Spitfire (1942)

Leslie Howard: R.J. Mitchell

Photos 

Quotes 

• Geoffrey Crisp : Mitch, what do really think I can get out of her?

  Reginald J. Mitchell : Oh, two eighty five.

  Geoffrey Crisp : [astonished]  Two eighty-five? Mitch, this is 1927, not 1977!

• [the Mitchells have bumped into Crisp at a Dress Ball] 

  Reginald J. Mitchell : Well, who's the lucky lady?

  Geoffrey Crisp : Don't know, I haven't met her yet!

• Air Ministry Official : [Referring to the new Spitfire airplane]  We shall need it in 12 months. Sorry, but that's all the time we can give you.

  Reginald J. Mitchell : [Referring to his imminent death]  You shall have it in eight. Because... because that's all the time *I* can give *you*!

• Geoffrey Crisp : [Approaching Mitch]  Well, how are you? Oh, I see you need a proper holiday.

  Reginald J. Mitchell : Do I?

  Geoffrey Crisp : [Thinking about it]  Yeah, I do. Hadn't thought of that'

  Reginald J. Mitchell : [Yelling to his wife inside the cottage]  Diama!

  Geoffrey Crisp : Look, I'm going away next week. Both of you come with me.

  Reginald J. Mitchell : No. Why didn't you tell me that before?

  Reginald J. Mitchell : [Calling his wife inside the cottage again]  Diana! And look who's here.

  Diana Mitchell : Hello, Geoff.

  Geoffrey Crisp : Hello, Diana.

  Reginald J. Mitchell : Here, we're going to have a holiday.

  Reginald J. Mitchell : [to Geoff]  Where?

  Geoffrey Crisp : Where? Spain... Paris. There's lot to be said for Pa...

  Geoffrey Crisp : [Getting a fresh thought]  ... Germany!

  Reginald J. Mitchell : Why Germany?

  Geoffrey Crisp : No women.

  Reginald J. Mitchell : What do you mean? There are 35 million womwn in Germany.

  Geoffrey Crisp : Not my type.

  Diana Mitchell : [Injecting herself into the conversation]  Where are we going?

  Reginald J. Mitchell : Well, believe it or not, we're going to Germany.

• Reginald J. Mitchell : [after disclosing his illness]  I'm going on with my work because, as you said, it is important. At least we believe it's important, and we must live what we believe, musn't we?

  Diana Mitchell : [Realizing the extent of his illness]  Live?

  Reginald J. Mitchell : Darling, we've all got to pack up some time or other. It isn't when we pack up that matters; it's what we do while we're here.

• Reginald J. Mitchell : The birds fly a lot better than we do.

  Diana Mitchell : You don't say.

  Reginald J. Mitchell : I do! But then they've been at it some millions of years. We've got to learn from them if we ever want to fly properly. And faster. Always faster. And the world gets smaller and places closer and people half way across the earth are not strangers, but neighbors.

  Diana Mitchell : Not strangers, but neighbors. I like that!

• Reginald J. Mitchell : Here, you take a look at them. See how they wheel and bank and glide. Perfect. And all in one: wings, body, tail. All in one. And when we try, we build something all stuck together with strings and struts and wires. But, you wait. Someday, I'm going to build a plane that will move just like a bird.

• Reginald J. Mitchell : How about having a drink with the boys?

  Diana Mitchell : Yes, lets.

• Reginald J. Mitchell : What have you been doing all these years?

  Geoffrey Crisp : Oh, lots of things. So of them, rather odd. A bit of lying.

  Reginald J. Mitchell : Have a cigarette.

  Geoffrey Crisp : No thank you.

  Reginald J. Mitchell : Flying in the war, I suppose.

  Geoffrey Crisp : Yes, I just got in the tail in.

  Reginald J. Mitchell : Did you? Lucky man. They didn't bump you off.

  Geoffrey Crisp : They did their best. It's good fun, though.

