The First of the Few (US title Spitfire) is a 1942 British black-and-white biographical film produced and directed by Leslie Howard, who stars as R.
J.
Mitchell, the Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft designer.
David Niven co-stars as a Royal Air Force officer and test pilot, a composite character representing the pilots who flew Mitchell's seaplanes and tested the Spitfire.
The film depicts Mitchell's strong work ethic in designing the Spitfire and death.
The film's title alludes to Winston Churchill's speech describing the Battle of Britain aircrew, subsequently known as the Few: "Never was so much owed by so many to so few."