Sometimes I wonder how you chaps never won the war.
- War? - You know--
- I wasn't involved.
That's it then. That's why they never won.
They didn't have old Heinrich.
Oh, no, no, no, no. We won't need that second winch now.
Uh, go around and get that cable over the apron.
Have you got enough rope?
Go on then. Don't keep Uncle Heinrich waiting.
Double up, lad. Double, double, double.
Mr. Watson?
Don't forget-- save those bolts.
- Very good.
No, we need a spanner.
Um...
have you got a three-eighth spanner, darling?
Thank you, dear. Give us a big wet kiss.
Look, knock it off, mate.
All right. Everything's set.
Easy now.
That's it.
Come on. That's it. Watch your step.
Are we ready, Mr. Towns?
- Yeah, I guess so. - All right.
Let's commence.
Now!
Keep the pressure up. That's it.
- Come on, come on. Come on now.
All right. A little slower.
Easy now.
Don't let her loosen up.
Easy.
Come on. Pull harder. Come on.
Hold it. Hold it there.
Enough!
- Stop.
Oh, Lord! I'm tired.
Harris.!
Well, Sergeant.
been holding...
the fort, hey?
Yes, sir.
This is full of sand.
Clean it up for me... like a good chap.
Yes, sir.
We've worked at it two nights now...
but Dorfmann's brainchild looks less like an airplane than it did when we started.
And it's almost midday, and he's still working.
He's right about one thing though.
The little men with the slide rules and computers...
are going to inherit the earth.
And it's kind of sad that Dorfmann won't be there to see it.
But then I guess he doesn't need to see it.
He already knows it.
Here.
Is that any better?
I'll try it.
Mr. Standish.
You can continue with the cutting of the tail surfaces.
The tools are still in the hull.
Hey, Standish. Watch your diet.
You don't have to eat all those dates. Save some for the scum up here.
Your wife's a lovely girl.
She died.
but you can't know that.
You there. We need help with the welding.
All right. We're coming, men.
It's getting cold up here anyway.
Sisters of mercy.
Our brother will play the violin again.
Did you, um--
Did you say something to Captain Harris?
Now, what would I have said to Captain Harris?
Oh, I don't know, um-- He's acting very funny.
Yeah. Yeah.
In here!
Here.
We're ready to proceed.
Come along. It's quite essential to maintain our schedule.
Ah, I reckon we've been floggin' a dead horse long enough.
- We have work to do-- - Of course you're right, but...
- couldn't we just rest for another hour and-- - Absolutely not.
Come on. Let's get going.
before we start talking about who's gonna work and when...
let me tell you something.
Somebody's been stealing water out of this tank.
Stealing the water? Who in the hell would do a thing like that?
Skipper, are you sure? Damn! How much is gone?
I started checking on it yesterday. How do you like that?
Now, I don't even want to know who it is, but I'm telling you this--
If it happens again and I see who's doing it, I'll kill him.
It was me.
- You Nazi pig.! - It was you?
- Shut up. Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!
You-- You bloody fool.
In any case, I didn't steal it. I took it.
You took it?
The people here could die for lack of water, and you took it?
Yes.
Yes, because whilst you people have been sleeping...
or pursuing your own ridiculous little interests, I have been working.
And since I was working harder than you were...
I also needed more water than you did.
However, it won't happen again...
because from now on we shall all work equally hard.
- Is that clear now? - No, it isn't.
but maybe I'm an idiot. Maybe you'll have to explain it to me.
If you think being some kind of a boy wonder entitles you to other people's water...
you've got another thing coming.
Why did you have to steal it? Why didn't you just come and ask me for it?
because you wouldn't have given me any.
You're damn right I wouldn't!
If you're coming to tell me I shouldn't be unkind to that miserable Kraut...
you're wasting your breath.
Don't tell me you don't think he's crazy.
Well, suppose we agree he's as mad as a hatter.
Do you think the rest of us aren't?
Do you think you've been behaving rationally?
Do you really think anyone would?
All right. Maybe not. but he isn't even concerned about getting out of here.
All he wants to do is see that thing fly...
and he doesn't care who gets killed in the process.
