Wings Over Everest
| Wings over Everest | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Directed by | Geoffrey Barkas Ivor Montagu |
| Cinematography | S. R. Bonnett A. L. Fisher J. Rosenthal |
| Music by | Hubert Bath |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Gaumont-British |
Release date |
|
Running time | 22 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Wings over Everest is a 1934 British short documentary film directed by Geoffrey Barkas and Ivor Montagu.[1]
Scenario
[edit]The film describes the 1933 Houston–Mount Everest flight expedition, in which Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton, otherwise known as Lord Clydesdale, piloted a single-engined biplane on 3 April 1933, just clearing Everest's southern peak by a few feet, having been caught in a powerful downdraught.[2] The film used mixture of real footage of Everest from the record-breaking flight and theatrically produced scenes using the actual people rather than actors.[3]
Production
[edit]The flight used two aircraft that took off from Purnea, India on 3 April 1933.[4] One aircraft was Westland PV-3 which had undergone some additional changes, and the other aircraft was a Westland PV-6.[4] Lord Clydesdale flew the PV-3 and Lieutenant David McIntyre in the PV-6.[4] The aircraft were not pressurized but they did use bottled oxygen.[4]
Aerial photos would go onto be used by mountaineers including Tenzing and Hillary's expedition which reached the summit on foot.[5] The aerial photos were made on a second flight on 19 April 1933 as during the first flight there was a dusty haze that obscured the photographs from the 3 April flight.[6]
Reception
[edit]The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The flight itself is genuinely exciting, in spite of the difficulty of conveying a vivid impression of great heights by aerial photography, due to the expert camera work of S. R. Bonnett. Material has been well arranged without over-dramatisation, and the commentary is admirable. ... Occasionally a grotesque vista of rock breaks through the rolling waves of cloud, like an islet in the sea. Everest itself is dwarfed by the nonchalance of its conquerors."[7]
Preservation status
[edit]Wings over Everest was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2014, in partnership with the UCLA Film and Television Archive.[8]
Accolades
[edit]The film an Academy Award in 1936 for Best Short Subject (Novelty).[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Wings Over Everest". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
- ^ Meredith-Hardy, Richard (31 January 2004). "Over Everest: Aeroplane Expeditions to Everest". flymicro.com. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
- ^ "81 years ago, the first movie camera over Everest won an Oscar". 26 May 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
- ^ a b c d Arbuckle, Alex (October 2016). "The first men to fly over Mount Everest did so in an unpressurized biplane". Mashable. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
- ^ "Remembering the Scots who flew over Everest some 80 years ago". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
- ^ "Remembering the Scots who flew over Everest some 80 years ago". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
- ^ "Wings Over Everest". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 1 (1): 37. 1 January 1934. ProQuest 1305800476.
- ^ "Preserved Projects". Academy Film Archive. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
- ^ "The 8th Academy Awards (1936) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
