This film is part of Rentals
Dual Control
Take to the skies in this eccentric short starring the newlywed darlings of British aviation, Amy Johnson and Jim Mollison.
Director: Walter Summers
Overview
This delightful curio sees ace aviators Amy Johnson and Jim Mollison descend on the Home Counties in search of fuel, meeting a gaggle of excitable schoolgirls on the way. With prolific director Walter Summers at the helm, the spiffing short was made to publicise Mollison's bid to become the first to fly westward across the Atlantic - though he is arguably upstaged by his trailblazing wife.
Johnson and Mollison, never quite at ease with such scripted fare, had announced their engagement in May 1932. They first met during Amy's victory tour of Australia in 1930, when she achieved international fame by becoming the first woman to fly solo from England. In 1933 the couple completed a transatlantic crossing in their plane Seafarer, surviving a serious crash-landing, but eventually separated in 1936.
Related
To Hell with Accidents To Hell with Accidents
Documentary 1970 23 mins Director: Ken Daley
Merchant seamen beware! The Devil's Director of Accidents is on board in this imaginative training film promoting safety at sea.
The Cradocks The Cradocks
Biopic 1959 13 mins
If looks could kill: Dan Farson gets on the wrong side of fearsome TV cook Fanny Cradock - and her seafood platter - in this classic 1959 interview.
The Princess and the Pea The Princess and the Pea
Fairy tale 1979 8 mins Director: Don Boyd
A starry British cast breathes life into the fairytale favourite by Hans Christian Andersen.
Star Impersonations Star Impersonations
Advert 1930 8 mins Silent Director: Harry Hughes
Five British film stars show a talent for mimickry in this quirky film magazine promotion.
Ypres Ypres
Documentary 1925 79 mins Silent Director: Walter Summers
Battle film made as a memorial to the dead of WWI, documenting events at Ypres using reconstructed and genuine footage.
Mons Mons
Documentary 1926 110 mins Silent Director: Walter Summers
Arrival of the British Army in France
The Battles of Coronel and Falkland Islands The Battles of Coronel and Falkland Islands
War 1927 106 mins Silent Director: Walter Summers
This dramatic reconstruction of two decisive naval battles from the First World War is one of the finest films of the British silent era.
The Flame of Love The Flame of Love
Melodrama 1930 75 mins Director: Richard Eichberg and Walter Summers
Chinese-American star Anna May Wong dazzles as a Chinese dancer forced to give herself to a Russian General in order to save her brother.
Small Things Like These Small Things Like These
Drama 2024 99 mins
Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as a coal merchant who discovers horrific secrets about his local convent.
Only the River Flows Only the River Flows
Crime 2023 102 mins Director: Shujun Wei
Shujun Wei's slow-burn noir draws us inexorably into its mysterious psychological journey.
The Critic The Critic
Period drama 2023 101 mins Director: Anand Tucker
Ian McKellen is in delicious form as London's most vicious critic, who strikes a Faustian pact with a struggling actor (Gemma Arterton).
Special People Special People
Comedy 2008 74 mins Director: Justin Edgar
Justin Edgar's pioneering feature comedy about a neurotic filmmaker enlisted to make a film with a class of wheelchair-users.
Timestalker Timestalker
Comedy 2024 89 mins Director: Alice Lowe
What if unrequited love spanned the centuries? Alice Lowe's time-jumping fantasy rom-com is a colourful, darkly funny treat.
South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic
Documentary 1919 81 mins Silent Director: Frank Hurley
An extraordinary story of survival in the wastes of Antarctica.