Show Film Portrays Life of Man Who Invented Spitfire HOLLYWOOD One tIP UP One of the really good things about the motion motion motion mo mo- mo- mo tion picture industry is its devotion devotion devotion devo devo- tion to the lives of great men who have gone before us Just recall how painlessly you learned about Emile Zola for instance Now youre you're going to learn about Reginald Joseph Mitchell who as history goes is pretty obscure but who as the he inventor of the famous Spitfire warplane deserves a great deal of attention The man who portrays Mitchell on the screen is Leslie Howard a choice reportedly reported reported- ly pleasing to the widow of the British aircraft engineer since Reg in his lifetime was shy and retiring the sort of demeanor you expect from Howard Mitchell died June 12 1937 at atthe atthe atthe the age of 42 and the New York Times said in his obituary He gave his name to no company company company com com- pany or aircraft yet he designed a military airplane believed to be bethe bethe bethe the fastest in the world and now being produced in great quantities for the royal air force Its performance performance performance per per- is a well kept secret Son of Printer Mitchells Mitchell's story traced in the film Spitfire begins at the turn of the century in the British town of Stoke on The son of a printer he showed such an early interest in science and mechanics I that his first job of importance I was in a locomotive shop During World war I Mitchell worked on airplane engines at the Vickers factory and made such progress that in 1920 he was chief engineer and designer designer designer de de- de- de signer for the company In the postwar period Mitchell designed a radical monoplane which incorporated incorporated incorporated steel tubing and a high like bullet-like fuselage I That September a world seaplane seaplane seaplane sea sea- plane record of miles per hour was established with the plane Although it crashed later in the United States because of a wing flutter Mitchell already was at work on an all metal all metal successor It was this machine with which Flight Lieutenant dArcy d'Arcy Grieg reached a speed of miles an hour in 1927 Flown Floun in 1936 The first actual Spitfire was flown in 1936 Seven years ago mind you yet it had a speed of Mitchell calmly accepted the news that the Germans had produced produced produced pro pro- a which could do miles an hour because because because be be- cause he knew he had the right basic idea and that developments could come later The tragedy of his life was that he did not live to see an R A F pilot step into one of today's Spitfires and fly flyaway away to challenge a Mitchell became ill from overwork overwork overwork over over- work and was told he was living on borrowed time He refused to rest and when he did go to a aI I Vienna clinic it was too late |