''They Flew Alone'' (released in the US as ''Wings and the Woman'' with 8 minutes cut out) is a 1942 British

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudrama films and histo ...

about

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

Amy Johnson Amy Johnson (born 1 July 1903 – disappeared 5 January 1941) was a pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia. Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, she set many long-distance records dur ...

directed and produced by

Herbert Wilcox Herbert Sydney Wilcox Order of the British Empire, CBE (19 April 1890 – 15 May 1977) was a British film producer and film director, director. He was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best know ...

and starring

Anna Neagle Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox (''née'' Robertson; 20 October 1904 – 3 June 1986), known professionally as Anna Neagle, was an English stage and film actress, singer, and dancer. She was a successful box-office draw in British cinema for 2 ...

, Robert Newton and Edward Chapman. It was

distributed Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations *Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...

in the UK and the US by

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Kei ...

Plot

The film chronicles the life of

, the British pilot who gained world attention in the 1930s for her exploits, among them two solo record flights from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. She joined the Air Transport Auxiliary at the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was intended to be both a film honouring Johnson, who had died in 1941 during a ferry flight of an

Airspeed Oxford The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford is a twin-engine monoplane aircraft developed and manufactured by Airspeed Ltd, Airspeed. It saw widespread use for training Commonwealth of Nations, British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombin ...

, and a

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

call to arms at the height of the war years. Although TCM summarizes the film as a romance between two fliers, much more time is spent on Johnson's accomplishments. The film begins with Johnson's demonstration of independence by refusing to wear the old-fashioned

straw hat A straw hat is a wide-brimmed hat woven out of straw or straw-like synthetic materials. Straw hats are a type of sun hat designed to shade the head and face from direct sunlight, but are also used in fashion as a decorative element or a ...

that goes with her school uniform, replacing it with a modern shape.See Battle of the straw hat under Production The film concludes with Johnson's words from an inspiring speech she gives to young women earlier in the film. The voiceover plays behind her image and footage of thousands of women in the uniforms of Britain's various armed services, marching, and ending with women pilots of the ferry service, soaring.

Cast

* Robert Newton as

Jim Mollison James Allan Mollison MBE (19 April 1905 – 30 October 1959) was a Scottish pioneer aviator who, flying solo or with his wife, Amy Johnson, set many records during the rapid development of aviation in the 1930s. Early years Mollison wa ...

* Edward Chapman as Mr. Johnson *

Nora Swinburne Leonora Mary Johnson (24 July 1902 – 1 May 2000), known professionally as Nora Swinburne, was an English actress who appeared in many British films. Early years Swinburne was born in Bath, Somerset, the daughter of Henry Swinburne Johnson ...

as ATA Commandant * Joan Kemp-Welch as Mrs. Johnson *

Brefni O'Rorke Brefni O'Rorke (26 June 1889 – 11 November 1946) was an Irish actor, both on the stage and in movies. Early life O'Rorke was born as William Francis Breffni O'Rorke at 2 Esplande Villas in Dollymount, Clontarf, Dublin on 26 June 1889, and b ...

as Mac * Charles Carson as Lord Wakefield *

Martita Hunt Martita Edith Hunt (30 January 190013 June 1969) was an Argentine-born British theatre and film actress. She had a dominant stage presence and played a wide range of powerful characters. She is best remembered for her performance as Miss Havis ...

as Miss Bland * Anthony Shaw as Official *

Eliot Makeham Harold Elliott Makeham (22 December 1882 – 8 February 1956) was an English film and television actor. Career Makeham was born in London, England. Between 1931 and 1956, Makeham appeared, primarily in character roles, in 115 films and in 11 t ...

as Mayor of

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

* David Horne as

Solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

Miles Malleson William Miles Malleson (25 May 1888 – 15 March 1969) was an English actor and dramatist, particularly remembered for his appearances in British comedy films of the 1930s to 1960s. Towards the end of his career, he also appeared in cameo roles ...

