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The Sound Barrier

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6.5/10 • 56

1952-10-101h 58m

DramaRomanceWar

Fictionalized story of British aerospace engineers solving the problem of supersonic flight.

Directors
David Lean
Writters
Terence Rattigan
Editors
Terence Rattigan, Geoffrey Foot

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Ralph Richardson

    Ralph Richardson

    John Ridgefield

  2. Ann Todd

    Ann Todd

    Susan Garthwaite

  3. Nigel Patrick

    Nigel Patrick

    Tony Garthwaite

  4. John Justin

    John Justin

    Philip Peel

  5. Dinah Sheridan

    Dinah Sheridan

    Jess Peel

  6. Joseph Tomelty

    Joseph Tomelty

    Will

  7. Denholm Elliott

    Denholm Elliott

    Christopher Ridgefield

  8. Jack Allen

    Jack Allen

    'Windy'

  9. Ralph Michael

    Ralph Michael

    Fletcher

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Jun 19, 2025

6/10

“JR” (Sir Ralph Richardson) is a magnate determined to develop an aircraft that can break the speed of sound. This is no mean feat, and with the man becoming all but obsessed with this breakthrough, he engages “Tony” (Nigel Patrick) who just happens to be married to his daughter “Susan” (Ann Todd) to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, quite literally, “Chris” (Denholm Elliott). What this film does manage is to generate quite a sense of the perilous jeopardy facing these pilots as they pushed their embryonic technology harder and harder, almost feeling their way forward. That is really well illustrated by some archive aerial photography of just about everything from a bi-plane to more advanced jet engines aircraft, and Malcolm Armold delivers a suitably grand and flourishing score to accompany the frequent sky scenes. Sadly, though, that pace isn’t really very well transferred to the activities on the ground as the melodrama rather clutters up the proceedings and it becomes a little too stodgy. Patrick was always a proficient actor and for a while the planning and design elements of the plot prove quite compelling, but there just aren’t enough of these scientific elements to punch through the fog of mediocre (and extensive) dialogue that rather grounds this drama. It is a good looking film and it goes some way to illustrating - like “The First of the Few” (1942) - the dedication and commitment required to make air travel speedier and safer and it is worth a watch, but I found it a bit disappointing.

Media

  • The Sound Barrier poster
  • The Sound Barrier poster
  • The Sound Barrier poster
  • The Sound Barrier poster
  • The Sound Barrier poster
  • The Sound Barrier poster
  • The Sound Barrier poster
  • The Sound Barrier poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
sound barrier