depicting a plane flying into a hill and exploding. This version used stock Warner Brothers footage of a B-17 Flying Fortress as opposed to a Lancaster.) The Avro Lancaster was a British four-engine Second World War bomber aircraft made initially by Avro for the British Royal Air Force (RAF). ... Warner Bros. ... The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engine heavy bomber aircraft developed for the US Army Air Corps (USAAC). ...

The Upper Derwent Valley in Derbyshire, England (the actual test area for the real raids) doubled as the Ruhr valley for the film. The scene where the Dutch coast is crossed was filmed between Boston, Lincolnshire and King's Lynn, and other coastal scenes near Skegness. Some more of the film was shot over Windermere, in the Lake District. The airfield used was RAF Hemswell, a few miles north of RAF Scampton. Hemswell was operational during the war, but not when filming took place. The Upper Derwent Valley is an area of the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire, England. ... Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... For the conurbation see Ruhr Area. ... , Boston is a town and small port in Lincolnshire, UK, on the east coast of England. ... Kings Lynn is a town and port in the English county of Norfolk. ... , Skegness is a seaside town and civil parish within the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. ... Windermere from the north. ... The panorama across Eskdale from Ill Crag. ... RAF Hemswell was an airfield used by RAF Bomber Command for 35 years. ... RAF Scampton is a Royal Air Force station situated north of Lincoln in England. ...

The film is accurate historically with only a few minor exceptions:

• Barnes Wallis said that he never encountered any opposition from bureaucracy.
• Rather than all of Gibson's tour-expired crew at 106 squadron volunteering to follow him to his new command, only his Wireless Operator, Hutchinson, went with him to 617 squadron.
• Crews for the operation were not all highly-decorated and personally selected by Gibson; some crews were simply posted straight in.
• Rather than the purpose as well as the method of the raid being Wallis's sole idea, the dams had already been identified as an important target by the Air Ministry before the War.
• Gibson did not devise the "spotlights altimeter" after visiting a theatre; it was suggested by someone else as a result of previous experience/experiments.
• The wooden "coat hanger" sight intended to enable crews to release the weapon at the right distance from the target was not wholly successful; some crews used it, but others came up with their solutions, such as pieces of string in the bomb-aimers position and/or markings on the blister.
• Gibson's dog was not the victim of a hit-and-run; in fact, the driver and passenger in the car were injured themselves as the former tried to avoid the collision.
• No bomber flew into a hillside near a target on the actual raid.
• The film was made before some of the details about the bombs used in the attack were declassified (in 1962), and thus is somewhat inaccurate about some of the fine points of how the bombs were actually delivered.
• Some of the sequences showing the testing of Upkeep in the film are actually of Mosquito fighter-bombers dropping a later version of the bouncing bomb - code-named Highball - developed to be used against ships. This version of the weapon was never used operationally.

Sir Barnes Neville Wallis, Kt, CBE, FRS, RDI, commonly known as Barnes Wallis, (26 September 1887 – 30 October 1979) was an English scientist, engineer and inventor. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      This article is about the sociological concept. ... The Air Ministry was formerly a department of the United Kingdom Government, established in 1918 with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the (then newly formed) Royal Air Force. ... Spotlight can refer to at least two types of lighting: a searchlight; stage lighting used in theatre to focus an audiences attention on a performer or event. ... Diagram showing the face of a three-pointer sensitive aircraft altimeter displaying altitude in feet. ... Serge Sudeikins poster for the Bat Theatre (1922). ... Hit-and-run is the crime of colliding with a person, their personal property (including their motor vehicle), or a fixture, and failing to stop and identify oneself afterwards. ... The de Havilland Mosquito[1] was a British combat aircraft that excelled in a number of roles during the Second World War. ...

The Dam Busters March

Eric Coates's stirring theme, critically and popularly acclaimed, made a tremendous contribution to the film, achieving iconic status. For many, it is synonymous with the film - indeed, with the exploit itself. The Dam Busters March remains a favourite military band item at flypasts in the UK. Eric Coates (August 27, 1886 – December 21, 1957) was an English composer of light music and a viola player. ... Military Band marching A military band is a group of soldiers assigned to musical duties. ... The Red Arrows and Concorde conclude a special flypast over Buckingham Palace on 4 June, 2002 celebrating the Queens Golden Jubilee. ...

The composer's son Austin Coates recounted in a radio interview for the BBC, that the march was not actually written for the film and had in fact been completed a few days before he was contacted by the producers. The composer had apparently been carrying out an exercise in composing a march in Elgarian form, which is the same structure as the famous Pomp and Circumstance Marches. Austin Coates, (1922 - 1997), was a British writer who lived most of his adult life in Asia. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Coates had a profound dislike of writing film music and turned down numerous requests; he was prevailed upon by the producers, who told him this was "a film of national importance." He was initially inclined to refuse the commission, but on hearing more about the film, came to the conclusion that the piece he had just completed might just be the very thing.