as Vacuum Salesman *

Aubrey Mallalieu Aubrey Mallalieu (8 June 1873 – 28 May 1948) was an English actor with a prolific career in supporting roles in films in the 1930s and 1940s. Mallalieu began life as George William Mallalieu, the son of William Mallalieu (c. 1845–1927), a ...

as Bill, the Barber * Charles Victor as Postmaster *

Hay Petrie David Hay Petrie (16 July 1895 – 30 July 1948) was a Scottish actor noted for playing eccentric characters, among them Quilp in ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' (1934), the McLaggen in '' The Ghost Goes West'' (1935) and Uncle Pumblechook in ''Grea ...

as Old General * John Slater as Officer on Interview Panel * Percy Parsons as Man *

Cyril Smith Sir Cyril Richard Smith (28 June 1928 – 3 September 2010) was a British Liberal Party and Liberal Democrat politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochdale from 1972 to 1992. Smith was first active in local politics as ...

as Radio Operator On '' RMS Aquitania'' * George Merritt as Reporter *

Muriel George Muriel George (29 August 1883 – 22 October 1965)''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995''. Principal Probate Registry. ''Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration ma ...

as Kitty, the Housekeeper *

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...

as Secretary *

William Hartnell William Henry Hartnell (; 8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor, who is best known for portraying the first incarnation of the Doctor, in the long-running British science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1963 t ...

as Scotty (as Billy Hartnell) * Arthur Hambling as Policeman *

Peter Gawthorne Peter Gawthorne (1 September 1884 – 17 March 1962) was an Anglo-Irish actor, probably best known for his roles in the films of Will Hay and other popular British comedians of the 1930s and 1940s. Gawthorne was one of Britain's most called-up ...

as RAF Officer *

Ronald Shiner Ronald Alfred Shiner (8 June 1903 – 29 June 1966) was a British stand-up comedian and comedy actor whose career encompassed film, West End theatre and music hall. Early life and career When he was seventeen, Shiner joined the Royal North-Wes ...

as mechanic at

Stag Lane Aerodrome Stag Lane Aerodrome was a private aerodrome between 1915 and 1933 in Edgware, north London, UK. History The land for an aerodrome was purchased by the London & Provincial Aviation Company (Warren and Smiles – Michael Geoffrey Smiles of Bonni ...

* Samir Sabri as 1st Reporter (Uncredited)

Production

The producers acknowledged: "the assistance and facilities accorded by Miss Amy Johnson's Family, Mr. James Mollison, Miss Pauline Gower M.B.E., The Air Ministry, The Ministry of Aircraft Production, The Air Transport Auxiliary, and Lord Wakefield's Representatives ." In June 1942, when the film was released in the UK, theater audiences had survived

the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

but were still suffering. It was barely 6 months since the United States had entered the war. The picture closes with a dedication, all in capital letters: "And to all the Amy Johnsons of today, who have fought and won the battle of the straw hat—who have driven through centuries of convention—who have abandoned the slogan Safety First in the flight for freedom from fear—from persecution—we dedicate the following film." MacDonald Parke's surname is incorrectly spelled "Park" in the screen credits. Neagle uses a

Yorkshire accent Yorkshire dialect, also known as Yorkshire English, Broad Yorkshire, Tyke, or Yorkie, is a grouping of several regionally neighbouring dialects of English spoken in Yorkshire. Yorkshire experienced drastic dialect levelling in the 20th cent ...

References

External links

They Flew Alone
at TCM
''They Flew Alone''
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

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10K bullets: DVD review of ''They Flew Alone''
Retrieved 2013-01-06 {{DEFAULTSORT:They Flew Alone 1942 films British aviation films 1940s war drama films British black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Films directed by Herbert Wilcox British World War II propaganda films British war drama films British biographical drama films Films scored by William Alwyn RKO Pictures films Cultural depictions of Amy Johnson 1940s biographical drama films Films set in London Films set in Australia 1942 drama films English-language biographical drama films English-language war drama films