Q Planes (1939)

A frenetic, breezy and brilliant spy adventure. A number of experimental planes have gone missing across the world and the latest is British. Intelligence agent Major Charles (Ralph Richardson) thinks it isn't a coincidence and indeed it isn't. A mysterious (and unnamed though probably German) foreign power is using a secret "death ray" to knock planes out of the sky and salvage them when they end up in the drink...

At the aircraft factory top pilot Tony (Laurence Olivier) is also suspicious as is the new tea girl Kay (Valerie Hobson) though her suspicion is more due to the fact she is an undercover reporter looking for a story. While the hunt for the truth continues Tony heads off on his own ill-fated test flight...

Light in tone, despite a final act which includes multiple machine gun deaths, this is a highly enjoyable espionage romp. It is quirky, it is nonsense but it is also fantastic. It definitely doesn't take itself seriously, it might dance a bit close to the line of parody though at times.