The film score itself was completed by Leighton Lucas.

Influence

The attack on the "Death Star" in the climax of the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope is based on the climactic sequence of The Dam Busters. In the later film rebel pilots have to fly through a trench while evading enemy fire and use a single special weapon at a precise distance from the target in order to destroy the entire base with a single explosion; if one run fails another run must be made by a different pilot. Some scenes from the Star Wars climax are very similar to those in The Dam Busters and some of the dialogue is nearly identical in the two films. These scenes are also heavily influenced by the action scenes from the war film 633 Squadron, which depicts a fictional air raid. Star Wars also ends with an Elgarian-style march, like The Dam Busters. This movie poster for Star Wars depicts many of the films important elements, such as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, X-Wing and Y-Wing fighters Star Wars, retitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in 1981 (see note at Title,) is the original (and in chronological... 633 Squadron 633 Squadron is a World War II film directed by Walter Grauman and produced by Cecil F. Ford for United Artists in 1964 starring Cliff Robertson, George Chakiris and Harry Andrews. ...

The 1982 film The Wall, and the Pink Floyd album upon which it is based, contains scenes from the film, notably that in which Gibson's dog (called "Nigger") is killed by a car just before the planes take off. Pink Floyd The Wall is a 1982 film by British director Alan Parker based on the 1979 Pink Floyd album The Wall. ... Pink Floyd are an English rock band that initially earned recognition for their psychedelic rock music, and, as they evolved, for their progressive rock music. ...

These scenes were cut from ITV's last showing of The Dam Busters after their previous broadcast received complaints for the use of the word nigger. While ITV has been criticised for censoring historical fact, and maligning the impact of a moving cinematic sequence in the process, the edited "politically correct" showing received fewer complaints than the previous un-edited broadcast.^{[citation needed]} Channel 4 also showed a censored version in July 2007, in which the dialogue was dubbed so as to call the dog Trigger. In September 2007, as part of the BBC Summer of British Film series, The Dam Busters was shown at selected cinemas across the UK in its un-cut format. Independent Television (generally known as ITV, but also as ITV Network) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority (ITA) to provide competition to the BBC. ITV is the oldest commercial television network in the UK. Since 1990 and the Broadcasting... The word nigger is a highly controversial term used in many English-speaking countries, including the United States, Canada, Britain, and Australia to refer to individuals with dark skin, especially those of African descent who previously were racially classified by the now outdated term Negro. ... Political correctness is the alteration of language to redress real or alleged injustices and discrimination or to avoid offense. ...

The Dam Busters has been praised as one of the greatest war films of all time, although it focuses on the technicalities of destroying the enemy's dams, rather than the enemy himself (as noted above, the original UK version did not include an exploding plane). Nor does the film gloss over the losses sustained amongst the airmen, or the vast collateral damage caused by the flooding of the enemy countryside. The film's reflective last minutes convey the poignant mix of emotions felt by the characters - triumph over striking a successful blow against the enemy's industrial base is greatly tempered by the sobering knowledge that many died in the process of delivering it.

The music commissioned for the film, "The Dam Busters March", by Eric Coates has also remained popular⁽²⁾. In 2004, the magazine Total Film named The Dam Busters the 43rd greatest British film of all time. Eric Coates (August 27, 1886 – December 21, 1957) was an English composer of light music and a viola player. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Total Film, published by Future Publishing, is the United Kingdoms second best-selling film magazine, after the longer-established Empire from Emap. ...

Production notes

• Richard Todd, who plays Guy Penrose Gibson, took part in the airborne assault on Pegasus Bridge on D-Day.
• The film's theme tune, The Dam Busters' March, by Eric Coates became an instant classic for brass band and can still be heard in football grounds during England Football Team matches. One version released featured dialogue extracts from the movie (the bombing run).
• There were two television advertisements for a brand of beer, Carling Black Label, which played on the theme of The Dam Busters. Both adverts were made before the English football team broke a 35 year losing streak against Germany. The first showed a German guard on top of a dam catching a bouncing bomb as if he were a goalkeeper. The second showed a British tourist throwing a Union Flag towel like a bouncing bomb to reserve a pool side seat before the German tourists could reserve them with their towels. Both actions were followed by the comment "I bet he drinks Carling Black Label".^[3]
• Three of the four Lancaster bombers used in the film had also appeared in the Dirk Bogarde film Appointment in London two years earlier. ^[4]
• This was Patrick McGoohan's feature film debut, playing a guard posted outside a briefing room where the crews are being told of their mission. His only lines are spoken to Gibson's dog.
• This was also one of Robert Shaw's first films. He plays Flight Sergeant J. Pulford, DFM, a member of Gibson's crew.
• Gibson's dog "Nigger" was dubbed into "Trigger" for the US market. The dog used in filming was also called Nigger.

