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The Dam Busters (1955)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
16 July 1955 (USA) moreTagline:
The dramatic true-life story of the men who broke the Nazis' back! morePlot:
True story of how the British attacked German dams in WW2 by using an ingenious technique to drop bombs where they would be most effective. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(5 articles)
Stephen Fry Says He's Writing Jackson's 'Dambusters' (From Get The Big Picture. 20 October 2009, 11:37 PM, PDT)
Peter Jackson is Moving Like 'Dam Busters'
(From CinemaSpy. 19 October 2009, 9:15 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
Inspired Star Wars sequence, despite the dog's name. more (74 total)Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Richard Todd | ... | Wing Commander Guy Gibson, V.C., D.S.O., D.F.C. | |
| Michael Redgrave | ... | Doctor B. N. Wallis, C.B.E., F.R.S. | |
| Ursula Jeans | ... | Mrs. Wallis | |
| Charles Carson | ... | Doctor | |
| Stanley Van Beers | ... | Sir David Pye, C.B., F.R.S. | |
| Colin Tapley | ... | Doctor W.H. Glanville, C.B., C.B.E. | |
| Frederick Leister | ... | Committee Member | |
| Eric Messiter | ... | Committee Member | |
| Laidman Browne | ... | Committee Member | |
| Raymond Huntley | ... | Official, National Physical Laboratory | |
| Hugh Manning | ... | Official, Ministry of Aircraft Production | |
| Patrick Barr | ... | Captain Joseph 'Mutt' Summers, C.B.E. | |
| Edwin Styles | ... | Observer at trials | |
| Hugh Moxey | ... | Observer at trials | |
| Anthony Shaw | ... | R.A.F. Officer at trials |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
124 min | USA:105 minCountry:
UKLanguage:
EnglishColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 moreCertification:
Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:L | Australia:G (DVD rating) | Norway:12 | USA:Approved (PCA #17528) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | UK:UFilming Locations:
Associated British Elstree Studios, Shenley Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK moreFun Stuff
Trivia:
This film was used as inspiration for the final battle scenes in Star Wars (1977). Gilbert Taylor, Director of Photography and Stuart Freeborn, makeup supervisor for Star Wars also worked on this film. moreGoofs:
Continuity: During training flights shown early in the film when crews knew nothing about the target or weapon, Lancasters are shown carrying the bouncing bomb that was used on the actual mission. moreQuotes:
[Whitworth is helping Gibson select pilots for the new squadron]Group Capt. Whitworth: I'd go for these two Australians if I were you; Les Knight and Micky Martin. Martin knows pretty well all there is to know about low flying.
Gibson: Yes, I met him when he was collecting his DFC. I know this New Zealander, Les Munro, I'd like to have him. Oh and Joe McCarthy, he's great.
Group Capt. Whitworth: [laughs] Oh, the American. The Glorious Blonde. He used to be a Coney Island beachguard. We mustn't forget the English.
[leads Gibson to another personnel book of pilots]
[...]
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It appears that the attack sequences in The Dam Busters were the direct inspiration for the attack on the Death Star in the first Star Wars film. Some of the dialogue is word-for-word, and it is very interesting to watch these two films back to back.
Also, in the original edit of the film, the dog's name (a black labrador) was a historically accurate but socially unacceptable "Nigger". One edit changed the spoken word to "Trigger," while another release cut all scenes with the offending word. This was unfortunate, because parts of the plot became unintelligible -- the dog's name was one of the code-words used during the attack.