For Those in Peril – 1944 | 67mins | War, Drama | B&W

Plot Synopsis

Charles Crichton, received his first directorial assignment with For Those in Peril, a story about the Air-Sea Rescue service which patrolled the Channel and North Sea in high-speed launches ready to pick up airmen who had been shot down. Ralph Michael played a new man who resents joining David Farrar‘s boat because he would rather be where the action is – in the air. During a mission they run into an enemy minefield and an armed trawler, are shelled by shore batteries and strafed by Focke-Wulf 190s. Farrar is killed and Michael has to take over and bring the craft and rescued aircrew safely home. He will never complain of dullness again.

The story had been written by Richard Hillary, a fighter pilot in the Battle of Britain whose experiences inspired his fine book, The Last Enemy. After spending time at Ealing during his recuperation from burns received when he was shot down, he rejoined the RAF and a few weeks later was killed. For Those in Peril, in presenting the work of the Air-Sea Rescue crews in documentary terms, provided the public with another glimpse of an aspect of war that tended to be overlooked. It was also the closest Crichton got to documentary realism during his long Ealing career.

Extract© George Perry: Forever Ealing.