Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines

Infobox_Film
name = Those Magnificent Men
in Their Flying Machines,
Or How I Flew from London to Paris
in 25 Hours 11 Minutes


image_size = 225px
caption = theatrical poster
director = Ken Annakin
producer = Stan Margulies
writer = Ken Annakin
Jack Davies
starring = Stuart Whitman
Sarah Miles
Terry-Thomas
James Fox|
Robert Morley
music = Ron Goodwin
cinematography = Christopher Challis
editing = Anne V. Coates
distributor = 20th Century Fox
released = 16 June fy|1965 "(US)"
runtime = 138 minutes
country = United Kingdom
language = English
budget =
gross =
followed_by = "Monte Carlo or Bust"
imdb_id = 0059797

"Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines, Or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes" is a fy|1965 British comedy film directed by Ken Annakin. Based on an original screenplay titled "Flying Crazy", the story is set in 1910, when Lord Rawnsley, an English press magnate, offers a prize of £10,000 to the winner of the "Daily Post" air race from London to Paris, to prove that Britain is "number one in the air". [ [http://www.britmovie.co.uk/studios/pinewood/filmography/1960/1965/002.html Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines] ]

Origins

Although director Ken Annakin was not an aviator, he had always been interested in aviation from his early years when pioneering aviator Sir Alan Cobham had given him a first flight in a biplane. Along with co-writer Jack Davies, he had been working on an adventure film about transatlantic flights, when the producer's bankruptcy aborted the production. Fresh from his role as director of the British exterior segments in "The Longest Day" (fy|1962), Anniken pitched the idea of recreating an actual event from the dawn of aviation to Darryl F. Zanuck, his producer on the wartime opus.

Zanuck agreed to bankroll an "epic" that would be faithful to the era, even deciding upon the name "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines". He had come up with the name after Elmo Williams, managing director of 20th Century Fox in Europe told him his wife had written an opening lyric

"Those magnificent men in their flying machines,
They go up diddley up-up, they go down diddley down-down!"

for a song that Anniken complained would eventually "seal the fate of the movie". However, after being put to music by composer Ron Goodwin, the "Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines" song would become the "irresistible" jingle-style theme music for the film and go on to have a "life of its own", even released in singles and on the soundtrack record.

Description

The film opens with a brief, comic introductory segment on the history of flight, narrated by James Robertson Justice and featuring American comedian Red Skelton (in a cameo appearance) depicting a recurring character whose aerial adventures span the centuries, in a series of silent blackout vignettes that incorporate actual stock footage of unsuccessful attempts at early aircraft. This was Skelton's final feature film appearance; coincidentally he was in Europe filming scenes for the 1964-1965 season of his television series, "The Red Skelton Show".

This is followed by a whimsical animated opening credit sequence drawn by renowned children's author and illustrator Ronald Searle, accompanied by the film's title song. (Another animated sequence closes the film.)

A recurring "gag" suggested by Darryl F. Zanuck concerned his girlfriend, Irina Demick who sequentially played Brigitte (who is French), Marlene (German), Ingrid (Swedish), Françoise (Belgian), Yvette (Bulgarian) and Betty (English) as a lookalike flirtatious character who is constantly being pursued by pilot Pierre Dubois, played by Jean-Pierre Cassel. The American lead, Stuart Whitman was selected over the first choice of Dick Van Dyke, whose agents never contacted him about the offer, but the majority of the cast were British actors.

Sarah Miles plays the daughter of Lord Rawnsley (Robert Morley), a newspaper magnate whose favourite to win his race is his daughter's fiancé, Richard Mays (James Fox), flying an Antoinette monoplane. Lord Rawnsley sums up the expectation that a Britisher should win the competition: "The trouble with these international affairs is they attract foreigners." ["Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines" VHS 1969] An international cast plays the array of contestants, most of whom live up to their national stereotypes, including the fanatically by-the-book, monocle-wearing Prussian officer (Gert Fröbe) flying an Eardley-Billing biplane, impetuous Count Emilio Ponticelli (Alberto Sordi), an amorous Frenchman (Cassel) in a Santos-Dumont Demoiselle, the rugged American cowboy Orvil Newton (Stuart Whitman) flying a Wright Flyer lookalike, who falls for Lord Rawnsley's daughter.

