Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Shortly after this film opens we see a Wellington bomber crossing the coast; there is something strange about it though... there is nobody aboard! Shortly afterwards it crashes... the action then moves back to shortly before it took off to bomb its target in Stuttgart. The crew are a cross section of society including an actor, a footballer and a former diplomat who conveniently speaks a little Dutch. The early part of the film follows them as they fly out of England, over Holland then on to their target in Germany. As they return home the aircraft is hit and one engine lost. They try to limp back but eventually the second engine fails and they are forced to bail out over occupied Holland; as the last of them jumps the plane dives slightly causing the engine to restart! Once on the ground five of the six manage to regroup; they are soon found by a small group of local children who take them to their teacher who can speak English. Once they convince the Dutch that they are really British not part of a German ploy to undercover the resistance they are helped to escape a chain of loyal Dutch men and women till they get to the coast; from here they must make their own way home.Made during the war this film was obviously intended to work as a piece of propaganda; showing both the plucky resolve of the downed airman to get home and the steely determination of the Dutch to help anybody fighting to free them from the German occupation... thankfully though it isn't heavy handed and proves to be a solid piece of entertainment. The early scenes of aircraft 'B for Bertie' heading to its target were particularly tense with the constant drone of the engines only serving to raise the tension. Once they are on the ground again there is still plenty of tension but there is also a surprising amount of humour; for example a couple of the airmen aren't too keen when they hear that they are to be taken to the church... it is a Catholic church and they are Chapel! No doubt people needed a chuckle in the dark days of 1942. It was interesting to see that it wasn't really the aircrew that got themselves home but the Dutch men and women they had to put their trust in; only one Dutchman is shown to be a collaborator and he ends up being fooled by a child in a rather amusing scene. The acting is pretty solid as are the effects; if I hadn't read otherwise I'd have thought the bombing scene had used footage of an actual raid rather then a mock-up. I'd certainly recommend this to anybody who enjoys war films or who has an interest in that period of history.

"...one of our aircraft is missing ..." is a well-cast and well-written piece from Powell and Pressburger, key film makers in 1940s Britain.The crew of B for Bertie find themselves lost in enemy territory and have to depend on the resources of others to get them to safety. The crew are played by some of the best actors of the time: Godfrey Tearle as the upper-class rear gunner; Eric Portman as the bluff Yorkshire co-pilot; Hugh Williams (father of 1970s actor Simon) as the refined navigator; Bernard Miles - better than usual - as the front gunner; High Burden as the pilot; and Emrys Jones as the Welsh sportsman who became the radio operator.In support are Googie Withers, P&P regular Pamela Brown, Joyce Redman, Robert Helpmann (as the quisling), Alec Clunes (father of Martin) as the church organist, and Peter Ustinov (in his film debut) as the priest.This film has been done as a drama-documentary so has a very realistic feel and look, pulling the viewer right into the action alongside the aircraft crew. It is less atmospheric than the 30s P&P films featuring Conrad Veidt and perhaps represented a more grounded style to their work before their Technicolor fantasies of the late 40s.

One of the best war films produced World War II, `One of Our Aircraft is Missing' is the product of one of the best British filmmaking teams of the 1940s, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. The makers of such unusual and memorable films as `The Red Shoes' and `Black Narcissus', Powel and Pressburger's films were never like anyone else's. Their approach to a wartime propaganda film was equally different.`One of Our Aircraft is Missing' begins dramatically with the crash of an RAF Vickers Wellington bomber designated `B-For Bertie', and then flashes back to the events leading thereto. The viewer is introduced to the six members of crew, and learns that they had actually bailed out of their crippled aircraft prior to the crash, landing in Nazi-occupied Holland. The remainder of the story describes their escape back to Britain.What makes this film different from the conventional Hollywood treatment of similar subject matter is that `One of Our Aircraft is Missing' stresses the courage and resourcefulness of the Dutch civilians rather than the aircrew. Indeed, it made manifestly clear that the British crew could never have escaped without the assistance of a great many ordinary Dutch people of all ages and both sexes. The characters, both British and Dutch, are all well drawn Surprisingly enough, even the Germans are depicted as not entirely inhuman. `They want to be liked', says one Dutch patriot who has wormed her way into their confidence by posing as a Quisling.From a historical perspective, this film is of interest due to its depiction of RAF Bomber Command operations during the early part of World War II, as well as details of the interior of the famous Wellington Bomber. It is also worth seeing as early example of the work of legendary film director David Lean (`Oliver Twist', `Bridge Over the River Kwai', `Lawrence of Arabia', Doctor Zhivago', Ryan's Daughter', etc), who served as Film Editor. There is also an early performance by a very young (and thin) Peter Ustinov, who acts in Dutch and Latin as well as English. All in all, this film is well worth a look.

Good flick; a different perspective (night bombing) than most of the air force world war two movies-12 O'clock High or Memphis Belle, for instance. Worth the price of admission to see Peter Ustinov thin (and young!)