Films and Directors

Hatfield was a celebrity hangout for stars of stage and screen in the Thirties. More recently, the town has played a part in some major blockbusters, and been used by some of the biggest names in the business. This is just a sample of some of the films shot in Hatfield and the directors involved.

 

The Flying Fool – Early aviation movie directed by Walter Summer, released in the 1930s. Some of the aerial sequences were shot from Hatfield Aerodrome.

 

The Sound Barrier – Produced and directed by David Lean in 1952. A fictional account of man's attempts to break the sound barrier – and the price paid in the process. Some of the factory sequences were shot at Hatfield. DH Vampire nightfighter and DH Comets featured in the film. The death of Geoffrey de Havilland Jr  – who died while practising to break the sound barrier – is covered in the plot. While John Cunningham and John Derry (first British pilot to break the sound barrier) are mentioned in the credits.

 

Saving Private Ryan – this WWII epic, starring Tom Hanks, Matt Damon and Vin Diesel, was shot partly at Hatfield – the 'French village'  set was built on the airfield but destroyed once filming was completed. Students at the University of Hertfordshire made some of the film props.

 

Steven Spielberg – director of ET, the Indiana Jones movies and Saving Private Ryan, also shot parts of the follow up hit TV series Band of Brothers at Hatfield.

 

Lara Croft – Tomb Raider – Hatfield House is used as an exterior for Croft Manor. In one of the films Angelina Jolie is shown riding in the park.

 

Guy Ritchie – director of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, was reputedly born in Hatfield. In 2008, he started filming a Sherlock Holmes film starring Robert Downey Junior, Jude Law and Rachel McAdams at Hatfield House.

 

The Martins – although starring Lee Evans and Kathy Burke, and using locations like the Galleria, it portrays Hatfield as a stereotypical underclass town.  

 

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