Film

The Lion Has Wings

Name: The Lion Has Wings
Genre: Documentary, War, Drama
Released: 1939
Cast: Merle Oberon, Ralph Richardson, June Duprez, Flora Robson, Robert Douglas

War action

A 1939 propaganda film that merges documentary and dramatised sequences to celebrate the RAF's readiness against Nazi Germany. Fascinating as a historical artifact of wartime morale-building, it shows what the British wanted to believe about themselves at the war's outset. For anyone interested in how cinema sells a nation to itself.

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you are drawn to wartime propaganda as a historical artifact, the way its stiff patriotism, staged briefings and newsreel-style cutaways show how a nation talked to itself in 1939.

Skip it if you want a modern war film with rough edges and character depth; its tone is earnest and rallying, and the drama is thin next to the instructional and morale-building intent.

What it asks of you: Seventy-six minutes, so brisk, with a mix of real-looking footage and studio scenes you have to accept as period-stylized; it asks you to watch as a record, not be gripped by suspense.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Mrs. Miniver1942

The companion piece to Lion: another portrait of Britain at war told through domestic sacrifice and stoicism. Greville's film won Best Picture and defined how wartime Britain saw itself. Essential context.

But Sentimentalised to the point of feeling remote now; the Blitz sequences are brief and the focus stays resolutely on the privileged.

In Which We Serve1942

Coward and Lean's naval drama uses a ship's story to examine duty, class, and collective purpose. More honest than Lion about the cost of war, but cut from the same patriotic cloth with real craft behind it.

But Stiff upper lip can read as cold; the episodic structure fragments momentum.

Fires Were Started1943

Humphrey Jennings's documentary-drama hybrid follows London firefighters with a poet's eye. Where Lion propagandises, Jennings finds truth in ordinary courage. One of the greatest British films ever made.

But Slow and contemplative; it asks you to watch firemen and rubble for ninety minutes with patience.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Lion Has Wings

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Listen to Britain1942

Both ask: what is Britain in this moment? Lion answers with actors and speeches. Jennings answers with sound and image. One inspires, one reveals.

Humphrey Jennings's 20-minute soundscape of wartime Britain—factories, church bells, dance halls, air raid sirens. No narration. It achieves what Lion attempts through abstraction instead of dramatisation. Profoundly moving.

But Entirely mood-based with zero plot; it's an experience rather than a film. Thirty seconds will tell you if this is for you.

The Way Ahead1944

Asquith's ensemble comedy-drama follows conscripts from civilian life into the army. Warmer and funnier than Lion, it's interested in character over doctrine and remains genuinely moving without preaching.

But The propaganda is still there, just softer; some sequences feel dated in their gender politics.

Target for Tonight1941

An RAF bombing raid in real time, filmed by Harry Watt. Twenty-six minutes of extraordinary tension that makes Lion's dramatised sequences look quaint. Pure documentary done with genius.

But No narrative comfort; just the mechanics of war presented flatly. Some will find it dull, others unbearable.

Went the Day Well?1942

Cavalcanti's invasion thriller imagines Nazi paratroopers in an English village. Where Lion shows confidence, this shows paranoia. Darkly funny and genuinely suspenseful, it's what Lion doesn't dare consider.

But Tonal shifts between comedy and violence can feel jarring; the village-versus-fascism setup is familiar now.

Desert Victory1943

Documentary record of El Alamein that won the Best Documentary Oscar. Raw battlefield footage, no studio sets. This is what real propaganda looked like when the Allies had actual victories to film.

But Repetitive rhythms of combat footage; the victory lap at the end feels shallow against the carnage shown.

The First of the Few1942

Leslie Howard's biography of the Spitfire designer. Technical detail serves character and stakes; it shows wartime propaganda when it's built from genuine achievement rather than hope.

But Hagiographic; Howard's soft performance lacks dynamic energy, and the romance subplot feels obligatory.

One of Our Aircraft Is Missing1942

Powell and Pressburger's darkly comic drama about downed RAF pilots. Technically inventive and morally nuanced in ways Lion never attempts. Shows what the directors would become after the war.

But Preachy at moments; the episodic structure means momentum depends entirely on which segment you're watching.

The True Story of Lili Marlene1944

Both understand propaganda as cinema, but this one knows it's propaganda and gets wry about it. Lion wanted you to believe. Lili Marlene wants you to think.

A documentary about how the Nazis and Allies fought over a song. While Lion shows RAF planes as symbols of British virtue, this proves symbols were the whole war in the mind. Clever, ironic, and surprisingly affecting.

But Only 10 minutes long and structured like a radio piece; it may feel too slight after a feature. Also harder to find than it should be.