THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN

 Despite some excellent scenes of aerial combat and an all-star cast of the cream of British acting talent "The Battle of Britain" isn't much of a movie which may account for why it isn't revived much. The director was Guy Hamilton and while he was usually a proficient craftsman he never showed a great deal of imagination in his work so this is pretty much business as usual with the big name thespians playing the Brits and a host of actors we've never heard of, with the exception of Curd Jurgens, and he's out of the picture before the credits, cast in the German roles.

It soars when it's in the air but grinds to a halt on the ground with scenes of banal romantic domesticity and of little aeroplanes being pushed around on big boards. Cast as Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding only Lord Olivier acquits himself with dignity while Susannah York, as the wife of Christopher Plummer, is so shrill I kept hoping she might be dispatched early on by one of Herr Hitler's many bombs. Unfortunately for us, she survives.