Operation Crossbow

After a pretty dull beginning, "Operation Crossbow" increases its tensions and becomes a fascinating action/adventure film set in WW2. A little-known representer of that genre, but not much inferior to "The Guns of Navarone". Lots of suspenseful moments and an interesting cast full of familiar faces.

In some ways an old-fashioned, star-studded, overstuffed "mission" movie, "Operation Crossbow" has, to me, an authentic WWII feeling to it. I'm guessing this movie's scenes and attitudes may have resonated with people in 1965 who'd lived through that period.

World War II was Big, and that's reflected here. The movie's individual characters are less important than the group war effort, something they're very aware of. And the nothing-personal killing of one character by a Resistance member, is pretty stunning. My hat is off to that.

Side note: During the '60s did Thomas Pynchon ("Gravity's Rainbow") go see this movie? He was then working on his big novel about the V-2 rocket. People have noodled about a possible cause-and-effect between movie and novel, including Dave Kehr in the NYTimes. FWIW, somewhere in "Gravity" I think there's a description of someone's wristwatch being worn on the inside of the wrist, "World War II style." (So the luminous hands wouldn't show during night operations??) That's the way George Peppard wears his watch.

Excellent suspense movie. This one probably "disappeared among the "Guns of Navarone" imitators during the 60's. A pity, since it is worth having a look at. Some points in its favour: "Unpredictable" - characters who usually don't die in movies like this dies unexpectedly and in unexpected order (it doesn't follow the clichés). The spies sent on undercover missions into Germany are actually forced to speak German, and various ruses to cover up the accents have to be made. One negative aside though. At times it seems that two movies are being shown at the same time, a docu-drama about the actual bombings of England and a totally fictitious (albeit exciting) spy drama.

"Operation Crossbow" was quite a hit in its day but is not seen as being in the same league as films such as "The Guns of Navarone" or "The Great Escape". Nevertheless, it is a very worthy film on many levels.

Firstly, the cast is uniformly excellent with supporting roles taken by some of Britain's acting luminaries such as Trevor Howard, John Mills and Richard Todd. The leading man is George Peppard who plays the role with his characteristically understated charm and, when called upon, a very believable physicality. Some have been critical of the fact that Sophia Loren is billed as a co-star and has very limited screen time. However, her performance as an innocent caught up in a desperate and finally unfairly cruel situation is worth watching. So too is the performance of her killer played by Lilli Palmer who embodies the emotional control, deceptiveness, resourcefulness and cool ruthlessness required by resistance contacts whose every move was potentially their last. Bouquets to Barbara Rutting who plays the real life character of Hannah Reitsch with a steely resolve and belief that had me looking up the life story of the Nazi test pilot. She remained a dedicated National Socialist until her death and was highly critical of post-war Germany and Germans. She was appalled at the fact that German soldiers by the late 60's were allowed to wear beards and that Germany was in her words now a "nation of bankers and car builders". She won many awards for her feats of aviation after the war. Other historical figures such as Constance Babington Smith, a key figure in identifying V1 rocket sites, and Professor Lindemann, who dismissed the Nazi rocket program as being a hoax, are, to my knowledge, faithfully portrayed by Sylvia Syms and Trevor Howard respectively.

The pace of the film is another highlight. The story is told through a number of points of view including the Nazi rocketry program and its own attempts at espionage and counter espionage. Almost every scene has an element of suspense - a mini story within the story. There are also some moments of humour seamlessly laced into the drama. Well done to the editor who was faced with the complex task of melding so many story elements into a very cohesive whole.

Lastly, the action scenes and in particular the final destruction of the rocket production plant is comparable to any such "destroy the villain's lair" scene including those in the Bond series. The stunts and special effects stand up very well after almost 50 years.

Exciting WWII military thriller including a moving final and overwhelming pyrotechnics . This interesting picture packs big stars , intrigue , action packed , suspense and historic deeds . It deals with a trio (George Peppard , Tom Courtneay, Jeremy Kemp) of Allied agents are assigned by high command (John Mills , Richard Johnson , Trevor Howard , Richard Todd , Maurice Denham) to destroy a Nazi munitions installation . They attempt to infiltrate the Nazis' rocket research site. Their mission is complicated by appearing a wife (Sophia Loren) , one traitor and several dangers .

Thrilling war film in which there are nail-biting action scenes , drama , intrigue , explosion , suspenseful set pieces and almost overloaded with stars . The movie gets a simple emotional appeal , professionalism and being rightly shot . This film's title is the same code-name for the real World War II spy mission, which was code-named "Crossbow". After the Second World War, because of this movie's title, reference to these events popularized them as being "Operation Crossbow" . This blazing WWII yarn pulled the public into cinemas in droves when it was first released . Director Michael Anderson steered skillfully through its numerous twists . Despite receiving top billing , Sophia Loren only appears in a extended cameo role ; producer Carlo Ponti, Loren's husband, believed his wife's popularity in the United States would boost the film's chances at the box office and had her billed accordingly . Filmed on splashy color and brilliant cinematography by cameraman Erwin Hillier . Breathtaking as well as evocative musical score by Ron Goodwin . Excellent production design and nice special effects , for the section of the film where RAF Bomber Command raid the Peenemunde rocket research site the producers used the Avro Lancaster PA474 used by the Cranfield institute of technology . For the scene in which a street is wiped out by a V-2, the filmmakers actually destroyed a row of flats which were slated for demolition , the shot was, necessarily, done in one take.

This movie is based on historical events , as there appears the character of Hannah Reitsch, played by Barbara Rütting , was a real-life person . Reitsch was a German aviatrix and at one time Adolf Hitler's own personal pilot. During the Battle of Berlin, Reitsch attempted to persuade Hitler to escape from the city in a small lightweight Fieseler Storch airplane . Furthermore , appears Duncan Sandys, a character in this movie played by Richard Johnson, was a real-life person ; Sandys was Chairman of the British War Cabinet Committee for the Defence against German rockets and flying bombs , he was the son-in-law of British wartime prime minister, Winston Churchill and was wounded during the Second World War in Norway in 1941 which resulted in him having a permanent limp . The motion picture was professionally directed by Michael Anderson . He was a craftsman with reputation for making a variety of commercial and amusing films , it's well demonstrated in ¨Operation Crossbow¨. His films from 1953-58 were all quite well received , his cycle ended with the best of them , the suspense , thriller ,¨Chase a crooked shadow¨ . Latterly resident in Canada , he has continued to direct , mainly in lower-profile projects and TV adventure movies . Anderson has filmed all kind of genres as cinema as TV ; such as Adventure : ¨Around the world in 80 days¨ , ¨Doc Savage¨ , ¨The sea Wolf¨ , ¨20.000 leagues under the sea¨ ; Sci-Fi : ¨Logan's run¨, ¨The martian chronicles¨ , ¨Milennium¨ ; Thriller: ¨The Quiller Memorandum , ¨Dominique is dead¨ , ¨The naked edge¨ , The wreck of the Mary Deare¨ , ¨Murder by phone¨ and Wartime : ¨Battle hell¨, ¨Shake hands with the devil¨, Damm Busters¨ and of course , ¨Operation Crossbow¨ .