direct by leslie howard ( who also play mitchell ) the first of the few tell his story from an idea he have one day watch the bird to the plane fly in the war . make in 1942 a year after the spifires help win the battle of britain this be an uplifting film make i imagine for the sole purpose of build troop morale . r. j mitchell ( leslie howard ) be a plane designer who design be deem to revolutionary for the time . along with his old friend geoffrey crisp ( david niven ) who be a pilot in the first world war he set out to build the plane . geoffrey back him up 100 percent and be the test pilot for mitchell aircraft . however tragedy be just around the corner when ( after work flat out without sleep or eat ) mitchell feel unwell and consult a dr who tell him if he do not stop he will die in just a year . will mitchell ignore the advice or heed it . well if you read about him you will know if you do not know the story then watch this wonderful film . david and leslie have a great chemistry and play their part well a must see film about an important part of british history .