Conquest of the Air

{{Infobox film

| name = Conquest of the Air

| image =

| caption =

| director = {{Plainlist|

| producer = Alexander Korda

| writer = {{Plainlist|

John Monk Saunders
Hugh Gray
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry}}

| starring = Laurence Olivier

| narrator = Charles Frend

| music = Arthur Bliss

| cinematography = Wilkie Cooper
George Noble
Hans Schneeberger
Lee Garmes

| editing = Peter Bezencenet
Charles Frend
Richard Q. McNaughton

| studio = Alexander Korda Productions

| distributor = London Films (UK)

| released = {{Film date|1936|12||UK}}

| runtime = 71 minutes

| country = United Kingdom

| language = English

| budget =

| gross =

}}

Conquest of the Air is a 1936 documentary film or docudrama on the history of aviation up to that time. The film features historical footage, and dramatic re-creations, of the developments of commercial and military aviation; including the early stages of technological developments in design, propulsion, and air navigation aids. The film was a London Films production, commissioned by the British Air Ministry.

Synopsis

Cast

Frederick Culley as Roger Bacon
Laurence Olivier as Vincent Lunardi
Franklin Dyall as Jerome de Ascoli
Henry Victor as Otto Lilienthal
Hay Petrie as Tiberius Cavallo
John Turnbull as Ferdinand Von Zeppelin
Charles Lefeaux as Louis Bleriot
Bryan Powley as Sir George Cayley
Alan Wheatley as Giovanni Alfonso Borelli
John Abbott as Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier

Production background

The film was initially commissioned by Alexander Korda prior to the advent of World War II, and the Air Ministry saw the value in promoting Britain's contribution and leadership in aviation during this period. Some notable footage is featured of the early phases of automated flight, navigational equipment, and the transitions between civil and military developments, including heavy bombers; fast fighter aircraft; and the advent of naval aviation (aircraft carrier), plus the initial experiments with vertical rotary flight (helicopters).

An updated version was released in 1940 and released in the United States on 20 May 1940.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032354/releaseinfo|title=Conquest of the Air (1936) - Release dates|access-date=30 June 2010|publisher=Internet Movie Database}}