The main entertainment comes from the amusing dialogue and characterisations and the daring aerial stunts, with a dash of heroism and gentlemanly conduct thrown in for good measure. Terry-Thomas plays the cheating Sir Percival Ware-Armitage, an Avro Triplane-flying rogue who "never leaves anything to chance". With the help of his bullied and downtrodden servant Courtney (Eric Sykes), he sabotages other aircraft or drugs their pilots - only to get his comeuppance in the end. The race sets out with 14 competitors but, one by one, the contenders drop out, after stops at Dover and Calais, the few survivors land triumphantly in Paris. England, of course, prevails, but the budding romance continues between Lady Rawnsley and Orvil Newton, who gave up his chance to win the race when he saves Count Ponticelli from a fiery death in his crashing aircraft.

Cast

Cast credits in order of screen credits include onscreen and uncredited roles: [ Lee 1974, p. 490.] A full cast and production crew list is too lengthy to include, see: IMDb profile. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059797/fullcredits Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines Full credits] ]

Cast notes

*Character actor Michael Trubshawe ("Niven, Lord Rawnsley's aide") and David Niven served together in the Highland Light Infantry in the 1930s; they made it a point to refer to uncredited characters in their films as "Trubshawe" or "Niven" as an inside joke.

Crew

* Director: Ken Annakin
* Assistant Director: Clive Reed
* Producer: Stan Margulies
* Production designer: Tom N. Morahan
* Set Designer: Arthur Taksen
* Writers: Jack Davies and Ken Annakin
* Cinematographer: Christopher Challis
* Colour: DeLuxe
* Editor: Gordon Stone and Anne V. Coates
* Music: Ron Goodwin (Musical Direction/Supervision)
* Composer: Ron Goodwin (Music Score)
* Sound Mixers: Jonathan Bates, Gordon K. McCallum and John W. Mitchell
* Titles: Ronald Searle
* Art Director: Jim Morahan
* Animation: Ralph Ayres
* Costumes: Dinah Greet
* Costume Design: Osbert Lancaster
* Makeup: Biddy Chrystal, Stuart Freeborn, W.T. Partleton and Barbara Ritchie
* Special Effects Supervisor: Ron Ballinger
* Special Effects Wireman: Richard Parker
* Special Effects: Jimmy Harris, Fred Heather, Garth Inns, Malcolm King, Nick Middleton and Jimmy Ward
* Visual Effects: Roy Field (uncredited)
* Production Assistant: Don Sharp
* Casting: Stuart Lyons
* Aerial Supervisor: Allen Wheeler
* Stunt pilot: Joan Hughes
* Stunt pilot: Mac Dougall
* Stunt pilot: Derek Piggott
* Stunt pilot: David Watson

Production

One of the main strengths of the film was the extensive use of British and international character actors who enlivened the storyline by inspired performances lampooning each contestant's nationality's foibles. British comedians Benny Hill, Eric Sykes, Terry-Thomas and Tony Hancock provided a madcap series of misadventures; Hancock had broken his leg prior to principal photography and was hobbled by a cast but Anniken decided to write that misfortune into the storyline. The Japanese contestant (played by Yujiro Ishihara) speaks perfect upper-class British English, but with the sound noticeably out of sync with his lip movements: a humorous reference to the low-budget Japanese disaster films popular at that time. Ishihara's voice is dubbed by James Villiers. The good-natured ribbing of all the characters stand out, however, the two lead actors, Stuart Whitman and Sarah Miles had an early falling out during the production with the director, Ken Annakin commenting that "she hated his guts," rarely deigning to speak if it wasn't part of the script."Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines" DVD, 2004] Anniken had to employ various manipulations in order to ensure the production proceeded smoothly despite his stars' animosity towards each other.

Another intriguing aspect of the production was the fluid nature of the writing and directing with Anniken and Davies able to "feed off each other." Their collaboration had been long-standing and had resulted in the two friends working together on the earlier "Very Important Person" (1961), "The Fast Lady" (1962), and "Crooks Anonymous" (1962) . Even during the filming, Anniken and Davies continued to develop the script with zany interpretations. When the German character, Gert Fröbe has to contemplate piloting his country's flying entry, he climbs into the cockpit, reaches down and retrieves a manual. Anniken and Davies devised a quip on the spot, having him read out: "No. 1. Sit down." The comic vein that infused the film continued in the same light-hearted treatment.

