Film Review: The Sound Barrier (1952)

After the premiere U-571 was criticised by pandering to American chauvinism and distorting historical truth by portraying British achievement as American. During the debates, some American participants noted that the British had done the same thing by claiming American achievement as their own in The Sound Barrier, 1952 film directed by David Lean.

The plot begins in England during Second World War when RAF fighter pilot Philip Peel (played by John Justin) gets in trouble during flight and manages to save his life and aircraft through unconventional technique. On the ground his friend and fellow RAF officer Tony Garthwaite (played by Nigel Patrick) meets and marries Susan “Sue” Ridgefield (played by Ann Todd), daughter of John Ridgefield (played by Ralph Richardson), brilliant but emotionally distant and ruthless owner of aircraft production company that is experimenting with introduction of jet engines. After the war Tony joins his father-in-law’s company and works as a test pilot, which is putting unbearable strain on Sue, who has seen her own brother Christopher (played by Denholm Elliott) die while piloting aircraft. Tony is nevertheless determined to continue, even if his latest tasks involving experimental aircraft and attempts to reach speed of sound seem not only dangerous, but appear to result only in failure and death.

The Sound Barrier is, historical inaccuracies aside, rather authentic film due to script by Terrence Rattigan being inspired by Geoffrey De Havilland, famous aircraft designer and tycoon whose own son Geofrrey De Havilland Jr. died as test pilot during attempt to break the sound barrier. De Havilland actually co-operated with producers, with his aircraft – De Havilland Vampire and De Havilland Comet, world’s first passenger jet .- not only featuring prominently in the film, but are actually listed as stars in the film’s credits. In many ways, The Sound Barrier can be seen as one large advertisement for British aerospace industry. But it can also be seen as celebration of particularly British “stiff-upper-lip” values. Rattigan’s script portrays Ridgefield as ruthless authoritarian willing to sacrifice everything, including his own children, for the sake of technological progress. Sue, as a wife and mother, is set as his counterpart who always questions whether the breaking of mythical sound barrier is worth such a terrible price. The film gives positive answer to this question, in rather preachy finale which is clearly inspired by the similar scene in pre-WW2 science fiction classic Things to Come.

While some of the modern audience might dislike film’s traditional and male-centric values, they are likely to admit that David Lean displayed great deal of film making skills that transcend problematic script. The Sound Barrier features impressive black-and-white cinematography by Jack Hildyard, especially in aerial scenes. The acting is very good, especially in case of Ralph Richardson who delivers strong and sometimes very moving performance. John Justin, who was relatively bland as Prince Ahmad in The Thief of Bagdad is very effective in the role of Tony’s friend and colleague, partly drawing on his own real experience as RAF test pilot during the war. Ann Todd, who was David Lean’s wife during the time of production, isn’t that impressive, and same thing, to a degree, can be said of Nigel Patrick as the protagonist.

The Sound Barrier was commercially successful and, partly due to Cold War secrecy, created a false impression that the British, rather than the Americans, achieved first supersonic flight. The real event, which had occurred five years earlier than production of Lean’s film, was much more faithfully and successfully covered in 1983 Hollywood epic The Right Stuff. Inevitable comparisons between those two films make The Sound Barrier look inferior and might explain why it isn’t among Lean’s most highly regarded works.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

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