The story of Scottish meteorologist James Stagg, whose D-Day weather forecast helped change the course of World War II, has been brought to the screen in the Hollywood film Pressure. The movie follows the tense lead-up to D-Day as General Eisenhower, played by Brendan Fraser, and his advisors turned to Stagg, portrayed by Andrew Scott, for guidance on the best conditions to launch the largest amphibious invasion in history.
Stagg, a Scottish Met Office meteorologist attached to the Royal Air Force, clashes in the film with American meteorologist Irving P. Krick, played by Chris Messina. The two men take very different approaches to predicting the weather and choosing the right time for the invasion, while Eisenhower struggles to decide and is haunted by the disastrous rehearsal Operation Tiger. The film also shows Stagg's wife due to give birth, only for the hospital to face a bomb threat.
Fact and fiction in Pressure
Reach Plc, the publisher of the Daily Record, spoke exclusively to Pressure's director Anthony Maras about bringing the story to life. Maras explained that the timelines were altered but not fictionalised. Stagg's wife was really pregnant, but she did not give birth immediately afterwards, and there was no bomb scare while he was away, which Maras called the biggest departure. Both Stagg and his wife lived through the Blitz and understood what wartime was like.
Maras said it was important for audiences to remember that those caught up in WWII had no idea whether the conflict would last five or even ten years. He said the film was about honouring the anxiety people felt for their homeland and their country, with the shifting timelines highlighting the peril and uncertainty the characters lived in.
Stagg and Eisenhower's relationship
The director, known for Hotel Mumbai and The Palace, said the relationship between Stagg and Eisenhower was slightly changed in the movie. Pressure shows a tense dynamic and mutual respect developing over a matter of days, whereas in reality Stagg came in significantly earlier rather than at the last minute. Maras said the trajectory of their relationship, which moved from Eisenhower trusting Krick to relying on Stagg, was the same but took place over many months.
Maras said these changes, in both his film and David Haig's 2014 stage play from which the movie is adapted, did justice to the deeper truth while keeping the story moving. One memorable scene sees a heated confrontation between Stagg and Krick, where the American accuses Stagg of Highland gloom, and Stagg replies that he is neither from the Highlands nor the Lowlands.
The real James Stagg
Stagg was born in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland, and attended Dalkeith High School before moving to Broughton Junior Student Centre in Edinburgh to complete his education. He studied at the University of Edinburgh, graduating with a Master of Arts and later receiving a Doctor of Science degree. In 1924, he joined the British Meteorological Office as an assistant, and by 1937 he was the Chief Meteorological Officer at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force.
In 1940, he married Elizabeth Nancy Kidner, and they had two sons. His grandson Jamie Stagg served as an archive editor on Pressure. In 1943, Stagg was given the rank of group captain in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and assisted on three forecasting teams, including the Royal Navy, the Met Office and the United States Army Air Forces. In 1944, Stagg delivered the forecast that sent troops into France on D-Day. A plaque at Dalkeith Library commemorates his contribution, noting that his expertise and accurate forecasting delayed the Allied invasion by 24 hours, ensuring the success of the D-Day landings on 6th June 1944. Pressure is available to buy and rent from digital platforms now.