Although decidedly a comedy feature, elements of Annakin's earlier documentary background were evident as a backdrop of turn-of-the-20 Century aerial pioneers was obtained with authentic sets, props and costumes. Production values were maintained at a high standard with careful attention to details; over 2,000 extras decked out in authentic period costumes were employed alone for the climactic race launch.

Location sets

A decision was made early in the production planing to utilize life-size, "working" "aeroplane" models and replicas, forgoing scale models in order to create a typical early 20 century airfield, the "Brookley Motor Racing Track" (fashioned after the Brooklands race track where early aviators staged test flights. All of Brookley's associated trappings of structures, aircraft and vehicles (including a rare 1908 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost estimated to be worth at least 50 million dollars) was part of the Booker Airfield set, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The completed set featured a windmill as a lookout tower as well as serving as a restaurant (the "Old Mill Cafe") and home for the hapless Fire Brigade. A series of hangars were constructed in rows, bearing the names of real and fictional aviation manufacturers: A.V. Roe & Co., The Bristol: The British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, Humber, Sopwith, Vickers, Ware-Armitage Manufacturing CoY (sic), and Works. Later an impressive grandstand was added for the race spectators.

Additional locations included Dover where Dover Castle and the nearby cliffs and beaches played a prominent role as well as mock-ups at the Buckinghamshire primary film set that stood in for Calais and Paris sequences. Exterior and interior footage of Lord Rawnsley's Manor House residence was shot at Pinewood Studios property at Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England. Interior and studio sets at Pinewood Studios were also utilized for bluescreen and special effects photography. The location where Sir Percy's aircraft lands on a train is the now closed line from Bedford to Hitchin. The railway tunnel into which they fly is the Old Warden Tunnel near the village of the same name in Bedfordshire; the tunnel had only recently been closed, and in the panning shot through the railway cutting, the cooling towers of the now demolished Bedford power station can be seen. The locomotive is former Highland Railway Jones Goods No 103. About 1910 the French State Railways had built some steam locomotives which were duplicates of a Highland Railway class "The Castles" which were a passenger version of the Jones Goods. [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059797/locations Locations] ]

Principal photography

The film was photographed in 70 mm Todd-AO by Christopher Challis. Consultation had taken place with Royal Air Force Air Commodore Allen H. Wheeler who had been retained as a technical consultant during production planning. His involvement in the subsequent film was critical as Wheeler had the necessary background on early aviation having restored a 1900 era Bleriot with his son.

In order to create realistic flying sequences, a series of filming platforms were utilized. The bevy of camera platforms included a modified Citroen sedan, camera trucks, helicopters and a unique "flying rig" constructed by Special Effects "wizard" Richard "Dick" Parker. Parker had built the apparatus for model sequences in "Strategic Air Command" (1955); the flying rig consisted of two gigantic construction cranes and a hydraulically operated device to tilt and position a model, along with 200 ft of cables. Parker's rig allowed the actors to sit inside the full scale models suspended approximately 50 ft above the ground, yet provide safety and realism for staged flying sequences. A further hydraulic platform was devised in order to do away with matte shots of aircraft in flight. The platform was large enough to mount an entire aircraft and either Parker or stunt pilots could manipulate its controls for realistic bluescreen sequences. Composite photography was still utilized whenever scenes called for difficult or "dangerous" shots; these sequences were completed at the Rank Studios facility of Pinewood Studios. Some unique shots were actually created with rudimentary cockpits and noses grafted onto a Alouette helicopter. One aerial scene with three race craft over Paris was staged with small models when Parisian authorities refused permission for an overflight. However, for the majority of the flying scenes in the film, an armada of flying full-scale "movie models" was assembled.

