MovieChat Forums > The Dam Busters (1955) Discussion > Alex Jennings as Barnes Wallis?

Alex Jennings as Barnes Wallis?

posted 14 years ago by clivey6
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Recently saw a documentary on this, the one presented by Martin Shaw who seemed to be dolled up to look like Barnes Wallis - well, they could do worse I suppose.

I don't know if Sir David Frost's movie will ever see the light of day, but if so they should perhaps consider Alex Jennings as Barnes Wallis - they really do look very similar. It's uncanny. Jennings was in The Wings of a Dove with Helena Bonham Carter. He's also a stage actor, he was in the West End's My Fair Lady.

As for Guy Gibson, he was not as sympathetic in real life as Richard Todd, hardly one of the lads. Hard to cast, to find a 23 year old who could pull it off. I would cast a member of a boy band! Yep, you read that correct. He might be able to pull it off, and I think the film should expose some ambivalence about the people involved, what they're trying to achieve and the morality involved. Not, perhaps, unlike The Social Network, about the founding of Facebook. This needn't be a propoganda piece any more.

[–] BadgeringTheWitness 14 years ago

What an excellent idea Clive. Both using Alex Jennings as Barnes Wallis (I had to google him to see who he was) and he DOES look like BW.

Also the agendas of the people involved would open the movie up no end. Especially Harris who has had a great deal on unfair bad press. I once read a forword he wrote that said "Remember the Nazis plan was to enslave us. Don't forget that". Simple and true.

Who to play Gibson? That concept I will toy with for a while yet. Much food for thought there.

Ah! Now we see the violence endemic in the system!

[–] clivey6 14 years ago

Thanks BTW. It seems that Stephen Fry is doing the script. Reading Gibson's memoirs written while the war was still going, there are instances that could be used that weren't in the movie. One crash landing they had to do while training, for instance. Also, they tried to get the Sorpe (that was the big one) but despite a direct hit, failed as it had a different design to the other dams. I think the Sorpe was omitted from the film completely.

Of course, the allies were under pressure to open up a second front by Russia as it was soaking up the German attack all by itself, so the bombing campaign represented Britain's 'second front' until D-day.