Appointment in London

1953

Directed By

Philip Leacock

Synopsis

Appointment in London is something of an undiscovered gem: perhaps the definitive film depicting life in RAF Bomber Command, written by John Wooldridge who himself flew over 90 missions during WWII (and also composed the music for the film).

A perfect companion piece to The Dam Busters and Angels One Five, Appointment to London was directed by Philip Leacock and directed by (Reach for Glory, ‘Gunsmoke’), and stars Dirk Bogarde (The Servant, Death in Venice) Ian Hunter (The Adventures of Robin Hood, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), Dinah Sheridan (The Railway Children, Genevieve), William Sylvester (2001: A Space Odyssey, Gorgo), Bryan Forbes (The Guns of Navarone), Bill Kerr (Gallipoli, Peter Pan) and Walter Fitzgerald (The Fallen Idol, Treasure Island).

Wing Commander Tim Mason (Sir Dirk Bogarde) leads a squadron of Lancaster bombers on almost nightly raids from England. Having flown eighty-seven missions, he will shortly be retiring from flying, but the strain is showing. With losses mounting and several raids being seen as failures, members of his crew, Brown (Bill Kerr) and “The Brat” Greeno (Bryan Forbes) among them, are thinking that there must be a “jinx” at work. Against his will, Mason is grounded for his own safety, but when a key member of the crew is injured just before a crucial mission he steps in, unbeknownst to his superiors and to Naval Officer Eve Canyon (Dinah Sheridan), who has already lost one man she loved to the War…

Cast
Dirk Bogarde, Ian Hunter, Dinah Sheridan, Bryan Forbes, Walter Fitzgerald, Bill Kerr, William Sylvester, Anne Leon, Richard Wattis, Terence Longdon
Other Credits

Written by John Wooldridge and Robert Westerby, based on an original story by John Wooldridge
Music composed by John Wooldridge

Release Date
27 June 2022
extras
  • New Appointment with my Father: Hugh Wooldridge on John Wooldridge
  • New Flight of the Pathfinders: author Will Iredale on Appointment in London
  • Stills Gallery
Restoration Details

For the 2022 restoration of Appointment In London, STUDIOCANAL went back to the original camera negative which was scanned and restored in 4K to produce a brand new HD master

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