Aircraft

The film is notable for its use of specially constructed reproductions of 1910-era aircraft, including a triplane, as well as monoplanes and biplanes. Air Commodore Wheeler insisted on using the authentic materials of the originals, but with modern engines and modifications (where necessary) to ensure safety. Of the 20 types built in 1964 at a cost of about £5,000 pounds each, six were able to fly, flown by six "regular" stunt pilots and maintained by a crew of 14 aviation mechanics. (The race takeoff scene where seven aircraft are in the air at once included a composite "addition" to the fleet.) Flying conditions were carefully monitored with aerial scenes filmed before 10 am each day or in the early evening when the air was least turbulent for the flying replicas that were considered "flimsy" by modern standards. Due to the necessity to get aerial sequences "in the can," the "call sheet" each day was determined by the prevailing weather conditions. If it was favourable to fly, all the principal actors were made up for aerial scenes; if the weather was poor, interiors or other incidental sequences were substituted. Wheeler eventually served as the technical adviser and aerial supervisor throughout the production and later wrote a comprehensive background account of the film and the replicas that were constructed to portray period aircraft.Wheeler 1965]

The following competitors were listed:
* Number 1: Richard Mays, "Antoinette IV" (Aircraft number 8)
* Number 2: Sir Percy Ware-Armitage, "Avro Triplane" (Aircraft number 12)
* Number 3: Orvil Newton, "Bristol Boxkite" nicknamed "The Phoenix Flyer" (Aircraft number 7)
* Number 4: Lieutenant Parsons, "Picaut Dubrieul" nicknamed "HMS Victory" (Aircraft number 4)
* Number 5: Harry Popperwell, "Little Tiddler" (Aircraft number 5)
* Number 6: Colonel Manfred von Holstein and Captain Rumpelstoss, "Eardley Billing Tractor Biplane" (Aircraft number 11)
* Number 7: Mr Wallace. (Aircraft number 14)
* Number 8: Charles Wade. (Aircraft number unknown)
* Number 9: Mr Yamamoto, "Japanese Eardley Billing Tractor Biplane" (Aircraft number 1)
* Number 10: Count Emilio Ponticelli, "Philips Multiplane," "Passat Ornithopter," "Lee Richards Annular Biplane" and "Vickers 22 Monoplane" (Aircraft number 2)
* Number 11: Henri Monteux. (Aircraft number unknown)
* Number 12: Pierre Dubois, "Santos-Dumont Demoiselle" (Aircraft number 9)
* Number 13: Mr Mac Dougall, "Blackburn Monoplane" nicknamed "Wake up Scotland" (Aircraft number 6)
* Number 14: Harry Walton (no number assigned).

While each aircraft was an accurate reproduction, some “impersonated” other types. For instance, "The Phoenix Flyer" Bristol Boxkite built by F.G. Miles Engineering Co. at Ford, Sussex, was used to represent a typical American biplane of 1910. The Bristol was chosen because Director Anniken thought it was a lookalike for a Wright biplane of the era, although the "American pilot" character, Orvil Newton describes it as a "Curtiss with an Anzani engine", it actually is a British derivative of the French 1909 Farman biplane. For the purposes of the "impersonation", the replica had the name "The Phoenix Flyer" painted on its outer rudder surfaces and it was identified as a "Gruber-Newton Flyer."

F. George Miles, chiefly responsible for its design and manufacture, incorporated a third rudder for controllability and powered the replica with a Rolls-Royce C90 (90 hp) engine that provided a 45 mph top speed. The Boxkite was extremely tractable and when pilot Derek Piggott lost a main wheel, he managed a smooth landing and subsequently repeated the wheel-off takeoff and landing successfully over 20 times for the cameras. In the penultimate flying scene, a stuntman was carried in the Boxkite's undercarriage and easily carried out a fall and "roll" (the stunt had to be repeated in order to match the principal actor's roll and revival). Slapstick stunts both on the ground and in the air were a major element in the film and often the directors requested repeated stunts with trepidation; the stuntmen were more than accommodating, they considered the repetition "more money in the bank."

The Eardley Billing Tractor Biplane replica flown by David Watson appeared in two different guises, as the German pilot's aircraft, in more or less authentic form, but impersonating an early German tractor biplane, and with boxkite-like side curtains over the interplane struts and other decoration, as the Japanese pilot's mount.

In addition to the “flying” aircraft - several of the unsuccessful aircraft of the period were represented by “non-flying” replicas including a number of unlikely "contraptions" such as an ornithopter (the Passat Ornithopter) flown by the Italian contender in the race, the Walton Edwards Rhomboidal, Picaut Dubrieul, Philips Multiplane or the Little Tiddler (a backwards-facing design). Regardless, the movie models all "flew" with the help of "movie magic." The Lee Richards Annular Biplane with circular wings was built by Denton Partners on Woodley Aerodrome near Reading. In flight, the Lee Richards Annular Biplane actually surpassed the performance of its 1910 namesake, although the movie model "flew" by means of the flying rig that simulated its flight by towing the model into the air.

