Conquest of the Air

British aviation film

Zoltan Korda
John Monk Saunders
Alexander Esway
William Cameron Menzies
Alexander Shaw
Peter Bezencenet

Written by

John Monk Saunders
Hugh Gray
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Produced byAlexander KordaStarringLaurence OlivierNarrated byCharles FrendCinematographyWilkie Cooper
George Noble
Hans Schneeberger
Lee GarmesEdited byPeter Bezencenet
Charles Frend
Richard Q. McNaughtonMusic byArthur Bliss

Production
company

Alexander Korda Productions

Distributed byLondon Films (UK)

Release date

December 1936 (1936-12) (UK)

Running time

71 minutesCountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglish

Conquest of the Air is a 1936 documentary film or docudrama on the history of aviation up to that time. The film features historical footage, and dramatic re-creations, of the developments of commercial and military aviation; including the early stages of technology developments in design, propulsion, and air navigation aids. The film was a London Films production, commissioned by the British Air Ministry.

Synopsis

Cast

Frederick Culley as Roger Bacon
Laurence Olivier as Vincent Lunardi
Franklin Dyall as Jerome de Ascoli
Henry Victor as Otto Lilienthal
Hay Petrie as Tiberius Cavallo
John Turnbull as Ferdinand Von Zeppelin
Charles Lefeaux as Louis Bleriot
Bryan Powley as Sir George Cayley
Alan Wheatley as Giovanni Alfonso Borelli
John Abbott as Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier

Production background

The film was initially commissioned by Alexander Korda prior to the advent of World War II, and the Air Ministry saw the value in promoting Britain's contribution and leadership in aviation during this period. Some notable footage is featured of the early phases of automated flight, navigational equipment, and the transitions between civil and military developments, including heavy bombers; fast fighter aircraft; and the advent of naval aviation (aircraft carrier), plus the initial experiments with vertical rotary flight (helicopters).

An updated version was released in 1940 and released in the United States on 20 May 1940.^[1]

References

^ "Conquest of the Air (1936) - Release dates". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 30 June 2010.

External links

Conquest of the Air at IMDb
Conquest of the Air at AllMovie
Conquest of the Air at the TCM Movie Database

Films directed by Alexander Esway

Herkules Maier (1928)
Taxi for Two (1929)
Children of Chance (1930)
Children of Fortune (1931)
Shadows (1931)
Le jugement de minuit (1933)
Mauvaise graine (1934)
Music Hath Charms (1935)
It's a Bet (1935)
Conquest of the Air (1936)
Barnabé (1938)
Hercule (1938)
Education of a Prince (1938)
Monsieur Brotonneau (1939)
Latin Quarter (1939)
The Man Who Seeks the Truth (1940)
Steppin' in Society (1945)
They Are Not Angels (1947)
L'idole (1948)

v t e Films directed by Zoltan Korda
The Eleven Devils (1927) Men of Tomorrow (1932) Cash (1933) Sanders of the River (1935) Conquest of the Air (1936) Forget Me Not (1936) Elephant Boy (1937) The Drum (1938) The Four Feathers (1939) Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book (1942) Sahara (1943) Counter-Attack (1945) The Macomber Affair (1947) A Woman's Vengeance (1948) Cry, the Beloved Country (1952) Storm Over the Nile (1955)

Films directed by Zoltan Korda

The Eleven Devils (1927)
Men of Tomorrow (1932)
Cash (1933)
Sanders of the River (1935)
Conquest of the Air (1936)
Forget Me Not (1936)
Elephant Boy (1937)
The Drum (1938)
The Four Feathers (1939)
Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book (1942)
Sahara (1943)
Counter-Attack (1945)
The Macomber Affair (1947)
A Woman's Vengeance (1948)
Cry, the Beloved Country (1952)
Storm Over the Nile (1955)

