The Sound Barrier

1952 1h 57m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 61

DramaRomanceWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A young RAF pilot tests his father-in-law’s prototype supersonic aircraft to the limit, at a time of intense development in the field of aviation, just as commercial jet airliners are about to enter service.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Ralph Richardson
John Ridgefield
Ann Todd
Susan Garthwaite
Nigel Patrick
Tony Garthwaite
John Justin
Philip Peel
Dinah Sheridan
Jess Peel
Joseph Tomelty
Will
Denholm Elliott
Christopher Ridgefield
Jack Allen
'Windy'

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: David Lean
Writers: Terence Rattigan
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 85% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

74 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by David Lean, shot by Jack Hildyard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Original score by Malcolm Arnold. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Geoffrey Foot shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ralph Richardson and Ann Todd and Nigel Patrick carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0044446 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

David Lean directs. Jack Hildyard behind the camera. Malcolm Arnold scores. Geoffrey Foot cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 85% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
374 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by David Lean, shot by Jack Hildyard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Malcolm Arnold. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Geoffrey Foot shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Ralph Richardson and Ann Todd and Nigel Patrick carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt0044446 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 61 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jack Hildyard
Original score: Malcolm Arnold
Editing: Geoffrey Foot
Makeup / hair: Ida Mills
Runtime: 117 min · 1h 57m
Status: Released
Budget: $275,000
Box office: $235,000
Return: 85% of budget
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Sound Barrier (1952)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Sound

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

David Lean

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-06-19
★ 6/10
“JR” (Sir Ralph Richardson) is a magnate determined to develop an aircraft that can break the speed of sound. This is no mean feat, and with the man becoming all but obsessed with this breakthrough, he engages “Tony” (Nigel Patrick) who just happens to be married to his daughter “Susan” (Ann Todd) to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, quite literally, “Chris” (Denholm Elliott). What this film does manage is to generate quite a sense of the perilous jeopardy facing these pilots as they pushed their embryonic technology harder and harder, almost feeling their way forward. That is really well illustrated by some archive aerial photography of just about everything from a bi-plane to more advanced jet engines aircraft, and Malcolm Armold delivers a suitably grand and flourishing score to accompany the frequent sky scenes. Sadly, though, that pace isn’t really very well transferred to the activities on the ground as the melodrama rather clutters up the proceedings and it becomes a little too stodgy. Patrick was always a proficient actor and for a while the planning and design elements of the plot prove quite compelling, but there just aren’t enough of these scientific elements to punch through the fog of mediocre (and extensive) dialogue that rather grounds this drama. It is a good looking film and it goes some way to illustrating - like “The First of the Few” (1942) - the dedication and commitment required to make air travel speedier and safer and it is worth a watch, but I found it a bit disappointing.

Production companies