The types that were chosen for the “flying” replicas were all of distinctly different layouts, so as to be easily distinguishable for the least aeronautically sophisticated member of the audience. They were also chosen from types that were reputed to have flown well, in or about 1910.

In most cases this decision to choose specific types as "flying" models worked well, but there were a few surprises, adding to an accurate historical reassessment of the aircraft concerned. For example, the Santos-Dumont Demoiselle, one of the forerunners of today's ultralight aircraft at first could not be made to leave the ground properly, but only in brief "hops". When Doug Bianchi and the Personal Planes production staff who constructed the replica consulted with Alan Wheeler, he recalled that its designer and first pilot, Alberto Santos-Dumont was a very tiny man. A suitably small pilot, Joan Hughes, a wartime member of the Air Transport Auxiliary who was the Airways Flying Club Chief Flying Instructor, was hired. With the reduced payload, and a replacement Ardem 50 hp engine, the diminutive Demoiselle flew "fantastically" as Hughes also proved to be a consummate stunt flyer.

Bianchi had earlier in 1960, created a one-off Vickers 22 (Bleriot type) Monoplane, utilizing Vickers company drawings, originally intended for use by the Vickers Flying Club in 1910. The completed prototype was available and 20th Century Fox purchased the replica, even though it required a new engine and extensive modifications including replacing the entire wooden fuselage structure with welded steel tubing as well as incorporating ailerons instead of wing-warping. The Vickers 22 became the final type used by the Italian contestant in the film.

Peter Hillwood of the Hampshire Aero Club constructed an authentic Avro Triplane Mk IV, using drawings provided by Geoffrey Verdon Roe, the son of A.V. Roe, the original designer. The construction of the triplane followed A.V. Roe's specifications and was the only replica that utilized wing-warping successfully. With a more powerful 90 hp Cirrus II replacing the 35 hp Green engine that was in the original design, the Avro Triplane proved to be a lively performer even with a stuntman dangling from the fuselage.

The Antoinette IV movie model closely replicated the slim, graceful monoplane that was very nearly the first aircraft to fly the English Channel and won several prizes in early competitions. When the Hants and Sussex Aviation Company from Portsmouth Aerodrome undertook its construction, the company followed the original structural specifications carefully. The Antoinette's wing structure proved, however, to be dangerously flexible, and lateral control was very poor until its wing bracing was reinforced with extra wires. Another major modification was to replace the original engine with a de Havilland Gypsy I engine and discard its original wing-warping in exchange for standard ailerons. Despite these alterations, the final configuration was still considered marginal in terms of stability and lateral control.

The realism and the attention to detail in the replicas of vintage machines are a major contributor to the enjoyment of the film, and although a few of the flying stunts were achieved through the use of models and cleverly disguised wires, most aerial scenes featured actual flying aircraft. One of the few vintage aircraft used, including a Deperdussin used as "set dressing", the flyable 1912 Blackburn Monoplane “D” (the oldest "genuine" British aircraft still flying [ Ellis 2005, p. 38.] ) belonged to the Shuttleworth Trust based at Old Warden, Bedfordshire. When the filming was completed, the "1910 Bristol Boxkite" and the "1911 Roe IV Triplane" were retained in the Shuttleworth Collection. [ [http://www.airsceneuk.org.uk/airshow06/shuttlemay/avrotriplane.htm Avro Triplane] ] Both replicas are still in flyable condition, albeit flying with different engines. [ Ellis 2005, p. 39.] For his role in promoting the film, the non-flying "Passat Ornithopter" was given to aircraft restorer, Cole Palen who displayed it at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, New York.

During the promotional "junkets" accompanying the film in 1965, a number of the vintage aircraft and film replicas used in the production were flown in both the United Kingdom and the United States. The pilots who had been part of the aerial team readily agreed to accompany the promotional tour in order to have a chance to fly the movie models again.

