One of Our Aircraft is Missing – 1942 | 102mins | Drama, War | B&W

Plot Synopsis

A British bomber crew returning from a raid on Stuttgart bails out over occupied Holland. Aided by a friendly Dutch family, the men are taken to the local church where they are helped by resistance worker Els Meertens, the local schoolteacher. Dutch network helps them to travel, disguised, across the occupied countryside, avoiding the German patrols until, reaching the North Sea coast, they are hidden at the house of Jo de Vries who – although the Germans believe she is loyal to them – is working with the Allies. Undercover of an air raid, the crew escape by rowing boat, finally making a landing on the newly situated ‘lobster pots’ – floating stages placed to help grounded air crews waiting to he picked up by patrol vessels. Reaching England, they prepare for their next bombing raid over Germany.

An embarrassed Rank was forced to admit a definite error of judgement when One of Our Aircraft is Missing, released by British National in June 1942, met with great public and critical acclaim. Cut by about 20 minutes for US release, it became Powell and Pressburger’s second consecutive picture to win a Best Screenplay nomination at the American Academy Awards – the only time in his career that Michael Powell would find his name put forward for an ‘Oscar’ – the film this time losing out to Casablanca.