Malta Story
| Malta Story | |
|---|---|
Original UK film poster
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| Directed by | Brian Desmond Hurst |
| Produced by | Peter De Sarigny |
| Written by |
Nigel Balchin William Fairchild |
| Based on | story by William Fairchild an idea by Thorold Dickinson Peter de Sarigny Sir Hugh P. Lloyd (book, Briefed to Attack) |
| Starring |
Alec Guinness Jack Hawkins Anthony Steel Muriel Pavlow Flora Robson |
| Music by | William Alwyn |
| Cinematography | Robert Krasker |
| Edited by | Michael Gordon |
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Production
company |
Thea Film Productions
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| Distributed by |
GFD (UK) United Artist (US) |
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Release date
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Running time
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103 minutes (UK) 97 minutes (US) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Malta Story is a 1953 British war film, directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, which is based on the heroic air defence of Malta during the Siege of Malta in the Second World War. The film uses real and unique footage of the locations at which the battles were fought and includes a love story between a RAF pilot and a Maltese girl, as well as the anticipated execution of her brother, caught as an Italian spy. The character of "Peter Ross" is apparently loosely based on that of Adrian Warburton.
In 1942 Britain is trying hard to hold on to Malta while invasion seems imminent; Italians and Germans are regularly bombing the airfields and towns. The RAF fight to survive against the odds using the few fighter aircraft remaining on the island. Flight Lieutenant Peter Ross (Alec Guinness), an archaeologist in civilian life, is on his way to an RAF posting in Egypt but is stranded in Malta due to the air attacks. He is assigned to the RAF squadron there, being an experienced photo reconnaissance pilot.
Peter meets Maria (Muriel Pavlow), a young Maltese woman working in the RAF operations room. The two fall in love and spend a few romantic hours in the Neolithic temples of Mnajdra and Ħaġar Qim on the island. In the meantime the situation at Malta becomes desperate. Every day civilians are buried under the rubble of air attacks, and famine threatens their survival, as relief convoys are easy prey to the numerous bombings. The island relies on the last few ships of a convoy for supplies.
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Wikipedia