Landfall (1949) User Reviews

A simple story, well told

[KIM_HARRIS · 7/10 · 2 December 2004]

Being something of a Nevil Shute devotee, I have been trying to track down a copy of this film for some time and finally succeeded.

This is one of Shute's simpler stories but in common with most of his novels, it concerns the issues of good people doing a job well. It should be read, or viewed, bearing in mind the time that it was written and the social and political climate of the time.

Landfall is no exception to this caveat applicable to many films of the time. I was relieved to find that this was a straightforward adaptation of the novel and was told without any twists and turns and unnecessary changes to the plot (unlike "Far Country" - a mangled adaptation of a later Shute novel).

I was also pleasantly surprised to find that the acting was much better than I expected in a 1949 film of this type. The issues of class difference were nicely handled and the story is just enough to fill the time. The main protagonists are portrayed well by the leads, particularly Patricia Plunkett, who resists the temptation to overdo the differences between her barmaid character and her flying officer boyfriend. A few of the lesser parts are a little conventionally and slightly woodenly handled but the ensemble of Maurice Denham, Kathleen Harrison, Nora Swinburne and Margaretta Scott are reliable.

The early flying scenes are reasonably convincing but they go downhill somewhat with the special (or not so special) effects in the bomb trials. This really doesn't matter too much in the context of this type of film where the important aspects are the story and the character development.

A simple story, well told. It would be nice to see it added to the collection of available classic movies on DVD.

British war picture is an interesting morality play

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 28 February 2017]

LANDFALL is an interesting little war picture, made in Britain in 1949 and long forgotten by most people - that is until it showed up on the Talking Pictures TV channel (God bless 'em) here in the UK. The film is an interesting little morality play in which a good-natured RAF man (played by Michael Denison in the usual British stiff upper lip spirit) accidentally blows up a British submarine that had strayed into the wrong waters.

The story that follows is somewhat slow and stately, but always engaging. Denison's protagonist is a sympathetic one who undergoes a pretty dark story and it all builds to an effective and surprising climax that works a treat. The supporting cast is full of familiar faces including Maurice Denham, a youthful David Tomlinson, the reliable Sebastian Shaw, and a trio of newcomers who would become familiar faces in future years (Paul Carpenter, Harry Fowler, and Laurence Harvey).

Shute To Keel

[writers_reign · 7/10 · 22 December 2014]

This entry has a special place in my affections; after watching it I made a point of noting it was based on a novel by Nevil Shute, of whom I had never heard. I went the next day to my local library in search of the novel and in lieu of Landfall itself - presumably out on loan - I took out another Shute title and enjoyed it so much that I eventually bought every Shute novel and still re-read them with enormous pleasure. I was slightly concerned that this early effort would not hold up but I was pleasantly surprised that it still held my attention although not as richly detailed as the novel. I thought Patricia Plunkett caught Mona particularly well, not a raving beauty nor quite an English rose but a warm, level-headed ideal wife-in-the-making. Glad to find it again.

Landfall review

[JoeytheBrit · 7/10 · 12 May 2020]

Michael Denison plays a young WWII RAF pilot blamed for the sinking of a British submarine in this solid drama from Ken Annakin. Although made in 1949, it plays like wartime propaganda at times with a strong focus on emphasising (not entirely convincingly) the breakdown of social barriers between the classes. Some tensions are overplayed - it's inconceivable that the Naval commander in charge of the testing of an experimental bomb would be unaware of the identity of the pilot tasked with flying the plane that drops it - but the likeability of Denison and Patricia Plunkett makes Landfall an enjoyable watch.

A thrilling, far from routine WW2 drama!

