Not part of a collection.
The Sound Barrier
A young RAF pilot tests his father-in-law’s prototype supersonic aircraft to the limit, at a time of intense development in the field of aviation, just as commercial jet airliners are about to enter service.
- Original title
- The Sound Barrier
- Language
- EN
- Country
- GB,US
- Budget
- $275,000
- Revenue
- $235,000
CinemaSerf
Jun 19, 2025 · via TMDB
“JR” (Sir Ralph Richardson) is a magnate determined to develop an aircraft that can break the speed of sound. This is no mean feat, and with the man becoming all but obsessed with this breakthrough, he engages “Tony” (Nigel Patrick) who just happens to be married to his daughter “Susan” (Ann Todd) to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, quite literally, “Chris” (Denholm Elliott). What this film does manage is to generate quite a sense of the perilous jeopardy facing these pilots as they pushed their embryonic technology harder and harder, almost feeling their way forward. That is really well illustrated by some archive aerial photography of just about everything from a bi-plane to more advanced jet engines aircraft, and Malcolm Armold delivers a suitably grand and flourishing score to accompany the frequent sky scenes. Sadly, though, that pace isn’t really very well transferred to the activities on the ground as the melodrama rather clutters up the proceedings and it becomes a little too stodgy. Patrick was always a proficient actor and for a while the planning and design elements of the plot prove quite compelling, but there just aren’t enough of these scientific elements to punch through the fog of mediocre (and extensive) dialogue that rather grounds this drama. It is a good looking film and it goes some way to illustrating - like “The First of the Few” (1942) - the dedication and commitment required to make air travel speedier and safer and it is worth a watch, but I found it a bit disappointing.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Ralph Richardson
John Ridgefield
Ann Todd
Susan Garthwaite
Nigel Patrick
Tony Garthwaite
John Justin
Philip Peel
Dinah Sheridan
Jess Peel
Joseph Tomelty
Will
Denholm Elliott
Christopher Ridgefield
Jack Allen
'Windy'
Ralph Michael
Fletcher
Leslie Phillips
Controller
Donald Harron
ATA officer
Douglas Muir
Controller
John Hawkesworth
Art Direction
Jack Hildyard
Director of Photography
David Lean
Director
David Lean
Producer
Malcolm Arnold
Original Music Composer
Terence Rattigan
Writer
Marret El-ayam
Ashab El Saadah
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Dec 21, 1952