Well, now--
""Well'' nothing! I've done my share of killing.
My score's five now. What does he want to do, improve on that?
- So we're back to that, are we? - Yes.
You know I don't believe you're really all that concerned about those five men.
- I'm laughing myself silly. - No, you're not laughing either.
What really gets you is the idea that maybe you're wrong.
Or maybe that little, uh-- little, uh, dried-up calculating machine...
really does know the answers.
And maybe Frank Towns who's flown every crate they've ever built...
and who could fly in and out of a tennis court if he had to--
maybe that great hell-for-leather trailblazer's nothing more than a back number.
Or maybe men like Dorfmann can build machines...
that can do Frank Towns's job for him... and do it better.
You're getting to be quite a little philosopher, aren't you?
All right.
Let's suppose you have killed five men.
And if it gives you any satisfaction...
to sit up here feeling sorry for yourself, well, that's your--
th-that's fine.
but if you really mean that it is all your fault...
then it's up to you to bloody well get us out of here, isn't it?
And if you're not too proud to talk to Dorfmann...
and you're half the pilot you think you are, well, maybe you will.
If!. All right.
If you hadn't made a career out of being a drunk...
you might not have been a second-rate navigator in a fifth-rate outfit.
And if you hadn't stayed in your bunk to kill that last bottle...
you might have checked that engineer's report on the radio...
and we might not be here!
Oh, Lew, I-- I--
Oh, Lew.
- Why the hell isn't anyone on the generator? - What's the point?
Come on, you drunken bum.
Let's get back to work.
Don't worry. It'll be cut in time.
Do you think the Wright brothers would approve?
Can't see why not.
It's all free and clear up here, Heinrich.
What's the drill, Mr. Dorfmann?
You're not yet ready for heavy work.
I'd like to do something.
We could use Dr. Renaud down here.
Perhaps you could relieve him at the generator.
Now, how 'bout that?
Huh. Heinrich Schweitzer.
It's all set.
I think we are read--
I think we are ready to proceed.
All right? Go!
We did it.! That's it.!
Are we all ready?
Let's go!
Stop!
- All right. - Well done, Watson.
- All right. Everybody pull together.
Keep on.! Keep on.!
And pull it tight!
That's fine now.
Keep going. Keep going. That's it.
Don't let up the slack. That's coming fine.
Just fine.
- Hold it! - Hold it.!
Take it easy now. It's nearly there.
Nearly! Hold it!
I got a story for the Daily Mirror when I get back.
""How I Stopped Smoking in Three Days.''
All right. Here. You hold this.
Aye, you've done a wonderful job, Heinrich.
but will it fly, huh?
Oh, come on. Let's finish it.
- It's all set up there.
Now it's really beginning to look like something.
Don't worry, Mr. Towns.
Helicopters don't look very elegant either...
but they fly reasonably well.
Really looks pretty good.
Say, you suppose if we get outta here, we're gonna have some extra leave comin'?
From Arabco Oil?
We'll be lucky if they don't take this off our two months.
Tell you what though.
If ever we do get out of here alive and I get my leave...
I'm gonna stay put in benghazi...
and fix meself up with one of them Arab bints.
That's not all you'll fix yourself up with in benghazi.
- I've been there, mate. - No, straight up.
This place I was at last year, there's this bint.
Farida or something.
She did a sort of a dance.
You should have seen it.
I've woken up a few nights in a cold sweat thinkin' about it...
I can tell you.
Probably some poxed-up old bag from Manchester.
Is this right?
What's the point of that?
Oh, I don't know.
I just thought I'd give it a name.
What sort of a name is that supposed to be?
It's a bird.
The phoenix was a mythical bird...
that burned itself to ashes and rose--
I'm not bloody stupid, you know.
What's the matter, Captain? Smell the sea?
He's staggerin' around benghazi, you know...
with this ugly, ugly broad...
boxed out ofhis mind...
on KickapooJoyJuice or hashish or something.
- KickapooJoyJuice! - Hey! Hey!
Hey! Shh! Shh! Shh!
What's wrong with him?