[Weirdling_Wolf · 7/10 · 27 May 2022]

'Landfall' is a far from routine WW2 drama about tall, dashing, good-natured R. A. Pilot Rick (Michael Denison) who misidentifies a submarine while out on a routine patrol, thereby sinking a British vessel in error. Increasingly distraught, Rick descends ever deeper into despond, but after accepting the risky post of testing the prototype of a magnetically controlled missile, some fresh evidence concerning the sunken submarine is discovered that sheds some welcome positive light on the tragic incident. 'Landfall' is that truly rare bird, a vintage wartime feature that not only works splendidly as thrilling military drama, but is no less affecting as a far from saccharine, delightfully romantic love story betwixt the heroic pilot Rick and his beautiful raven haired Mona (Patricia Plunkett). Michael Denison and Patricia Plunkett make an appealing screen couple and are quite wonderful in their roles, with versatile director Ken Annakin handling the action deftly, keeping things moving along at an agreeable pace, and the rousing score by Philip Green is especially beguiling.

Nevil Shute at the Movies

[krishkmenon · 6/10 · 10 March 2019]

A straightforward adaptation of the classic Shute wartime novel (being a fan of his for more than 35 years) which gave the readers of the next generation a look and feel of wartime England with the last remnants of its class distinctions and taboos. The romance in the book is not really captured in the film as the lead actor (curiously named Rick while in the book it was Gerry - an allusion to his Germanic looks) tends to be a little too exuberant in his role whilst the book character was more of a youth whose adventurous spirit came out in wartime. Thankfully the name of the heroine was not changed as it was too exquisite -Mona, but the actress shows too much of poise which the character in the book did not exude, and also the actress never really brought out the character as penned by Shute. That is the spoiler part of my review but otherwise the script follows the book quite closely and the settings in black and white does capture the flavour of an England that people of our generation read about. I had been trying very hard to view this film and was lucky to have a copy recently. Any fan of Shute should view this film Krishna Kumar Meno, Chennai

Acceptable war film

[Marlburian · 7/10 · 21 February 2017]

This is an acceptable WWII film that I watched courtesy of Talking Pictures TV channel, with the scenes featuring aircraft offering something for aviation enthusiasts.

The first few minutes plodded a bit with one protracted discussion between Rick and Mona and then another between Rick and newly-arrived pilot Binks; the "musical" efforts of the latter were almost irritating. But unlike another reviewer here on IMDb I thought there was good chemistry between Rick and Mona - and between Rick and Binks.

Denison's initial breeziness irked somewhat, but he performed well enough after he thought he'd sunk a British submarine. The sub-theme of class difference didn't quite work because Patricia Plunkett as Mona seemed too superior for a barmaid working in a pub popular with servicemen.

The actors playing senior naval and air-force officers were effective.

After I'd watched the film I thought that it seemed very much like a plot by Nevil Shute, and a check of IMDb showed that it was.

Wooden stars Lack charisma

[malcolmgsw · 5/10 · 7 May 2011]

One has to wonder what film goers of the late 40s made of this film when compared to the glossy Hollywood films.After all in the states this film would probably have Clark gable and Lana Turner in the lead.instead we have a rather wooden Michael Denison playing opposite a rather plump Patricia Plunkett.They have absolutely no charisma and their scenes together are forced.in the background we are told that the class divide no longer exists when in fact it is abundantly there for all to see.Almost as unbelievable as the romance is the scene of the bomb trial.The plane being piloted by Denison breaks up in mid air and crashes in to the sea.He is allowed to survive the crash to provide a happy ending.There are some new faces to be seen including Laurence Harvey and David Tomlinson.However it is unlikely that this sort of tosh would have been enough to tempt cinema-goers into their local ABC to view this.

Barely decent

[dierregi · 4/10 · 11 June 2022]

More than a war movie, this is a class-cross romance with barmaid Mona falling for dashing flight lieutenant Rick. Like most run-of-the-mill romances, this one has obstacles to overcome and they happen to be wartime obstacles.

The Rick character is a bit too breeze and flippant at first, except when he gets into serious trouble for sinking a submarine that could have been British. After a short separation, Rick goes back to his base, where Mona didn't stop "investigating" what really happened.

The most dated part of the story is how meekly Mona behaves with the "men" (the officers in charge of Rick's case) and how she did not ever reveal anything to him about the part she had in the story.

It seemed a lot longer than it actually was, maybe because of a sticked-on side plot with Rick's friendly songwriting pilot who composes a song about Mona.