Richard Todd (born June 11, 1919) is a British actor. ... Pegasus Bridge before its replacement Pegasus Bridge in 1944 Original Pegasus Bridge in the Pegasus Museum - July 2005 The replacement Pegasus Bridge in operation The Pegasus Bridge is a bascule bridge over the Caen Canal, near Ouistreham, France. ... Land on Normandy In military parlance, D-Day is a term often used to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. ... Eric Coates (August 27, 1886 – December 21, 1957) was an English composer of light music and a viola player. ... A brass band a musical group consisting mostly or entirely of brass instruments, often with a percussion section. ... A player (wearing the red kit) has penetrated the defence (in the white kit) and is taking a shot at goal. ... This article is about Black Label beer. ... Three Lions was the official anthem of the England football team for the 1996 European Championships, held that year in England. ... “Union Jack” redirects here. ... Sir Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde (28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999), better known by his stage name Dirk Bogarde, was an actor and author. ... Appointment in London is a 1952 war film starring Dirk Bogarde and set during World War II. Directed by Philip Leacock from a screenplay by John Wooldridge and Robert Westerby and based on an original story by Wooldridge, the film is set in an RAF Bomber Command squadron during 1943. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Robert Shaw (August 9, 1927 – August 28, 1978) was an English stage and film actor and writer. ...

Remake

Dambusters is a war film announced to be produced by Peter Jackson and directed by first-time director Christian Rivers. It is a remake of the 1954 The Dam Busters. Jackson has said in the mid-1990s he became interested in remaking the 1954 film, but found that the rights had been bought by Mel Gibson. In 2004, Jackson was contacted by his agent, who said Gibson had dropped the rights. Stephen Fry is writing the script of the film.^[5] Casting would be decided in December 2007 or January 2008.^[6] It will be distributed by Universal Pictures and StudioCanal.^[7] The war film is a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. ... For other persons named Peter Jackson, see Peter Jackson (disambiguation). ... Christian Rivers is a New Zealand filmmaker. ... In film, a remake is a newer version of a previously released film or a newer version of the source (play, novel, story, etc. ... Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American-Australian actor, Academy Award winning director and producer. ... Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English comedian, writer, actor, novelist, filmmaker, journalist and television personality. ... Universal Pictures is the main motion picture production/distribution arm of Universal Studios, a subsidiary of NBC Universal. ... StudioCanal (aka Le Studio Canal, Canal Plus, Canal + Distribution, and Canal+ Image S.A.), is a French-based production and distribution company that owns the third-largest film library in the world. ...

An issue that appeared soon after the film was announced was the naming of Wing Commander Guy Gibson's dog, Nigger. In the United States release of the 1954 film, the dog's name was redubbed as Trigger. Jackson has said no decision has been made on the dog's name, but is in a "no-win, damned-if-you-do-and-damned-if-you-don't scenario", as changing the name could be seen as political correctness, while not changing the name could inadvertently offend people.^[8] A Wing Commanders sleeve/shoulder insignia A Wing Commanders command flag Wing Commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. ... Photo from 617 Squadron The dambusters Photo submitted by Roger Shenton - (taken by John Kramer) Photo of the Dambusters Memorial at Woodhall Spa. ... Political correctness is the alteration of language to redress real or alleged injustices and discrimination or to avoid offense. ...

Much of the film will be shot in Wellington, New Zealand, with some filming in the United Kingdom also likely, with Scampton confirmed by Jackson as one of the filming sites. Scampton is the site of RAF Scampton, which in the Second World War was the home of 617 Squadron. Shooting will begin in April or May 2008.^[6] Ten full-size models of the Avro Lancaster aircraft will be built by Weta Workshop. For the first Duke of Wellington, see Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. ... Scampton is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. ... RAF Scampton is a Royal Air Force station situated north of Lincoln in England. ... The Avro Lancaster was a British four-engine Second World War bomber aircraft made initially by Avro for the British Royal Air Force (RAF). ... Weta Workshop is a physical effects company based in Miramar, New Zealand, producing effects for television and film. ...

See also

The Music Man (song) The Music Man is a popular cumulative folksong among children, rugby players and Hash House Harriers. ...

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

• Brit Movie
• Photos of settings for lake scene.
• Article in The Guardian revisiting the actual sites of the film, and testifying to the iconic status of The Dam Busters March
• More information.
• The Dam Busters at the Internet Movie Database

The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ...

Video clips

• Carling Black Label spoof
• Carling Black Label's sunbeds
• Dambusters visuals, Star Wars audio