# "THE WIND IN THE WIRES" CELEBRATION OF EARLY AVIATION & WWI AERIAL COMBAT DOCUMENTARY 64754

Presented as a promotional film by Rothmans of Pall Mall, a British tobacco company, "The Wind in the Wires" is a short 1970s aviation film narrated by James Mason that recounts the history of modern aviation (primarily in Britain) from roughly 1900 until the inter-war period. The film uses both old monochrome footage of original aircraft as well as contemporary color footage of replica planes in flight, and includes a number of photographs of famous aviators. The film begins with a shot of a “birdman” about to attempt flight by leaping off the Eiffel Tower ( 00:15 )—he is unsuccessful and falls to his death ( 02:07 ). Too bad he didn't have a modern birdsuit! An old biplane performs aerial acrobatics ( 00:50 ). Frenchman Louis Bleriot ( 03:30 ) takes off on the morning of 25 July 1909 in the Bleriot XI, a monoplane, and he successfully becomes the first person to fly over the English Channel. There are several shots of nature scenes (flowers, fields, streams, bees), which is common throughout the entire film. A man primes the engine of an old plane made of wire and wood ( 05:02 ) and taxis for takeoff. The film shows the “huts” of Britain’s first flying school, Brooklands ( 05:38 ), which also became the country’s largest aircraft manufacturing center. The film features footage of early plane designs and the pilots and designers who attempt to get the machines to fly. One of those early planes crashes ( 06:38 ). A Bristol biplane is started up in a field and takes off (…

- Kind: Documentary
- Genres: Documentary, Industrial and advertising
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/64754TheWindInTheWIndsVwr)
- Licence or status: none stated by the archive
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/ia/64754TheWindInTheWIndsVwr?play=1)