Pressure

(grand orchestral fanfare playing)

Here, have one of these.

Fuck me.

Right.

Are you sure there's time?

There's time.

-Thank you. -(sighs)

Did they say how long you'll be gone for?

No, they didn't say.

I'm very proud they chose you, Jim.

I'll be fine.

Go.

Okay.

Morning, sir.

Sir.

Group Captain Dr. James Stagg,

chief meteorological officer, reporting for duty.

I.D. card and pass, please, sir.

Right this way, sir.

Welcome to Southwick House, sir.

I'm Andrew Carter with the Met Office.

I'll be your ADC.

-Mm-hmm. -(gate slams shut)

I must admit it's a great honor to meet you, Dr. Stagg.

I so enjoyed your paper on terrestrial magnetism.

It's a fascinating subject.

It is, yes.

And here we are, sir.

-(phones ringing) -(busy chatter)

Operations rooms are upstairs, sir.

Teleprinters are in the cellars.

And our forecast room is just through here.

-Where can I put this down? -Anywhere, sir.

We'll have someone take it to your tent.

What are these?

They're historical analog charts.

I know what they are, but what are they doing here?

Colonel Krick, he requested them.

Well, which one is he? Introduce me.

: I believe he's with General...

Can you stop! Stop the banging, please.

I believe he's with General Eisenhower

at the moment, sir.

I'll call you back.

Sir.

What's coming through?

Soundings at 53 north, 35 west, sir.

Mm-hmm. Weather ship Hoste, yes?

Yes, sir.

Uh, Casey and Bryant here are linked directly

to the teleprinter ops at Dunstable and Bushy Park.

-Which one are you? -I'm Casey, sir.

That's wrong, Casey.

Our American contingent, sir.

This is Flight Officer Murray, Flight Officer Hamilton.

-Good to meet you, sir. -They're on surface weather.

What, both of you? Who's on upper air?

Uh, no one, sir.

No one's on upper air?

So that data just goes unrecorded, does it?

I'll need both of you on upper air at all times.

Uh, we were told to use historical analog charts, sir.

Not by me. Those weren't my instructions.

It's just, Colonel Krick instructed us otherwise, sir.

Did he? Do I have an office?

Yes, sir. It's just through here.

Ah.

Good afternoon, sir.

Uh, this is Group Captain Stagg.

He's just transferred from Dunstable.

We've been very much looking forward to his...

him joining us here.

Lieutenant Kay Summersby.

Motor Transport Corps. Welcome to Southwick House.

Are we sharing an office, or what?

No. I was just using it temporarily.

Good, because I'll need it exclusively.

Well, very good.

Can you see to it that General Eisenhower knows

that I'm here?

And that I apologize for my late arrival?

Yes, sir.

Sir.

Right.

OPERATOR (over phone): Hello. Signals Department.

Switchboard speaking.

Yes, um, Richmond 1-9-3-7, please.

I'm sorry, but all outgoing calls are forbidden

without prior authorization, sir.

Uh, no, no, I-I-I... I need to speak with my wife.

-I'm sorry, sir. -(line disconnects)

-Hello? -(knocking at door)

Yes? Hello?

If you'd like to follow me, please,

General Eisenhower will see you now.

I wouldn't keep him waiting any longer than you already have.

-(busy chatter) -(phones ringing)

Group Captain Dr. James Stagg,

here at the express request of General Eisenhower.

And all 265 vessels arrived without issue, sir.

And we've assigned, uh, five patrol craft

and three destroyers.

DWIGHT "IKE" EISENHOWER: Let's get the job done.

Glad to hear it.

Lieutenant Summersby?

Sir, may I introduce Group Captain James Stagg,

who finally made it in from London?

Well, it's good to meet you, Group Captain Stagg.

Welcome aboard.

Nice to finally put a face to the name.

Have you got all the equipment you need downstairs?

Equipment is not the problem, sir.

What's the problem?

Um, well, it's time, sir. I haven't really had any...

any time to establish any clear picture.

Have a look, Group Captain.

I got 7,000 naval vessels,

130,000 ground troops,

200,000 naval personnel, 15 hospital ships,

8,000 doctors, three airborne divisions

and a partridge in a pear tree.

Largest seaborne invasion force in history.

Is it?

And do we have a date yet for the invasion, sir?

We invade France Monday.

-This Monday? -Correct.

Monday, June 5th, 0630.

That is D-Day, which is in 61 hours from now.

Fate of the war hinges on this.

All the pieces of the jigsaw are in place.

There's only one imponderable that remains.

I need a forecast.

I'm... Yes, I'm concerned that what you're asking me is

scientifically impossible, sir.

Uh, long-term forecasting is

really only ever educated guesswork.

Monday is not long-term, for Christ's sake.

Does Monday sound like long-term to you, Lieutenant Summersby?

No, it certainly does not, sir.

Well, this is Northern Europe, sir.

Anything over 24 hours is-is... is considered long-term,

meteorologically speaking.

But I'll...

I'll do my best.

I don't want your best.

I already expect that.

I need certainty.

Churchill tells me

you're the best meteorologist in the country

and that I should rely on you over Colonel Krick.

You know him?

Only by reputation.

Well, Krick's been with me since '42.

He's never steered me wrong, so...

let's see how you measure up.

I need a forecast for Monday.

I need it first thing tomorrow morning.

Y-Yes, sir.

Don't let me down.

Group Captain.

Let's go.

Group Captain.

(playing "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy")

Ladies and gentlemen, Kay Summersby. Take over.

-Come on, Kay. Oh.

-Dance with me. -(man whoops) -(Kay laughs)

Like old times.

-(laughter) -(music continues)

There you go.

-There you go. -(man whistling)

Oh, stick to piano, Irv.

-(music concludes) -(laughter, applause)

I-I don't believe you've met, uh, Group Captain Stagg.

Only by telephone.

Dr. Stagg, so nice to finally meet you.

You're younger than I imagined.

You're shorter than I imagined.

Analogs.

I realize that, yes.

Every single weather chart for Northern Europe since 1900.

Mm. Um, in my experience,