The Battle of Britain (1943)

Director:

Frank Capra

Writers:

Julius J. Epstein (writer)
Philip G. Epstein (writer)

Genre:

Documentary | War

Plot:

The official World War II US government account of Great Britain's stand against the Nazi war machine after the Dunkirk evacuation.

Plot Keywords:

Propaganda | Bomber | Country Name In Title | Orchestral Music Score | WWII

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Douglas Bader	...	Himself (after downing Me-109 and Dornier) (archive footage) (uncredited) (unconfirmed)
Arno Breker	...	Himself (views Eiffel Tower with Hitler and Speer) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Winston Churchill	...	Himself (with Londoners, donates coin on street) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hermann Göring	...	Himself (with Hitler at the Berghof) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Adolf Hitler	...	Himself (gazes across English Channel) (archive footage) (uncredited)
John B. Hughes	...	Narrator (uncredited)
Walter Huston	...	Narrator (uncredited)
Frieda Inescort	...	Narrator (uncredited)
Alfred Jodl	...	Himself (views map with Hitler) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Wilhelm Keitel	...	Himself (in railway carriage with Göring) (archive footage) (uncredited)
King George VI	...	Himself (views beach laid with barbed wire) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother	...	Herself (visits bombed Londoners with the King) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Erich Raeder	...	Himself (in map room with Hitler and Jodl) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Erwin Rommel	...	Himself (in railway carriage with Göring and Keitel) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Albert Speer	...	Himself (views Eiffel Tower with Hitler and Breker) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Anthony Veiller	...	Narrator (uncredited)

Also Known As:

Why We Fight, 4 (USA) (series title)

Runtime:

54 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

This film is in the public domain; it was never registered or renewed.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Why We Fight (2005)

Why We Fight

Battle of Britain, The (1943)

*** (out of 4)

The fourth film in Capra's "Why We Fight" series takes a look at Britain and their entrance into the war. As with the other films in the series, the main goal here was to teach people in the U.S. why we're entering the war and bring them up on what's been going on overseas. Today we have much better documentaries about all these events so it's important to keep in mind that these were rather fresh when originally released and the information being passed here was all that was known then. Today, much of the information told here has been corrected but history buffs probably aren't going to be watching these for a lesson. The film remains mildly entertaining as a nostalgia trip because it gives us a chance to see what was being taught back while the war was going on. We get the typical clips of Hitler, various battles and things like that but the most interesting footage comes from the factories in England where we see all the extra work being done to help push the cause. Most of the stock footage is in bad shape but that's somewhat to be expected. Overall, I'm really not sure how much Capra had to do on the film and I doubt his fans will be the ones watching this. WWII buffs will probably want to check it out but others will either find it too stale or find more fulfilling documentaries out there.