The Dam Busters (1955)

Director:

Michael Anderson

Writers:

Paul Brickhill (book)
Guy Gibson (book)

Release Date:

16 July 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | History | War

Tagline:

The dramatic true-life story of the men who broke the Nazis' back!

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.

Plot Keywords:

Bomb | Scientist | Dam | Flood | Bomber

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

The Dambusters (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

124 min | USA:105 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:L | Australia:G (DVD rating) | Norway:12 | USA:Approved (PCA #17528) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Associated British Elstree Studios, Shenley Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC)

Trivia:

To avoid unwanted reflections, in numerous scenes, the actors have the lenses removed from their goggles and replaced with blank card. In the "this is bloody dangerous!" scene, it is very noticeable on the bomb aimer's goggles.

Goofs:

Continuity: In US prints (see trivia entry), a Flying Fortress appears at least once in place of a Lancaster.

Quotes:

Flight Lt. J.F. Leggo, DFC: [Looks at his watch at dinner, before the raid] We've still got an hour. Let's go put our feet up for a bit before we change.
Flight Lt. H.B. Martin, DSO, DFC, AFC: Not a bad idea. C'mon.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Office: Judgement (#1.6)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

The Dam Busters

One of the great British war movies

Now that everyone has taken their shots at this magnificent movie, just a couple of comments about it to help put it into context. A) No we didn't see Russian prisoners of war trying to flee for their lives and drowning. We didn't in fact see anybody drowning. But this is war and people die in wars, it's the nature of the beast. B) Seen in its current setting, especially in North America, the use of the name Nigger for the Black Labrador may seem upsetting and racist, explaining why that section of the movie is left out sometimes. But back in Britain in those days, it would not have been regarded as so nasty and derogatory as it now seems here. It was actually a fair common name for Black Labs at the time - though not any more of course. C) Nope, the movie isn't entirely accurate in all aspects - many years after I first saw it back in the UK, a bomber pilot from those days told me that they used not a Lancaster but I think a Halifax to plough into the ground. D) Maybe it did glorify Guy Gibson, but he earned that Victoria Cross, if I recall, for all his diversionary flights to draw off the flak from the other aircraft, who must have felt like sitting ducks the way they had to drop every bomb at precisely the same spot and height, very low over the water. If the movie gives him credit for thinking up the overlapping spotlights, we can take that as artistic licence. Finally, anything which slowed down the German war machine was crucial to Britain. This movie did its best with hardly-developed special effects and produced an exciting and fine picture, made still during the days of rationing in England. I know because I was there at the time. I was just six when this movie was made in 1954 but it's still a real favorite of mine, not least because we were living on the shores of Lake Windermere, England's largest lake, in the English Lake District at the time, and they flew right in over our house for about six weeks that summer to film some parts of it. Remember the scene where after one of the practice runs, they were picking bits of tree out of the undercarriage of one of the aircraft? My father always used to remind that they clipped one of our trees in the filming one day and he used to claim that those bits of branch and foliage actually came from our tree. I guess they probably didn't really and they faked it a bit for the movie, adding that bit of dialogue into the script after the incident because it showed how low they flew. Quite why they showed it in the landing gear I'm not sure, because of course they wouldn't have been flying with their landing gear down, but it is effective in showing how low they flew both in the raid and in the filming. I've always loved this movie though - it's a beaut, as they say - not least because I grew up with Black Labradors. I wept like a baby when Nigger died. Have just watched it for about the zillionth time - have literally lost count. It's still a fine and fitting tribute to the men who gave their lives in the raid all those years ago.