source: Spitfire

Goodness me, this film has aged really badly. Extremely slow and plodding and with some ridiculously jingoistic moments, it's not an easy watch in the 21st Century. Although the story is interesting, this is no 'Dambusters'. Probably only for the plane spotters.

THE FIRST OF THE FEW is a mildly interesting WW2 film released when the war was in full swing. That makes it a propaganda piece and, it has to be said, a rather dated one at that. The film is about the guy who invented the Spitfire and shows the political background to the build up of war, with lots of interesting historical characters thrown into the mix. Watching it today, the production has invariably dated and feels slow and rather staged. Leslie Howard and David Niven are both effective in the leading roles but the rest of the cast don't really make much of an impact and the running time is a bit long to sustain full interest. There are some good scenes here but too much talk along the way which slows everything down quite considerably.

Propaganda, yes, but what else would one expect in wartime. On the other hand if we must have propaganda let it be as sincere and well meant as this. Though it's largely irrelevant I confess to being a little bemused by the large number of posters who think that Leslie Howard was English when he was in fact Hungarian. Having said that there is no question of his genuine feeling for his adopted country especially as manifested here in a film he directed as well as playing the leading role. David Niven offers strong support albeit more or less playing himself and Rosamund John is effective in the somewhat thankless role of Mitchell's wife. Given both the limitations of the time and the fact that it was shot on a genuine aerodrome whilst the war was in full swing the aeriel sequences are as well as can be expected. As a time-capsule it's well worth a look.

While sometimes a bit melodramatic, "Spitfire" (or "The First of the Few") is a good historical-based drama that follows the development of the Spitfire airplane that was so important to Britain in World War II. Most of the film concerns the work that went into the plane, but there are also a few aerial scenes. The historical story is interesting and significant, and was even more so at the time that the film was made. It moves rather slowly at times, but is carried by the two fine stars in the lead roles. Leslie Howard works well as Mitchell, the designer of the plane. His dreaminess seems appropriate for a man who created an effective new invention by looking beyond the ways that things had been done in the past. David Niven is particularly good as the pilot who tests the plane and invests his own time and career to see that Mitchell's invention gets a chance. Niven also narrates the story. Those two help make up for some slow stretches in the plot. At times things also seem a bit exaggerated, but then it was a time when daily events were filled with melodrama. This would be a good film to watch for anyone with an interest in historical or war films.

I enjoyed this movie reasonably well while watching it. It was afterward that my disappointment rose. In some sense, I suppose the movie was a victim of its own success: by successfully sparking in me an interest in its protagonist, R. J. Mitchell, it drove me to do a little reading up on the real-life story of Mr. Mitchell, and unfortunately, the gap between the movie Mitchell and the real Mitchell is rather too wide for my taste. In particular, some of the most compelling parts of the movie story just never happened. So, in actuality, Mitchell never went to Germany, never met Messerschmitt, never encountered strutting Nazi bluster that galvanized him to devote his life to developing a superior fighter plane for the British with which they could meet the Nazi threat. Actually, he was working on fighter aircraft design back in 1931, two years before the Nazi's assumed power in Germany. What's more, the real Mitchell did *not* work himself to death on the Spitfire. The unspoken affliction which ultimately consumed him was actually cancer-- which no amount of rest was going to cure. So he did *not* deliberately choose to sacrifice his life for the cause. Yes, he did keep working during his illness, which is certainly heroic and praiseworthy. But it's a *far* cry from what the movie depicts. It's a pity, because I think the real Mitchell's story was interesting enough all by itself to make a good movie out of, without manufacturing lies. Still, it was an entertaining movie, and most of the broad outlines of the history seem to be reasonably accurate. The print I saw was creaky and antique, with poor picture quality and sound (I *still* don't know what the offensive sign on the yacht said, since I could neither read it nor make out the dialog around it), but I won't take off points for that. I could've given the film seven or eight stars had it been accurate, but all the lies take it down to a six.

This film was released in the USA within two weeks of Leslie Howard's death in June 1943. The plane Howard was flying in was shot down over the Bay of Biscay. Leslie Howard produced and directed this biography of R.J. Mitchell as well as starring in the film. This biography is also part propaganda and part documentary as Howard shows us Britain's advances in aviation going into World War II. The cast is quite good, with David Niven as Crisp especially solid. Rosamund John plays the ever-patient wife. Also good are Roland Culver as Commander Bride, Toni Edgar-Bruce as Lady Houston, Anne Firth as Harper, Derrick De Marney as Jefferson, and Howard's daughter, Leslie Ruth Howard, in her only film appearance as Nurse Kennedy. This film is hugely important because it is Leslie Howard's final film appearance but also because it documents the development of the famous Spitfire, without which Britain might have fallen to Germany. This is a wonderful film.

A fine movie biography about the designer of the World War II Spitfire. Strong performances are given by Mr. Howard and David Niven. Although it seems dated particularly with the black and white film, it is none the less worth your time to preview this movie. Leslie Howard was killed in an airplane crash shortly after finishing this film.

My father was one of the fighter pilots featured in this film (speaking part and "action " shots ) This film was part of his "war" ,if you like. To me ,this film represents the very best of British cinematography of its day and genre.I have some "stills " of the film and also quite a few w action shots (no pun intended !)on the open air set at RAF Ibsley in 1942. The soundtrack on most broadcast copies is rather poor,but the quality of the music score is beyond question.The composer ,william Walton was commissioned at the time but his music was not thought particularly noteworthy .It was not until the 1960's his music was accredited rightly in my view as a work of sheer brilliance. I agree with everything anthony Inglis has said in his commentary

This movie, a biopic of R.J. Mitchell, inventor of the Spitfire plane, saw the final appearance of that great British actor, Leslie Howard, who died in 1943 when his plane was shot down by the Germans. It was a fitting finale that one of his best roles, as the idealistic dreamer Mitchell, was his last. Equally good (but perhaps a little young for the role) is David Niven as Mitchell's close pal Crisp. Niven was always good value and was convincing in uniform or official roles. Rosamund John has the remaining plum part as Mrs Mitchell, and plays the part very well. 'The First of the Few' works as propaganda, as an involving war actioner, and as a character study of an eccentric inventive mind. Howard's skill as a director ensures all angles are adequately covered and that the viewer is rarely bored. Dated it may be (and obviously so given the date of production) but should still appeal to a wide and discerning audience.