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The Dam Busters
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The Dam Busters (1955) More at IMDbPro »

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The Dam Busters (1955) -- True story of how the British attacked German dams in WW2 by using an ingenious technique to drop bombs where they would be most effective.

Overview

User Rating:
7.4/10   2,701 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 231% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Contact:
View company contact information for The Dam Busters on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
16 July 1955 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
The dramatic true-life story of the men who broke the Nazis' back! more
Plot:
True story of how the British attacked German dams in WW2 by using an ingenious technique to drop bombs where they would be most effective. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(11 articles)
Actor Richard Todd Dead At Age 90; Recreated His WWII Heroics On Film
 (From CinemaRetro. 5 December 2009, 4:25 AM, PST)

'Dam Busters' star Todd dies, aged 90
 (From digitalspy. 4 December 2009, 8:24 AM, PST)

User Comments:
Inspired Star Wars sequence, despite the dog's name. more (74 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Richard Todd ... Wing Commander Guy Gibson, V.C., D.S.O., D.F.C.
Michael Redgrave ... Doctor B. N. Wallis, C.B.E., F.R.S.
Ursula Jeans ... Mrs. Wallis
Charles Carson ... Doctor
Stanley Van Beers ... Sir David Pye, C.B., F.R.S.
Colin Tapley ... Doctor W.H. Glanville, C.B., C.B.E.
Frederick Leister ... Committee Member
Eric Messiter ... Committee Member
Laidman Browne ... Committee Member
Raymond Huntley ... Official, National Physical Laboratory
Hugh Manning ... Official, Ministry of Aircraft Production
Patrick Barr ... Captain Joseph 'Mutt' Summers, C.B.E.
Edwin Styles ... Observer at trials
Hugh Moxey ... Observer at trials
Anthony Shaw ... R.A.F. Officer at trials
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
The Dambusters (USA) (alternative spelling)
more
Runtime:
124 min | USA:105 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono | Mono (RCA Sound Recording)
Certification:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Feature film debut of Patrick McGoohan. more
Goofs:
Continuity: During training flights shown early in the film when crews knew nothing about the target or weapon, Lancasters are shown carrying the bouncing bomb that was used on the actual mission. more
Quotes:
Air Vice-Marshal Cochrane: [looks at message sent from the attack group] The northern wave's run into trouble on the coast. McCarthy is going on to the Sorpe Dam by himself.
[looks at map]
Air Vice-Marshal Cochrane: Gibson's formation should be nearly at the Moehne by now.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Three Men in a Boat (2006) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
The Dam Busters more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
9 out of 11 people found the following comment useful.
Inspired Star Wars sequence, despite the dog's name., 20 March 1999
Author: anonymous from Portland, Oregon, USA

It appears that the attack sequences in The Dam Busters were the direct inspiration for the attack on the Death Star in the first Star Wars film. Some of the dialogue is word-for-word, and it is very interesting to watch these two films back to back.

Also, in the original edit of the film, the dog's name (a black labrador) was a historically accurate but socially unacceptable "Nigger". One edit changed the spoken word to "Trigger," while another release cut all scenes with the offending word. This was unfortunate, because parts of the plot became unintelligible -- the dog's name was one of the code-words used during the attack.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (74 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Dam Busters (1955)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Guy gibson too nice! Hungerhill
Most innovative bomber of WWII southwestern71
Important question for fans concerning Britain! helenr_24
Huge security breach dspear7-1
Was the dog's name for real? fitzvizion
Real Lancasters? Skwabie
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