Landfall (film)

Landfall
Directed by	Ken Annakin
Produced by	Victor Skutezky
Written by	Talbot Jennings (screenplay) Gilbert Gunn & Anne Burnaby (adaptation)
Based on	novel by Nevil Shute
Starring	Michael Denison Patricia Plunkett
Music by	Philip Green
Cinematography	Wilkie Cooper
Edited by	Peter Graham Scott
Production company	Associated British Picture Corporation
Distributed by	Associated British-Pathé
Release date	27 October 1949 (1949-10-27) (UK)
Running time	86 minutes[1]
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Box office	£141,127 (UK)[2]

Landfall is a 1949 British war film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Michael Denison, Patricia Plunkett and Kathleen Harrison. It is based on the 1940 novel, Landfall: A Channel Story, written by author Nevil Shute.^[3]

Cast

• Michael Denison as Rick
• Patricia Plunkett as Mona
• Kathleen Harrison as Mona's Mother
• Denis O'Dea as Captain Burnaby
• David Tomlinson as Binks
• Charles Victor as Mona's Father
• Joan Dowling as Miriam, the Barmaid
• A. E. Matthews as Air Raid Warden
• Maurice Denham as Wing Commander Hewitt
• Margaretta Scott as Mrs. Burnaby
• Sebastian Shaw as Wing Commander Dickens
• Nora Swinburne as Admiral's Wife
• Laurence Harvey as Petty Officer Hooper
• Paul Carpenter as Petty Officer Morgan
• Frederick Leister as Admiral Blackett
• Hubert Gregg as Lieutenant Commander Dale
• Walter Hudd as Professor Legge
• Margaret Barton as Rosemary - Rick's Sister
• Edith Sharpe as Mrs. Chambers - Rick's Mother
• Ivan Samson as Commander Rutherford

Synopsis

A British Coastal Command pilot, Rick, based near Portsmouth, sinks what he believes to be a German submarine, unaware that a British submarine is also in that part of the Channel. When it emerges that the British sub has been lost with all hands, it is assumed that it was the sub sunk by Rick. Although a Court of Inquiry finds that the captain of the submarine was principally at fault for not keeping to his time schedule, Rick is criticized for having failed to properly identify his target. However, his CO disagrees with the Court's finding and exonerates him, but Rick requests a posting. When that does not work out, Rick volunteers for a dangerous flying duty testing a new type of guided bomb. Meanwhile, his girlfriend Mona, who works as a barmaid, overhears information which might help to uncover what really happened out in the Channel. ^[4]

Critical reception

The Radio Times gave the film two out of five stars, calling it a "dainty item from a vanished era of British war movies";^[5] and TV Guide rated the film similarly, concluding that "Adequate performances are marred by a script burdened with some soap opera dramatics."^[6]

References

External links

• Landfall on IMDb