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{{Short description|1936 British aviation film}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Conquest of the Air
| image          = 
| caption        = 
| director       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Zoltan Korda]]
* [[John Monk Saunders]]
* [[Alexander Esway]]
* [[William Cameron Menzies]]
* Alexander Shaw
* Peter Bezencenet}}
| producer       = [[Alexander Korda]]
| writer         = {{Plainlist|
* John Monk Saunders
* Hugh Gray
* [[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry]]}}
| starring       = [[Laurence Olivier]]
| narrator       = [[Charles Frend]]
| music          = [[Arthur Bliss]]
| cinematography = [[Wilkie Cooper]]<br>[[George Noble (cinematographer)|George Noble]]<br>[[Hans Schneeberger]]<br>[[Lee Garmes]]
| editing        = [[Peter Bezencenet]]<br>[[Charles Frend]]<br>Richard Q. McNaughton
| studio         = Alexander Korda Productions
| distributor    = [[London Films]] (UK)
| released       = {{Film date|1936|12||UK}}
| runtime        = 71 minutes
| country        = United Kingdom
| language       = English 
| budget         = 
| gross          = 
}}
'''''Conquest of the Air''''' is a 1936 [[documentary film]] or [[docudrama]] on the [[history of aviation]] up to that time. The film features historical footage, and dramatic re-creations, of the developments of [[commercial aviation|commercial]] and [[military aviation]]; including the early stages of technological developments in design, propulsion, and air navigation aids. The film was a [[London Films]] production, commissioned by the British [[Air Ministry]].

==Synopsis==
{{Expand section|date=January 2021}}

==Cast==
* [[Frederick Culley]] as Roger Bacon
* [[Laurence Olivier]] as Vincent Lunardi
* [[Franklin Dyall]] as Jerome de Ascoli
* [[Henry Victor]] as Otto Lilienthal
* [[Hay Petrie]] as Tiberius Cavallo
* [[John Turnbull (actor)|John Turnbull]] as Ferdinand Von Zeppelin
* [[Charles Lefeaux]] as Louis Bleriot
* [[Bryan Powley]] as Sir George Cayley
* [[Alan Wheatley]] as Giovanni Alfonso Borelli
* [[John Abbott (actor)|John Abbott]] as Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier

==Production background==
The film was initially commissioned by [[Alexander Korda]] prior to the advent of World War II, and the Air Ministry saw the value in promoting Britain's contribution and leadership in aviation during this period. Some notable footage is featured of the early phases of automated flight, [[Air navigation|navigational equipment]], and the transitions between civil and military developments, including [[heavy bomber]]s; fast [[fighter aircraft]]; and the advent of [[naval aviation]] ([[aircraft carrier]]), plus the initial experiments with vertical rotary flight ([[helicopter]]s).

An updated version was released in 1940 and released in the United States on 20 May 1940.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032354/releaseinfo|title=Conquest of the Air (1936) - Release dates|access-date=30 June 2010|publisher=[[Internet Movie Database]]}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of films in the public domain in the United States]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|id=0032354|title=Conquest of the Air}}
* {{tcmdb title|id=71437}}

{{Alexander Esway}}
{{Zoltan Korda}}
{{Alexander Korda}}

[[Category:British documentary films]]
[[Category:History of aviation]]
[[Category:British aviation films]]
[[Category:1936 films]]
[[Category:London Films films]]
[[Category:Air Ministry]]
[[Category:1936 in aviation]]
[[Category:1936 in military history]]
[[Category:1936 in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Films produced by Alexander Korda]]
[[Category:British black-and-white films]]
[[Category:British docudrama films]]
[[Category:1936 documentary films]]
[[Category:1936 drama films]]
[[Category:British drama films]]
[[Category:1930s British films]]


{{hist-documentary-film-stub}}
{{1930s-UK-film-stub}}
[[Category:Films directed by Zoltán Korda]]
[[Category:Films directed by William Cameron Menzies]]
[[Category:Films directed by Alexander Esway]]
[[Category:Films scored by Arthur Bliss]]