Battle of the V-1

1943: A schoolmaster called Stefan Novak (Michael Rennie) and his watchmaker friend Tadek (David Knight) are working for the Polish resistance lead by Stanislav Muski (Peter Madden) and allow themselves to be captured by the Nazis and taken to a labour camp on the Baltic coast so that they can spy on the operations there. Stefan and Tadek discover that the camp houses a huge production unit where the V1 rocket is being built, which Hitler intends to use to destroy London. The pair succeed in informing the resistance of what is happening who in turn tip off the allies who launch a full scale raid on the plant and destroy it therefore setting back the Nazis' plan by months. However, the fight is far from over as Hitler's generals proceed with plans to build yet another plant and Stefan and Tadek are faced with a dangerous challenge, they must capture a complete V1 rocket and help in smuggling it back to Britain so that the allies can prepare themselves for Hitler's proposed invasion...

A low budget wartime drama, which is based on half facts and half fiction. Produced by Eros Films whose output largely consisted of routine poverty row b-movies so this was probably their sole attempt to go into the big time. The film also utilises footage of actual allied air raids. All in all, The Battle Of The V1, is quite entertainingly put together and in some instances it gets its facts right though once or twice I couldn't help thinking that it bordered towards the improbable. Nevertheless, the film is delivered in a likable boys own adventure story fashion by director Vernon Sewell who could easily lay claim to being one of this country's most prolific and veteran filmmakers. Indeed in the early 1990's when he was interviewed for the only time in his life at the age of 91 by Brian McFarlane, the author of the splendid "Autobiography Of British Cinema", he went on to regard The Battle Of The V1 as his most important film. Good performances are given by Rennie and Knight as the two Polish prisoners of war who risk their lives to save London and at the same time drive the enemy out of Poland. Also of note is a young Christopher Lee who appears as a Nazi Labour Camp Captain. At this time he was just starting to carve his niche as an international star with Hammer as the cinema's most famous Dracula. Lee would also work with Vernon Sewell again nine years later in The Curse Of The Crimson Altar co starring alongside another horror icon Boris Karloff.

This is a simple, boys own adventure that is hard to believe.

Two resistance men are deliberately captured and sent to a labour camp so that they can spy on the scientific experiments.

They stand out from the rest of the inmates like two sore thumbs, always wearing their suits even when "breaking rocks!"

They use clumsy methods of communicating with the resistance and by some miracle the German guards don't suspect a thing.

The V1 rocket is being made and tested at this camp and our two spays successfully send information back to base resulting in the works being bombed out of existence.

This film is of interest only for two things.

Firstly, Christopher Lee appears as the Camp Commandant.

Secondly, and perhaps most interesting, It features an uncredited early appearance of Rod Steiger as a bespectacled German officer.

Thuis film is one of many that use an historical background for what is in fact a fictional story. Now there is nothing wrong in that except that scholars may in future take the films information as fact. You see the V1 (FZG-76 as it was known to the Germans) was never a rocket nor was it rocket powered! The film makers even use a rocket type sound effect when the engine is supposedly running. Yes there was a flying bomb and yes it was designed (but not built) in the Baltic, but that is where the facts stop. The V1 was in fact powered by a pulse jet, a sort of repeating explosion. Once heard never forgotten. The part at the end where a rocket is tested is inspired by the later V2, but never by the V1. If you are researching the German V weapons please do not take this film as factual. If you intend teaching the subject then please look elsewhere!

Of course this is a low budget effort, of course the acting is stiff and very odd to our modern eyes.

It is of the time and included the rather funny way that actors and directors of the old English school did things. Note the early scene with Rennie's farewell, she studies the ground and then looks away from him, these sorts of dramatic methods of "showing deep sorrow or concern" are never used today and really do look quite funny.

In addition to the clean suits and perfect hair, check out when the 2 German soldiers get their uniforms taken by the leading men but even though the Germans are from the same unit, the uniforms are quite different a while later. There was simply not enough money to do it right.

Better to fast fwd some of the more obvious bits and just enjoy this period film of a long gone time.

The first time I saw this and after watching the first 15 minutes, I thought this was going to be one of those 3rd rate 1950's war films..... so I kept the film running but ended up being easily distracted because I had already decided.

So I saw it on TP recently for a second time and this time I promised to give the film my attention.... and I am glad I did..... this film for me was not Low Budget .... but rather a small Hollywood budget..... and compared to many British A films I am sure the budget here was significantly more....!

It surprised me to see how the women were portrayed in this film.... especially the women captured and their torture plus the way these Polish women were the biggest factor in helping the British to identify Assess and ultimately steal a V1 ...... we saw the German women enjoying their brutality and cruelty as much as their male counterparts in the SS and camp guards.... I even got the sense that there was some very heavy hinting at the sexual lust & gratification that some of these Nazis had in their treatment of forced labour and the occupied populations.

Even Esmond Knight... popped in to reprise a similar role he had in The Silver Fleet..... and he led the torture of one of our heroines....

The accuracy is also very good for this film, I cannot recall another similar film of the 50's that was focused on the Nazis Top Secret operations and portrayed just how It was the Poles that gave and sacrificed everything for the people of Britain and in particular London...... indeed without the Poles sacrifice the Nazis would have had the V1 ready and targeting Britain prior to the D Day landings .....!

I never understood why there were not more films portraying the efforts and sacrifices of the Polish people and for that matter other Eastern Europe countries in general, I guess it's because of the way We, the allies and in particular the British and Americans who allowed these countries especially Poland to be assimilated by the Russians and forced into communism.... I was taught, that the Poles were the only nation not to surrender to Nazi Germany and it was their pilots that helped us to win the Battle of Britain and indeed it was the Poles that broke the German codes using the enigma machine and shared all this with Britain prior to September 1939.....

At the time I could never understand why if Britain was prepared to declare war on Germany after they and Russia invaded Poland in 1939 (because of a treaty we had signed with Poland prior) why after the war against Nazi Germany we didn't make the same demands to Stalin and his communist stooges who were occupying Poland as the Germans surrendered and these same Russians were the ones who invaded Poland with Nazi Germany in 1939, the British turned its back on Poland and it's people after the war, these great brave Polish people deserved so much more ....!

Well worth watching for that reason alone imho....