What Film would you like to see made ?

I’ve never read the book, but how about Guy Gibson’s “Enemy Coast Ahead”?

Wombat

I would like to see a movie about the Regia Aeronautica in northern Africa with its Macchi, Fiat and Savoia Marchetti, even if we were on the wrong site the fightings there were loyal

best regards

Gianfranco

Hi just to re enter the spirit of the occasion
Stories about 3 great Australian airmen

1) “Bluey” Truscott
2) Clive Caldwell
3) Bobby Gibbs

Love one or all to be made.

PS The movie to be made(possibly) about 75 Sqn RAAF in PNG has passed all preproduction approvals and is in the final funding round – this doesn’t mean that it will be made just that it is at the final hurdle – money !!!

Still it is very signifigant that a film has made it this far through the process and they usually suceed sooner or later from here. Fingers crossed. It is possible that a couple of surviving RAAF P40s from PNG could be used in the film,

Kindest regards
John P

Regards
John Parker

How about a film in North Africa, say RAF and its Commonwealth Squadrons against the famed JG27, or a better remake of Command Decision, or 12 ‘O’ Clock High would be nice.

Gray Eagles would be a good film, fantastic story.

but i would have to say Warbirds by Richard Herman for me an excellent book. The mounts are F4’s and although its not historic yet it soon will be, all them soon to be ritired airframes just ripe fo rfilming

Way to many to choose just one.

For a Chap who lives here in Melbourne(not sure if he is still with us 🙁 ), No Moon Tonight by Don Charlwood 🙂 , But a really good remake of B of B with more authentic looking German planes would be nice 😀 , How bout a remake of Reach for the sky as well 🙂 , And along the German line The First and the Last, Adolf Galland would be Fantastic too 😮 , As in the near future, More 109s with D.Bs will keep popping up(hopefully 😎 ), And some single seater 262s as well, Then all we need is some Really Decent Actors to pull it off 😉 , That’s probably going to be the hardest part to fill :p , Cheers Chaps, Tally Ho! Phil :diablo:

Having read on another thread about that it would be good to see Len Deighton’s book ‘Bomber’ being made in to a movie, what suggestions whould you have?
I’ve read it several times and thought Len Deighton’s ‘Goodbye Mickey Mouse’ would be good and,there are plenty of P-51s around, so very little CG needed

I’ll go along with that, I too found ita good read. One film I’d like to see made is a tribute to the women of the Russian air regiment that flew Po 2’s for recce and light bomber work. That must have been a hair raising job in what was basically the Russian answer to a Tiger Moth. I read a book called The Night Witches some time ago but cannot find it now, the book actually told the story of these women(little more than girls some of them, most of them as they were considered ancient if they survived beyond the age of 22-23) and some of their exploits deserve awards for bravery from all the allied nations and then some.

That’s a very good point Geoff, though a few films have used shots of the groundcrews to show tension (ie Memphis Belle) there hasn’t been a film focusing on their individual struggle. It must have been hell for many of them, under intense pressure day and night, under bombing and never knowing if ‘their’ aircraft would return. And if it didn’t, wondering whether it was something they’d overlooked mechanically… And worst of all must have been the Erks in the Pacific, where the tools and airframe heated so much they’d burn the skin, they were always under-supplied (the RNZAF at least were) and having to scrounge and bodge things up, and then there were snakes, nasty insects and diseases, and ‘Washing Machine Charlie” every night (this was the name for Jap bombers with unsynchronised engines that came over sometimes individually, just to disrupt sleep. They’d drop a stick of bombs indescrimiantly – knowing all the men below were woken and into the slit trench. This was a terror weapon, psychological warfare really. At least the crews could go home to a warm bed or off to the pub at the end of a shift. Rather than a cot in a makeshift bamboo hut.

There’s enough drama to make a great film or TV drama about groundcrews, especially in the Pacific.

How about ‘First Light’ by Geoff Wellum. ‘Squadron Airborne’ by Elleston Trevor would be good but with less arial combat scenes, no love story, and more emphasis on the Erks and other ground staff. Without them…

Geoff.

‘The Schweinfurt – Regensberg Mission’ by Martin Middlebrook, about the American raids on 17 August 1943.

‘A real good War’ by Sam Halpert, about being a B17 Navigator with 91st BG at Bassingbourne and completeing a tour of 35 missions.

Non avation would have to be ‘The Bedford Boys’ by Alex Kershaw, about one small American town’s D-Day sacrifie.