Get Mr. Towns.
Eleven. I count twelve.
They are way off any route.
Yes.
Probably a razzia raiding party.
better go and tell the men. We don't want to rush into anything.
Tell Mr. Towns to come up here.
I already have.
There! Up there!
Arabs.
I'm sorry.
That's all I know.
but I don't get it.
They got camels. They could take us outta here.
If they are a raiding party...
they're outcasts from their own tribe and so far beyond the law...
that... killing a few people like us wouldn't mean a thing.
They are, in all probability, lost...
and just as short of water as we are.
They can only cause difficulties.
If we leave them alone, they'll move on and...
we can get back to work.
but why don't we just talk to them? We can do that, can't we?
They sound friendly enough.
- I wouldn't count on it. - No.
but we have to find out.
This time I'll go with you.
They're staying put.
Now... I'll take Sergeant Watson with me, and we'll go--
Now, wait a minute. I've already told you that I'd be going.
What's the sense of building this contraption if you're not here to drive it?
He's right, Frank.
- Nobody's gonna drive this fool thing! - What?
Now, don't let's have an argument.
It's unimportant to me who goes out, but the sergeant and I have the best chance.
Now, at first we'll tell them there's only two of us.
We'll approach them in a circle so that if they do prove to be unfriendly...
they won't double back and find you.
I think the uniform might do the trick.
- Where's the sergeant? - He went in the hull.
Right.
Makes sense, Frank.
There you are, Sergeant. Ready?
- What's the trouble? - Nothing. No trouble, sir.
Come along then.
I'm not going.
- What was that? - I'm not going!
Sergeant, I don't think you quite understood.
I'm giving you an order. You are to come with me.
Look here, old chap.
There's only water for three more days.
This thing they're building won't work.
It's up to you and I to go out to those Arabs and get them to help us.
There's nothing to be afraid of.
I'm not afraid... Mr. Harris.
Sergeant, I'm going to repeat my order.
If you refuse it...
I shall have to assume that you're willfully disobeying a superior officer.
Is that understood?
Don't let yourself down, Watson.
Report for duty. Come with me.
You leave me no alternative but to place you under open arrest.
- Give me that revolver. - No.
You refuse?
Very well, Sergeant.
Mr. Towns, I'm going out on my own.
Now, I suggest that you don't light any fires...
and maintain absolute silence until I report back.
I'll keep them quiet, Captain, and there won't be any lights.
- Right. - I-- I believe I'll go along with you.
Thank you, but that won't be necessary.
Perhaps not, but I do speak a little Arabic. Do you?
Not enough...
but these fellows will understand.
Well, maybe not as much as you might suppose.
Anyway, I'd like to go with you.
Merci. Allons-y.
I'm gonna wait another halfhour, then I'm going down and have a look.
- We can't just sit here. - Look, Frank.
Harris is no fool.
He-- He may be very excessively british...
but he's no fool.
If those people can be induced to help us...
Harris will do it.
but I mean, if the situation is a bit tricky down there...
and he's told them there's just the two of them...
he can't suddenly announce there are seven more of us.
If you and I go barging in, that'll really put the lid on it.
Yeah, maybe you're right.
Down there all that time.
- Hey!
Captain Towns! Captain Towns!
They've gone.
They've taken our fellows with them, but they left a camel or something.
I can't see properly up there.
Frank, there's no--
Come on, Lew. We'd better have a look.
Camel's lame.
That's why they left it. It's lame. Give me--
He's dead, isn't he?
Mr. Towns and I will be in the fuselage itself.
The heaviest men will need to be inboard...
the lighter men outside.
They'll, uh-- They'll lie flat...
holding on to the ribs of the windscreen.
We testing this engine today?
Mr. Dorfmann, it's time we tested this engine.
I think you can leave things to me, Mr. Towns.
No, wait. Wait a minute.
I'm not forgetting you're the designer.
but if you want me to fly this thing--
""This thing.'' This thing has a name. It's called an airplane.
All right, all right. It's an airplane.
I'd have a lot more respect for it if I knew the engine worked.
The engine was running perfectly...
until the sand blocked the carburetor jets in flight.
