"Appointment in London" is an unusually-atmospheric, stylish and very-consistently-interesting late British WWII film. The subject is the pilots of British Bomber Command and the stresses they encounter in battles as the fly Lancasters in night missions over the European mainland. Specifically, the film features as its central character a dedicated pilot, played elegantly by Dirk Bogarde. He has completed 89 missions and survived, but very much wants his 90th. Due to fatigue and concerns for his well being, echelon grounds him. he is angry and frustrated, but during his time on the ground, he reconnects to life and wins lovely Dinah Sheridan, who acts very strongly as the widow of a naval intelligence type, winning her from breezy Willaim Sylvester, a U.S. pilot. The added tension in the film comes from Bogarde's desire to complete his third tour with one final mission, and the fact that everything about it sets up to be a "jinxed" mission from the start. I will not give away the breath-taking and vivid climax, but apart from some leisurely spots here and there, I will claim that director Philip Leacock has produced one of the best of all war films in "Appointment in London" The script was credited to Robert Westerby and John Woolridge, with cinematography by Stephen Dade and art direction by Donald M. Ashton. John Woolridge also wrote the fine original score, and costumes were contributed by Sheila Graham. In appearance, the film is very strongly made, and attractively photographed. The aerial sequences are very good and the recreated picture of wartime London is a big selling point for this hard-to-find film. Bogarde and Sheridan are extraordinarily touching and intelligent; I cannot recommend this film too highly as drama, as a war movie or as a cinematic "sleeper", one which in lesser hands would not have been as absorbing as it was made to be.

***SPOILERS*** Somewhat talky but very good WWII movie set on an English airfield of RAF Lancaster Bombers in the late summer of 1943. Grounded Wing-Commander Tim Mason, Dirk Bogarde, who has flown 89 bombing missions over German occupied Europe seems to have developed a dislike of his airmen under his command who have anything to do with their loved one's back home.

Mason feels that their, the bomber pilots, emotions will get in the way of their ability in flying their dangerous bombing missions over Europe. One of those airmen pilot Pete Greeno,Bryan Forbes,who was just recommended for the DFC, Distinguish flying Cross, for bravery is called into his office and is chewed out by Mason for calling his girl, really his wife, after every mission to tell her in code that he was all right.

Greeno who had an appointment in London to receive his DFC at Buckingham Palace never made it there, on his next mission his plane was lost over the English Channel after a bomb run over the skies of Germany. Mason is deeply hurt by what happened to Greeno and his crew since he feels that he jinxed him by giving him the berating that he did before his last flight and that may have taken the edge, by not being allowed to call his girl, off his flying skills.

Meeting his wife Pam Greeno, Anne Leon, later to give his sympathy and condolences Mason is even more hurt to find out that Mrs. Greeno knew all about his attitude towards her as well as all the other wives and girlfriends of his air crews and hated him for it. Mason was also a bit hypocritical since he was itching to go on a bombing mission and has a girlfriend himself back in England Eve Canyon, Dinah Sheridan, a officer in Naval intelligence and also a war widow of a navy man who was lost at Dunkirk.

Troubled and almost suicidal on what he did to the Greeno's Mason takes his 90th mission , against orders, on a night-time raid over German controlled Holland and guides his Lancaster Squadron over the target where they dropped their bomb payload successfully and then returned to the safety of the British Isles due to Mason's courage under fire. Receiving an award for bravery instead of a court-martial Mason together with bomber pilot and friend of the late Pete Greeno Bill Brown,Bill Kerr, and the widowed Pam Greeno are seen at the end off the movie on a taxi going to Buckingham Palace for their appointment in London. Even more important, to Mason, the late Pet Greeno's wife Pam has changed her mind about him and due to his brave actions in the air over Holland knows that he was very mournful and sorry for what he did to her husband by browbeating him about her and, what seems like to me, forgave Wing-Commander Mason for it.

The movie "Appointment in London" not only shows the courage under fire of the brave men and women of the RAF in WWII but also the dedication and courage of their friends families and loved ones that they left behind who may have never seen them come back.

We don't get to see that many movies about Bomber Command, though there are a goodly number of Eighth Air Force movies around. I guess American studios poured out more war movies but in the 1950s the Brits produced some hum dingers as well, and this is one of them.

It bears some slight resemblance to "Twelve O'Clock High" in its structure. The men are convinced their squadron is jinxed and Bogarde must snap them out of it. Lots of tense ground scenes with the full story of a bombing raid over Germany saved until the end. And, like Gregory Peck, Dirk Bogarde is a pilot who has "done his share of flying" and is now a ground officer, enforcing discipline on the men. In an emergency, he climbs aboard a Lancaster for his final mission -- number ninety. When the Master Bomber, who acts as a kind of coach during the raid, is shot down, Bogarde takes over and saves the day. The appointment in London involves decorations for some of the men, to be awarded at Buckingham Palace. The role of Squadron Commander, though, really belongs to someone like Jack Hawkins, who can convey both empathy and necessity. Bogarde is stern enough but brings a slightly personal, bitchy quality to the role.

As usual, the officers and men are a mixed group of Brits, Australians, and whatever people from Sheffield are called. There is an American major who slouches around, hands in pockets, wearing a big smile, acting as liaison officer to the RAF. He risks court martial by sneaking aboard on some raids and acting as tail gunner. You're likely to recognize him as the guarded Dr. Floyd in Kubrick's "2001." There are a couple of women too: a widow who is the object of rival affections, and a widow who generates sympathy. There is also the usual grabass in the mess hall, a kind of riot in which officers mark the ceiling with the inky prints of their bare feet. It's all rather good natured fun.

The final raid is shown from its planning stages until the landing of the last overdue Lancaster. It's pretty tense. Bogarde is aboard one of the planes and the dramatic structure could go either way.

I suspect that there may be more movies about the Americans' daylight precision bombing than about the British night-time area bombing partly because more combat footage is available from daylight missions. Of course, until fighters with sufficient range became available, daylight bombing meant unsustainable losses and the program was suspended for a while. The British program didn't do much better. Their losses were appalling. And the metric doesn't exist that would allow us to measure the airmen's suffering against that of the Germans beneath them. All the combatants took a terrific pummeling. War is an awful thing. One wonders why some of us seem so anxious to rush into the next one.