The Dam Busters
An obsessive inventor and a squadron of courageous airmen pull off an audacious but costly raid on a dam in wartime Germany.
“Orchestrates the prolonged anxieties of lonely research... The style is enlivened by the scenario’s bold, original architecture of disappointments, destruction and loss.”
Raymond Durgnat, A Mirror for England, 1970
Michael Anderson’s film of the famous Dam Busters bombing raid of May 1943 is a pared-down retelling, short on heroics and long on the cost in British and Commonwealth life. Yet the extraordinary nature of the plan hatched by scientist Barnes Wallis (Michael Redgrave) – to destroy three dams supplying German arms factories with power and water – shines through.
The mission involves a crack squadron of veteran crews, led by Guy Gibson (Richard Todd), flying massive Lancaster bombers low over water, at night and under fire. They are to drop specially designed bombs from a precise height and distance from the target – bombs that then bounce across the surface of the water until they strike the dam. That is, if Wallis’s calculations prove correct...
Eric Coates’s martial theme tune became a popular standard, while the raid sequence inspired the climax of Star Wars (1977).
Cast & credits
Cast
- Wing Commander Guy Gibson Richard Todd
- Dr Barnes N. Wallis Michael Redgrave
- Mrs Wallis Ursula Jeans
- Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris Basil Sydney
- Captain Joseph "Mutt" Summers Patrick Barr
- Air Vice Marshal the Hon. Ralph Cochrane Ernest Clark
- Group Captain J.N.H. Whitworth Derek Farr
- doctor Charles Carson
- Sir David Pye Stanley van Beers
- Dr W.H. Glanville Colin Tapley
- committee member Frederick Leister
- committee member Eric Messiter
- committee member Laidman Browne
- National Physical Laboratory official Raymond Huntley
- Ministry of Aircraft production official Hugh Manning
- observer at trials Edwin Styles
- observer at trials Hugh Moxey
- RAF officer at trials Anthony Shaw
- farmer Laurence Naismith
- Group Signals officer Harold Siddons
- BBC announcer Frank R. Phillips
- Flight Lieutenant R.D. Trevor-Roper Brewster Mason
- Flight Lieutenant R.E.G. Hutchison Tony Doonan
- Flying Officer F.M. Spafford Nigel Stock
- Flight Lieutenant A.T. Taerum Brian Nissen
- Flight Sergeant J. Pulford Robert Shaw
- Pilot Officer G.E. Deering Peter Assinder
- Squadron Leader H.M. Young Richard Leech
- Squadron Leader H.E. Maudslay Richard Thorp
- Flight Lieutenant J.V. Hopgood John Fraser
- Flight Lieutenant W. Astell David Morell
- Flight Lieutenant H.B. Martin Bill Kerr
- Flight Lieutenant D.J.H. Maltby George Baker
- Flight Lieutenant D.J. Shannon Ronald Wilson
- Flying Officer L.G. Knight Denys Graham
- Flight Lieutenant R.C. Hay Basil Appleby
- Flight Lieutenant J.F. Leggo Tim Turner
- Flight Sergeant G.E. Powell Ewen Solon
- Crosby Harold Goodwin
- Wallis' son John Hall
- guard on door Patrick McGoohan
- RAF officer Edwin Richfield
- flight sergeant at briefing Philip Latham
- RAf orderly Lane Meddick
- Collins, civilian technician on exterior trails Lloyd Lamble
- RAF officer who provokes fight in mess with Gibson's men Gerald Harper
- RAf officer Peter Arne
- RAF pay clerk in NAAFI seeking meal in NAAFI Arthur Howard
- cast member Alun Owen
Credits
Direction
- Directed by Michael Anderson
- Assistant Director John Street
- 2nd Assistant Director Jeremy Summers
- 3rd Assistant Director John Pitcher
- Assistant Director - Location Frederic Goode
- Continuity Thelma Orr
Production
- Associated British Picture Corporation presents Associated British Picture Corporation
- Director in Charge of Production Robert Clark
- Production Manager Gordon L.T. Scott
- Production Supervisor W.A. Whittaker
- Production Secretary Daphne Paice
- Made at Associated British Elstree Studios
Casting
- Casting Director Robert Lennard
- Casting Director G.B. Walker
Writing
- Screenplay by R.C. Sherriff
- Based on the book by Paul Brickhill
- [Based] On his own account in 'Enemy Coast Ahead' Guy Gibson
Photography
- Director of Photography Erwin Hillier
- Special Effects Photography Gilbert Taylor
- Aerial Photography Erwin Hillier
- Camera Operator Norman Warwick
- 2nd Unit Camera Operator Val Stewart
- Focus Puller Chick Macnaughton
- 2nd Unit Focus Puller Tony White
- Clapper Loader Kelvin Pike
- Clapper Loader D. Brown
- Clapper Loader Brian West
Stills
- Stills Photography Ronnie Pilgrim
- Publicity Photography Bob Hawkins
Special Effects
- Special Effects George Blackwell
Editing
- Editor Richard Best
- Assembly Cutter Joan Warwick
- Assistant Editor Philip Barnikel
- 2nd Assistant Editor Henrietta Gordon
- 2nd Assistant Editor Bill Prowse
Design
- Art Director Robert Jones
- Assistant Art Director Peter Glazier
- Draughtsman Wallis Smith
- Draughtsman George Richardson
Make-up
- Make-up Stuart Freeborn
- Hairdresser Hilda Fox
Music
- Music Score by Leighton Lucas
- March 'The Dambusters' by Eric Coates
- [Music Score] Performed by The Associated British Studio Orchestra
- Musical Director Louis Levy
Sound
- Recording Director Harold V. King
- Sound Recordist Les Hammond
- Boom Operator Eric Bayman
- Boom Assistant Hugh Strain
- Sound Camera Operator J. Whiting
- Sound Maintenance S. Conley
- Dubbing Crew Len Shilton
- Dubbing Crew C. Brown
- Dubbing Crew H. Blackmore
- Dubbing Crew M. Bradbury
- Sound System RCA Sound System
- Dubbing Editor Arthur Southgate
- Assistant Dubbing Editor Jean Newsome
Consultant
- Technical Adviser J.N.H. Whitworth
Publicity
- Publicity George Mason
- Publicity Alan Thomson
Transportation
- Unit Car Driver Eddie Frewin