Journey Together

Journey Together is a 1945 British drama war film directed by John Boulting and starring Richard Attenborough, Jack Watling and David Tomlinson.[1] It is Boulting's film directorial debut. The film was produced by the Royal Air Force Film Production Unit.

Journey Together
Directed byJohn Boulting
Produced byJohn Boulting
Written byJohn Boulting
Terence Rattigan
StarringRichard Attenborough
Jack Watling
David Tomlinson
Music byGordon Jacob
CinematographyHarry Waxman
Edited byReginald Beck
Distributed byRKO Pictures
Release date
  • 1 October 1945 (1945-10-01) (UK)
  • 3 March 1946 (1946-03-03) (U.S.)
Running time
95 minutes (UK version)
80 minutes (U.S. version)
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

In the film, two Englishmen become friends while serving with the Royal Air Force, ending with a bombing raid on Berlin. The plot emphasises the importance of team work in a bomber crew and the critical role of the navigator.

Plot

Two RAF aircrew cadets, David Wilton (Richard Attenborough) and John Aynesworth (Jack Watling) become friends. A friendly rivalry develops between the two when they both enter pilot training, and it ends in a bet over who will become the better pilot. They both pass their initial training and are sent to the United States for more advanced instruction. However, once there, it becomes clear that Wilton, while he is otherwise a good pilot, cannot successfully land a plane. Wilton is devastated, and the feeling worsens when he sees that Aynesworth is a natural pilot. While Aynesworth proceeds with his pilot's training, Wilton is sent to Canada to be trained as a navigator instead.

Wilton turns out to be a good navigator, but he shows no enthusiasm for his training. Then, on a practice flight, the pilot, who is also one of the instructors and is aware of his attitude, secretly simulates an emergency situation to show Wilton the importance of the role of the navigator. After graduating, Wilton is posted to a squadron in Britain, but his reputation has followed him. Eventually, he replaces an injured navigator on Aynesworth's flight crew on a bombing operation, but their welcome is lukewarm. As they complete the bombing mission, the plane is hit and begins to lose fuel; when they have to ditch in the North Sea, Wilton must demonstrate everything he has learned and quickly communicate their position to base. It turns out that he perfectly calculated their position, and the rescue plane quickly finds them. The crew decide they'd like to keep him.

Cast

Production

The opening credits state that the film was "Written, Produced, Directed, Photographed, and Acted by members of the Royal Air Force". The closing cast list also includes other Allied services personnel.

Reception

According to Kinematograph Weekly, the film performed well at the British box office in 1945.[3]

References
  1. "Journey Together (1945)". BFI.
  2. Gifford, Denis, ed. (1 April 2016). British Film Catalogue. 2. Routledge. p. 530. ISBN 978-1-317-74063-6.
  3. Murphy, Robert (2 September 2003). Realism and Tinsel: Cinema and Society in Britain 1939–48. Routledge. p. 208. ISBN 978-1-134-90150-0.


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