v t e Films by Alexander Korda
As director	Watchhouse in the Carpathians (1914) The Duped Journalist (1914) Tutyu and Totyo (1914) Lyon Lea (1915) The Officer's Swordknot (1915) White Nights (1916) The Grandmother (1916) Tales of the Typewriter (1916) The Man with Two Hearts (1916) The One Million Pound Note (1916) Cyclamen (1916) Struggling Hearts (1916) The Laughing Saskia (1916) Miska the Magnate (1916) St. Peter's Umbrella (1917) The Stork Caliph (1917) Magic (1917) Harrison and Barrison (1917) Faun (1918) The Man with the Golden Touch (1918) Mary Ann (1918) Ave Caesar! (1919) White Rose (1919) Yamata (1919) Man of Gold (1919) Neither at Home or Abroad (1919) Number 111 (1919) The Prince and the Pauper (1920) Masters of the Sea (1922) A Vanished World (1922) Samson and Delilah (1922) The Unknown Tomorrow (1923) Everybody's Woman (1924) Tragedy in the House of Habsburg (1924) Dancing Mad (1925) Madame Wants No Children (1926) A Modern Dubarry (1927) The Stolen Bride (1927) The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1927) Yellow Lily (1928) Night Watch (1928) Love and the Devil (1929) The Squall (1929) Her Private Life (1929) Lilies of the Field (1930) Women Everywhere (1930) The Princess and the Plumber (1930) The Men Around Lucy (1931) Rive gauche (1931) Marius (1931) Longing for the Sea (1931) The Golden Anchor (1932) Service for Ladies (1932) Wedding Rehearsal (1932) The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) La dame de chez Maxim's (1933) The Girl from Maxim's (1933) The Private Life of Don Juan (1934) Rembrandt (1936) That Hamilton Woman (1941) Perfect Strangers (1945) An Ideal Husband (1947)
As producer only	Men of Tomorrow (1932) That Night in London (1932) Women Who Play (1932) Strange Evidence (1933) Counsel's Opinion (1933) Cash (1933) Catherine the Great (1934) The Private Life of the Gannets (1934) (short) The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934) Things Are Looking Up (1935) Sanders of the River (1935) Wharves and Strays (1935) (short) The Ghost Goes West (1935) Miss Bracegirdle Does Her Duty (1936) (short) The Fox Hunt (1936) Things to Come (1936) I Stand Condemned (1936) Men Are Not Gods (1936) Forget Me Not (1936) The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1936) Fire Over England (1937) I, Claudius (1937) (unfinished) Dark Journey (1937) Elephant Boy (1937) Farewell Again (1937) Storm in a Teacup (1937) Action for Slander (1937) Knight Without Armour (1937) The Squeaker (1937) The Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1937) Paradise for Two (1937) The Divorce of Lady X (1938) The Drum (1938) South Riding (1938) The Challenge (1938) Prison Without Bars (1938) Q Planes (1939) The Four Feathers (1939) The Rebel Son (1939) The Spy in Black (1939) The Lion Has Wings (1939) Over the Moon (1939) 21 Days (1940) Conquest of the Air (1940) The Thief of Bagdad (1940) Old Bill and Son (1941) Lydia (1941) To Be or Not to Be (1942) Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book (1942) The Biter Bit (1943) (short) The Shop at Sly Corner (1947) A Man About the House (1947) Mine Own Executioner (1947) Night Beat (1948) Anna Karenina (1948) The Winslow Boy (1948) The Fallen Idol (1948) Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948) That Dangerous Age (1949) The Last Days of Dolwyn (1949) Saints and Sinners (1949) The Third Man (1949) The Cure for Love (1950) The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950) The Angel with the Trumpet (1950) The Bridge of Time (1950) (short documentary) My Daughter Joy (1950) State Secret (1950) The Wooden Horse (1950) Seven Days to Noon (1950) Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951) The Wonder Kid (1951) Mr. Denning Drives North (1952) Outcast of the Islands (1952) Home at Seven (1952) Who Goes There! (1952) Cry. the Beloved Country (1952) Edinburgh (1952) (short documentary) Road to Canterbury (1952) (short documentary) The Sound Barrier (1952) The Holly and the Ivy (1952) The Ringer (1953) Folly to Be Wise (1953) Twice Upon a Time (1953) The Captain's Paradise (1953) The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan (1953) The Man Between (1953) The Heart of the Matter (1954) Hobson's Choice (1954) The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954) The Teckman Mystery (1954) The Man Who Loved Redheads (1955) Three Cases of Murder (1955) A Kid for Two Farthings (1955) The Deep Blue Sea (1955) Summertime (1955) Storm Over the Nile (1955) Richard III (1955) Smiley (1956)

Films by Alexander Korda

As director