The First of the Few
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| The First of the Few (Spitfire) | |
|---|---|
| Image:Spitfire2xs.jpg Theatrical Poster | |
| Directed by | Leslie Howard |
| Produced by | Leslie Howard George King John Stafford |
| Written by | Henry C. James Kay Strueby Miles Malleson Anatole de Grunwald |
| Starring | Leslie Howard David Niven |
| Music by | William Walton |
| Cinematography | Georges Périnal |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures Inc. |
| Release date(s) | 1942 |
| Running time | 118 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The First of the Few, (known as Spitfire in the United States), is a 1942 British film, starring and directed by Leslie Howard, and co-starring David Niven. The film score was written by William Walton.
It is a biography of R.J. Mitchell, the designer of the Supermarine Spitfire. The title refers to the words of Winston Churchill who, when speaking of the Battle of Britain aircrew said: "Never in the face of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few."
Almost inevitably, because the film was made during the Second World War and dealt with subjects related to the War, it was effectively propaganda and consequently contained several inaccuracies:
- Mitchell did not work himself to death on the Spitfire, an impression one could conceivably get from this film. He did make sacrifices for his work despite the pain of his illness, and he did continue tweaking and perfecting the Spitfire design up until his death, so this is more misleading than inaccurate.
- Mitchell did not visit Germany and so never met Willy Messerschmitt. The film shows that the trip convinced him to design the Spitfire.
- In the film Mitchell's exact illness is not mentioned. Mitchell had rectal cancer and had a colostomy in 1933. However the film gave many people the impression that he had tuberculosis.
