Conflict of Wings
| Conflict of Wings | |
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Original lobby card
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| Directed by | John Eldridge |
| Produced by | Herbert Mason |
| Written by | John Pudney |
| Based on | novel by Don Sharp |
| Starring |
John Gregson Muriel Pavlow Kieron Moore Niall MacGinnis |
| Music by | Philip Green |
| Cinematography |
Arthur Grant Moray Grant |
| Edited by | Lito Carruthers |
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Production
company |
Group 3 Films
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| Distributed by | British Lion |
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Release date
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Running time
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84 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Conflict of Wings is a 1954 British drama film directed by John Eldridge and starring John Gregson, Muriel Pavlow and Kieron Moore. It is based on a novel by Don Sharp.
A small Norfolk village is outraged when it is discovered that the Air Ministry proposes to acquire and use the nearby Island of Children, a bird sanctuary, as an "air firing range". A struggle of wills begins between the military and the villagers, who resort to a variety of ways to prevent damage to the historic island. Harry Tilney is all for taking on the Government, but Sally has a boyfriend stationed at the nearby Royal Air Force base, Corporal Bill Morris, so she goes to see him first.
Meanwhile, Squadron Leader Parsons is informed that his unit's mission is being changed to ground attack. The de Havilland Vampire jets have to be modified to mount rockets. Parsons is informed he will have three weeks for the conversion, then four weeks to get his men trained. His commanding officer is not at liberty to inform him that the unit will then be sent overseas, but he takes the hint.
The land acquisition is assigned to bureaucrat Mr. Wentworth, which is rather awkward for him, as he is a prominent member of a bird watching society. He comes to meet with Harry, but Harry is drunk and drives him away. The civilians then learn that fishing rights to the area were granted to the people by Henry VIII. Soapy, the professional eel catcher, can squat on the land and use those rights to block the acquisition. However, Soapy receives a letter from the Government stating that there is no evidence that such rights exist.
Bookie then discovers that the land was given to the Church by Henry VIII for assistance in quelling a rebellion. The villagers present this information to Parsons. He agrees to pass it along to the Government, but in the meantime he insists on continuing with the training. In desperation, the local people take to their boats and form a human shield around the island just before the first bombing run. However, there is cloud cover and the onsite RAF controller cannot get a message through to have the flight cancelled. Fortunately, the civilians are spotted just in time to avoid a disaster. The official inquiry will take months or a year, by which time the unit will have been sent to Malaya.
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Wikipedia