Reception

Contemporary reviews judged the film as "good fun" and even the usually hyper-critical NY Times reviewer, Bosley Crowther was effusive in that the film was a good-natured "large-canvas" comedy with costumes, authentic-looking props and good character acting. Variety had a similar reaction: "As fanciful and nostalgic a piece of clever picture-making as has hit the screen in recent years, this backward look into the pioneer days of aviation, when most planes were built with spit and bailing wire, is a warming entertainment experience." [ [http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117795671.html?categoryid=31&cs=1 Variety Review] ] Years later when the film turned up on television with its first telecast in 1969, the TV Guide summed up most critical reviews: "Good, clean fun, with fast and furious action, good cinematography, crisp dialogue, wonderful planes, and a host of some of the funniest people in movies in the cast." [ [http://www.tvguide.com/movies/magnificent-men-flying/review/120398 TV Guide Review] ]

Running at over two hours length, "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines..." (most theatre marquees abbreviated the full title and it was eventually re-released with the shorter title) was treated as a major production, one of only three full-length 70 mm Todd-AO Fox releases in 1965 with an intermission and musical interlude spliced into the original screenings. Due to the Todd-AO process, "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines" was considered an exclusive feature shown in deluxe Cinerama venues where customers needed reserved seats purchased ahead of time to see it. [ [http://www.amazon.ca/dp/customer-reviews/B00014NEX0 reviews for Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines] ] Considered one of the most popular exemplars of the '60s "epic comedy" genre, it was an immediate box-office success, far outgrossing the similar car-race comedy "The Great Race" and even eclipsing the perennial favorite "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World".Munn 1983, p. 161.] Audience reaction both in first release and even today is nearly universal in assessing the film as one of the "classic" aviation films. [ Hardwick and Schnepf 1989]

Awards and honors

"Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines" was nominated and received awards in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The original screenplay written by Ken Annakin and Jack Davies was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing Directly for the Screen (1966). The film was also nominated in the category of Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written. At the 1966 Golden Globes, the film won Best Motion Picture Actor - Musical/Comedy for Alberto Sordi, as well as being nominated in Best Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy and Most Promising Newcomer - Male for James Fox. "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines" went on to win 1966 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards (BAFTA) for Best British Costume (Colour), winners: Osbert Lancaster and Dinah Greet, Best British Art Direction (Colour), winner: Thomas N. Morahan and Best British Cinematography (Colour), winner: Christopher Challis. The film also was nominated for Best Comedy in the 1966 Laurel Awards where it was awarded a fourth place finish.

The success of the film prompted Annakin to write (again with Jack Davies) and direct another race movie, "Monte Carlo or Bust" (aka "Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies"), released in 1969, this time involving vintage cars with the story set around the Monte Carlo Rally.

ee also

* Brooklands
* Shuttleworth Collection

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Burke, John. "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 hours 11 minutes". New York: Pocket Cardinal, Pocket Books, 1965.
* Ellis, Ken. "Evenin' All." "Flypast" No. 284, April 2005.
* Hallion, Richard P. "Taking Flight: Inventing the Aerial Age from Antiquity through the First World War". New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-19-516035-5.
* Hardwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies". "The Making of the Great Aviation Films", General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989.
* Hodgens, R.M. "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in Twenty-Five Hours and Eleven Minutes." "Film Quarterly" October 1965, Vol. 19, No. 1, p. 63. ‌
* Lee, Walt. "Reference Guide to Fantastic Films: Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror". Los Angeles, CA: Chelsea-Lee Books, 1974. ISBN 0-91397-403-X.
* Munn, Mike. "Great Epic Films: The Stories Behind the Scenes". New York: Frederick Ungar, 1983. ISBN 0-85242-729-8.
* "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines (1965)" DVD (Including bonus features on the background of the film.) 20th Century Fox, 2004.
* "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines (1965)" VHS Tape. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 1969.
* Searle, Ronald, Bill Richardson and Allen Andrews. "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines: Or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes". New York: Dennis Dobson/ W.W. Norton, 1965.
* Temple, Julian C. "Wings Over Woodley - The Story of Miles Aircraft and the Adwest Group". Bourne End, Bucks, UK: Aston Publications, 1987. ISBN 0-946627-12-6.
* Wheeler, Allen H. "Building Aeroplanes for "Those Magnificent Men.". London: G.T. Foulis, 1965.

External links

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