There's no reason why it shouldn't run as it did before.
Unless you haven't cleaned the jets properly...
in which case I'd advise you to do it again.
Now, listen. Those sand screens are clear.
And I've checked everything under that cowling pretty thoroughly.
And if I'm to fly this machine, I'm gonna test-run that engine today.
If-- If we start this engine now...
the vibration will put unnecessary strain...
on the whole structure.
Furthermore, there are only seven cartridges in the Coffman starter.
It could take four or five to start the engine...
leaving us only with two or three...
when we are ready to depart.
I imagine even you will understand...
that once we have used all seven cartridges...
we have no further means of starting this engine.
Any doubt about starting this engine...
now's the time to find out.
Mr. Towns...
you behave as if stupidity were a virtue.
Why is that?
Lew, I'm gonna run up this engine.
Couple of you guys come up here and pull this prop through.
And that's an order.
No, you are not!
There's no point in going over it all again.
Look, I've got them working on the fairings...
but we need you for the control groupings.
There's nothing down on paper.
It's all-- It's all in your head.
Well, I'd hate to spoil the job after all the work you've put in.
I-- I know it's difficult for you...
to get on with Frank Towns...
but you've got to understand.
He-- He--
He--
He needs to feel he's doing something.
You don't leave him anything.
- You want yours now? - Uh-huh.
You ought to come in. It's freezing out here.
Yeah.
Well, I've really balled things up, haven't I?
Hmm. Dorfmann?
Yeah, I've been thinking about this thing.
And I guess old Frank Towns...
just never could stand being told what to do.
That's all there is to it.
You know, funny thing--
He was right about the engine too.
I guess I just wanted to make a point.
That's what really gets you about him.
He always has to be right.
Coming in?
Yeah, in a few minutes.
What else do you want me to say?
Nothing.
Leave me alone.
Tomorrow's the last day.
Then there'll only be what we get from the still...
and that's not enough to keep us all going.
Do you want them to fight over the water?
Is that what you want?
If we don't go back to work, we're gonna die.
- All of us. - Yes.
Well, for God's sake, man. You're not a child, are you?
- Go away. - You told Towns...
he was behaving as if stupidity was a virtue.
If he's making it into a virtue, you're making it into a bloody science!
Uh--
Lord-- Lord-- Lord Muck's woke up.
I want to talk to you.
No, I-- I want to talk to all of you.
Mr. Towns, who is in authority here?
You are.
Very well, then.
Since I am in authority...
I have decided to finish this plane...
and make it fly.
We shall now go back to work.
Hallelujah.
The fairings are about ready...
but you'll need to look at the control linkages.
I'll be with you right after this here.
What, is this the outfit you work for?
Hmm. becker Flugzeuge, yeah.
Oh, I think I've heard of them. build all kinds of models.
- Don't they build model planes? - The best.
I didn't know they produced the big stuff too.
Oh, the-- the biggest we make is the Adler.
I think you'll find it on page 23.
The Adler has a two-meter wingspan.
but it's not one of my designs, because it's a glider...
and I work only on the power models.
Page 23?
Yes, I think it's 23.
Come on. What about the big stuff?. Is it a different department?
The biggest I've personally designed...
is theJaeger 250.
Uh, could I have this a moment, please?
All right. Let's-- Here.
There it is.Jaeger 250.
It won the prize for extended flight at Frankfurt last year.
Ex-- Extended flight?
Yes. The radio control also is my design.
And then on the opposite page...
there's another rather fine model.
It's called Die Schwalbe. It's there.
Yes, but I think what Mr. Towns meant was the--
the real thing.
How much designing have you done on the, uh, real thing?
The real thing?
Well, yes. You know, like this.
Oh, no, no, no. You misunderstand.
We make nothing but model airplanes.
You mean you've...
never designed a full-sized airplane?
Full-sized? No.
No, but then, of course, the principles are the same.
Well, yes, they would be, wouldn't they?
One encounters different problems...
but basically the principles are the same.
Well, I think I'd better check on the control linkages.
He's crazy, Lew.
He-- He builds toy airplanes.