The Brylcreem Boy (written by Bob Freeman) about his time in the RAF as an airframe fitter and a TV drama based on Spike Milligan’s war diaries. Remake of 633 Squadron.

Pleased to hear that Deighton’s ‘Bomber’ is being made into a movie – more details please! ‘Goodbye Micky Mouse’ is excellent, read it twice, incredibly moving, thoroughly enjoyed… however, I think that Alex Henshaw’s autobiography ‘Flight of the Mew Gull’ gets my vote, it would make a superb film – I’d heartily recommend the book to anyone who hasn’t read it.

Film ideas

One of my favourite topics…Great Unmade Flying Flicks.

1. 1949 Cleveland air races…some great plotlines and a dark but nonetheless Hollywoodlike ending. (New-build P-51C and F2G racers anyone…?)

2. The Soviet female fighter regiments (somewhere on here there was recently a rumour about Peter Jackson having a go at this)

3. Spencer Dunmore’s book “Ace” (a kind of WWII “Blue Max”)

4. Martin Caidin’s book “The Last Dogfight” (crummy title, engaging read…and the hero flies a red-and-white P-38. This one actually was slated to be made into a film at one point)

5. Also by Caidin, the book “Whip” (much better title!–which was more or less a fictionalization of the 345th BG “Air Apaches” in the SWPA).

And BTW, there was a film made, sometime around 1955, called “Malta Story”, which dealt (in 50s style of course) with the remarkable story of the defence of the George Cross Island. Had several Mk.XVI bubbletop Spits in it as well as the wreck of a Firefly standing-in for a wrecked Spit!

Cheers

S. (looking forward to seeing “The Aviator”…and the late lamented Jim Wright’s H-1…) 🙁

If I were going to make a Bomber Command film, I’d base it around a story following an RAF crew with mixed nationalities (Brits, a Kiwi, an Aussie, a Canadian, etc) so it has international appeal. They’d prepare for a raid, go off and bomb a city, and the raid would be a really rough one with lots of action and many of their mates going down around them. But when they get through ok and set course for home, they’re attacked by night fighters, and shot down. Some, if not all, would survive, and then they’d have to make it back to Britain avoiding the enemy all the way.

I know this has been done before on film, in ‘One of Our Aircraft Is Missing’, but certainly not recently in the modern era of film making, and lets face it that was a film for a different audience from a different era. (has this same sort of theme been done in other films?)

It is a story that could be done well and involve lots of realistic action on the ground and in the air, and be made sensitively to represent many who found themselves really in those circumstances, even if the film is not directly based on a real crew. I guess if the money men demanded there could also be love interests – the woman at home for one crewman, and the young French girl helping them for another – oohlala.

One thing I’d ensure is it would be real and gritty and really make you think about what the crews endured, and would not be the flag-waving Boy’s Own Adventure style of films like Memphis Belle (a film I like but it isn’t the style I’d go for). The British make the best drama in the world and have the best dramatic actors, so of course it would be made there. Anyway, that’s my thoughts.

I think it would be great to see a film on the Battle for Malta. 🙂

Someone beat me to Len Deighton’s ‘Goodbye Mickey Mouse’, that’s been on my stepfather’s book shelf for decades…

HOW….about….possibly….since Martin Caidin passed on….making a movie version of Caidin’s “Ragwings and Heavy Iron’? Difficult, I know, but the substance is there…folks thought years ago Lord of the Rings would be impossible to make…

Mark

Hi all

It’s time we made a proper version of “Biggles sweeps the skies”

Regards
John P

I would love to see a film made of the life of Edward “Mick” Mannock.
From his early days as a Socialist through his employment with the Telegraph company and his capture and imprisement by the Turks, his service with the Royal Army Medical Corps up to his enlisment in the RFC and CO of 85 SQN.

What a great story that would make 🙂
As long as Hollywood don’t get there hands on it :rolleyes:

Time to get out “Tiger Squadron” by Taffy Jones 🙂

That’s where I first heard about Mick Mannock.

Dan

I would love to see a film made of the life of Edward “Mick” Mannock.
From his early days as a Socialist through his employment with the Telegraph company and his capture and imprisement by the Turks, his service with the Royal Army Medical Corps up to his enlisment in the RFC and CO of 85 SQN.

What a great story that would make 🙂
As long as Hollywood don’t get there hands on it :rolleyes:

Same reply as in the other thread.

Bert Stiles wartime book “Serenade to the Big Bird”. If you haven’t read it, find the time and you’ll know why it’s top of the list 🙂

Dan