The Battle of Britain on the Big Screen ‘The Finest Hour’ Through British Cinema by Dilip Sarkar MBE

 This analysis contains lots of anecdotes, and details about famous British war movies, such as The Battle of Britain and A Bridge Too Far, and their famous stars, including Audie Murphy, Laurence Olivier and Dirk Bogarde. Although Audie Murphy had an interesting life, rising from a poor boyhood picking cotton to becoming a soldier who won every medal, and becoming a wealthy movie-star, I was keener to read about the latter two. I enjoyed reading about Olivier's war service, and the making of his famous films, such as That Hamilton Woman and Henry V (which he actually directed himself!) I also didn't realise that Alexander Korda was probably a spy, or that Churchill played a big part in the making of That Hamilton Woman, his favourite film.

The story of Dirk Bogarde, who analysed aerial photographs for intelligence, was even more fascinating. He had an anguished time, because of hiding his homosexuality, and he was one of the first to liberate Belsen. He never forgot the sights there, and Dilip Sarkar tells how she interviewed the great Bogarde when she was a young journalist. He was apparently incredibly anxious to tell people the truth about the horrors of the Holocaust, especially in the light of anti-Semitism and Holocaust-denial, rampant at the time.

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.