  Reginald J. Mitchell : I'm glad you liked it.

  Geoffrey Crisp : But, when it was all over, they didn't have any more use for us. So, it all sort of broke up.

  Reginald J. Mitchell : Axe'd, eh?

  Geoffrey Crisp : Well, it sounded better than just the sack.

  Reginald J. Mitchell : That's hard luck.

• Geoffrey Crisp : After that, I traveled in soap.

  Reginald J. Mitchell : Soap?

  Geoffrey Crisp : You'd be surprised the number of people that don't seem to use it. I was.

• Geoffrey Crisp : I came breezing in here, bold as brass, feeling pretty cheap, really, then that female snap dragon of yours tried to bite me.

  Reginald J. Mitchell : Tried to bite you?

  Geoffrey Crisp : I give you my word, took a great snap at me. Then, she rang a bell.

• Reginald J. Mitchell : I believe I've discovered the secret of real flying. The secret of the birds. Oh, I know I'm not the first to believe that; but, I'm certain I've got it.

• Geoffrey Crisp : If it's as simple as that, why hasn't somebody thought of it?

  Reginald J. Mitchell : Somebody has! Me!

• Lady Houston : Nobody seems to be worrying much about our country these days. But, I'm doing my best to make them.

  Reginald J. Mitchell : Yes, so I see.

  Lady Houston : They won't believe me. But, I can see something. I can see England in danger. We've got to be strong on land and on sea.

  Reginald J. Mitchell : And in the air!

  Lady Houston : What? What?

  Reginald J. Mitchell : And in the air.

  Lady Houston : Fiddlesticks. What can we do in the air except fly at ridiculous speeds? Besides it isn't natural to fly. We're not birds.

  Reginald J. Mitchell : You're not a fish; but, you've got a yacht.

  Lady Houston : That sounds rude.

  Reginald J. Mitchell : It wasn't intended to be, I assure you.

  Lady Houston : Don't apologize, young man. Please. Everybody's rude these days.

• Reginald J. Mitchell : I propose to be ready to give the Nazis a dose of their own medicine. Death and destruction. I want to build a fighter. The fastest and deadliest fighting airplane in the world.

• Reginald J. Mitchell : I don't know what I'd do without her. I'd be quite lost.

  Geoffrey Crisp : Yes, it's surprising. She's got some good points, really.

  Reginald J. Mitchell : Who?

  Geoffrey Crisp : The snap dragon.

  Reginald J. Mitchell : Yes, I - I meant Diana.

  Geoffrey Crisp : Oh, Diana! Oh, she's grand.

  Reginald J. Mitchell : Yes. Take my advice, Geoff. Get yourself a wife. Before it's too late.

  Geoffrey Crisp : Yes, I might do that. I'll try anything once.

• Reginald J. Mitchell : It isn't working long hours that is tiring. It's because what one wants is just out of reach. It's tiring always stretching up for something that's out of reach. But, I'll get it.

• Reginald J. Mitchell : What I want isn't as easy as all that. It's got to for 400 miles per hour, turn on a six pence, climb 10,000 feet in a few minutes, dive at 500 without the wings coming off. Carry eight machine guns.

• Diana Mitchell : Remember? Watching those birds.

  Reginald J. Mitchell : Mmm. But, it isn't exactly a bird I'm creating, is it? At least, a curious sort of bird. A bird that breathes fire and spits out death and destruction. A spitfire bird.

• Reginald J. Mitchell : My work on the Spitfire is really finished. Yours is just beginning. If it's accepted, it's your baby now. Yours and the rest of the fighter pilots.

  Geoffrey Crisp : That's right. We're going right on. Nothing's going to stop us. Remember, I said that to you once before.

• Reginald J. Mitchell : Listen, Geoff, see that you get what you want. There are lots of things still needed, I know. You'll have to wait for them. Don't let those Whitehall boys put anything over on you.

• Diana Mitchell : You go to sleep.

  Reginald J. Mitchell : I am asleep.