He... didn't even keep anything from us.
He really doesn't think there is...
any difference.
What are we gonna tell those guys out there?
They've been--
What are we going to tell them, Lew?
Nothing.
We haven't enough water left...
to stay alive.
We can die here...
or we-- or we can die in that thing.
What's the matter? Haven't you any curiosity left?
Wouldn't you like to know how it feels...
to fly a toy airplane?
Now what's he up to?
I don't know.
Maybe we'd better have a word with him...
about not saying anything to the others, hmm?
Mm-hmm.
I don't know why you keep humoring him like this.
If the thing can't fly, it can't fly. That's all there is to it.
Anything... missing?
No, I don't think so.
I'm arranging the harness attachments.
You'll be lucky if these guys can walk tomorrow...
let alone pull this thing.
Nevertheless, it will have to be done.
The propeller itself will provide...
the basic impetus.
The men will mainly be to give it direction.
Well, why not now?
It's too dangerous in the dark.
I think maybe you're right. It's too risky. Go on!
One-One other thing. It, uh--
It might be better not to mention to the others...
about, uh, being a toy plane designer.
Toy plane designer?
Lew and I feel it might upset them.
Mr. Towns--
Mr. Towns...
a toy plane is something you wind up...
and it rolls along the floor.
A model airplane is something totally different.
Model airplanes have been flying successfully...
more than 50 years before the Wright brothers...
ever got off the ground.
They were not toy planes.
- All right. - I didn't know that, Frank. Did you?
Nevertheless, it is a fact.
And there's something else you should remember, Mr. Towns.
A model plane has to fly itself.
There's no pilot to correct the trim.
Therefore, if anything, a model plane has to be designed...
for greater stability than what you have pleased to call the real thing.
In 1 851 ...
Henson and Stringfellow built a rubber-powered model...
that flew 600 meters before encountering an obstruction.
Airfoil surfaces, lift and drag coefficients...
weight/thrust equations and the whole pattern...
of modern aviation originate from right there.
Well? Where is he?
I'll go and get him.
Here he is.
Our friend Dorfmann's a bit impatient.
Hey. In-In-In 1 851 ...
Henson and Stringfellow...
built a rubber-powered model aircraft...
that flew 600 m-meters before encountering an obstruction.
Did you know that, M-Mr. Towns?
That's great.
No, not great, but significant.
You understand those are the only cartridges we have.
If you fail with them, my work has been wasted.
The moment the engine fires...
throttle back.
Too much unnecessary vibration...
could shake the structure to pieces.
Vibration must be kept to a minimum.
- Clear? - Clear.
That's number one. Two.
What's wrong?
There ain't nothin' wrong with that engine.
Maybe he ain't givin' it enough juice.
- Three. - but he should know, shouldn't he?
He does know.
Wait. Wait!
You are wasting the cartridges.
We have only three left.
I know that.
- What are you doing? - I'm gonna use one cartridge...
ignition off, clean out the cylinders.
No!
What are you doing? Stop! I forbid you!
I forbid you.!
Do you hear me? I forbid you!
Come on, mate.
Come on, mate!
You bastard!
You did it!
You bastard!
Stop! Stop it!
Stop it!
Throttle back! I told you, stop it!
All right, Mr. Dorfmann, start pulling!
All aboard.
Heave! Come on, here.
I can't. I can't.
You did good, Skipper.
Give it some slack. Come on.
Move!
That's it. That's it.
Watch your step.
Now!
Go!
What the hell is that?
Hey, they ain't gonna try to land that thing here, are they?
Well, it sure as hell looks that way.
Look at it! Look at it! Just look at it!
I've never seen anything so beautiful.!
Seventeen days without a drink.
boy, I wouldn't believe just plain water...
could look so good.
You never know, Frank. I might-- I might become an addict.
- Where did they come from?
These guys are either drunk or crazy!
How far did you say that...
Henson and Stringfellow flew that rubber-powered model...
in 1 851 , Mr. Dorfmann?
Six hundred meters, Mr. Towns.
Is that meters or yards?
Meters, Mr. Towns. Meters.