Editing Michael Rennie (section)

==World War II==
===Rising fame===
Shortly after the outbreak of war in Europe on 1 September 1939, Rennie began to receive offers for larger film roles, including ''[[This Man Is Dangerous (1941 film)|This Man Is Dangerous]]'' (1940), ''[[Dangerous Moonlight]]'' (1941) and ''[[Pimpernel Smith]]'' (1941). Rennie auditioned again for [[Michael Balcon]], now head of [[Ealing Studios]], and was cast in ''[[Ships with Wings]]''.

While that film was being prepared, Rennie continued repertory work and accepted a one-line role in George Formby's ''[[Turned Out Nice Again]]''. Balcon says Rennie "declared that he enjoyed it as he was playing a motor salesman, and this reminded him of the days when he tried to sell cars – without securing a single buyer."<ref name="michael"/>

Rennie had his first big film role in the suspense drama ''[[Tower of Terror (1941 film)|Tower of Terror]]'' (1941). This starred [[Wilfrid Lawson (actor)|Wilfrid Lawson]] in the lead role as a crazed Dutch lighthouse keeper in the [[Netherlands in World War II|German-occupied Netherlands]], while the second-billed Rennie and third-billed [[Movita]] had the romantic leads. In a 1951 interview Rennie said this was his worst part.<ref name="jean">{{cite news| title=Seeing His Worst Movie After 10 Years Assures Michael Rennie Part as Jean Valjean Is His Best| url=https://latimes.newspapers.com/image/381168037/?terms=Seeing%2BHis%2BWorst%2BMovie%2BAfter%2B10%2BYears%2BAssures%2BMichael%2BRennie%2BPart%2Bas%2BJean%2BValjean%2BIs%2BHis%2BBest |last=Scheuer| first=Philip K.| newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=8 November 1951 |page=D1}}</ref>

Michael Balcon also used him in ''[[The Big Blockade]]'' (1942). He was called a "rapidly rising newcomer".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92372391 |title=News From The Talkie Studios |newspaper=[[The Chronicle (Adelaide)|The Chronicle]] |volume=LXXXIV |issue=4,804 |location=Adelaide |date=15 January 1942 |access-date=25 March 2017 |page=33 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Another profile referred to him as an "athletic, [[Clark Gable|Gable]]-ish young man."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article219386047 |title=We Introduce You To Some of the Actors Who Take Part In 'Ships With Wings' |newspaper=The Voice |volume=15 |issue=29 |location=Hobart |date=18 July 1942 |access-date=19 August 2020 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

===War service===
Rennie enlisted in the [[RAF Volunteer Reserve]] on 27 May 1941. "There has been a pause in Rennie's film career", wrote Balcon in 1942. "But there will be parts awaiting him when the war is over".<ref name="michael"/>

He was officially discharged on 4 August 1942, and then on the following day, he was commissioned "for the emergency" as [[pilot officer]] number 127347 on probation in the General Duties Branch of the RAFVR. On 5 February 1943, he was promoted to [[flying officer]] on probation. He resigned his commission on 1 May 1944 (not discharged on disability, as the studio publicity stated).{{citation needed|date=October 2014}}

Rennie had carried out his basic training near [[Torquay]] in [[Devon]], after which he was sent to the United States for [[fighter plane|fighter pilot]] training under the [[Hap Arnold|Arnold Plan]]. In this programme, pilots of the RAF were trained by [[United States Army Air Forces]] instructors. One of his fellow students was RAF Sergeant Jack Morton, who told an anecdote about when he and Rennie were in the same class:
<blockquote>{{citation needed span|date=October 2024|text=At the end of our primary course we were posted to a Basic Flying School at Cochran Field, [[Macon, Georgia]]. The class which completed the course at Cochran Field was now split up, half were posted to Napier Field, [[Dothan, Alabama]], to train on single-engine planes, and the remainder were posted to twin-engine schools. Like Cochran, Napier Field was a large permanent Air Corps Base and most of us were quite content to stay on the camp when we had time off. One of the cadets on our course had told us that he was a film actor, but no one took him seriously. We had to admit that he was right however when a film came to the camp cinema called ''[[Ships with Wings]]'' starring Michael Rennie.}}</blockquote>