The Thousand Plane Raid

"The Thousand Plane Raid" is a fictionalized account of an actual raid that occurred using 1000 American bombers. It also is in many ways like the movie and TV show "12 O'Clock High"....and focuses only on the B-17, which is odd, as in reality the US built and used even more B-24s which are never shown in movies. I assume part of it might be that there were just more B-17s in flyable shape for films.

Christopher George plays Colonel Brandon, a humorless and intense bomb group leader. He's very tough on his men...presumably because not quite good enough would mean death. In so many ways he's like General Savage from the "12 O'Clock High" film and show...a tough guy who knows what needs to be done and is willing to do it...and do it along with his men.

Overall, this is a pretty exciting and well made film. My only complaint is a common one...the use of stock footage. Now I would NOT expect them to blow up real planes and risk stuntmen's lives...but sometimes stock footage just is bad. In this case, when the Colonel's B-17 crashes later in the movie, it suddenly becomes a B-29 bomber...a much larger and different style plane...and it's obviously NOT a B-17.

Oh, and if want to be more picky, IMDB says 'US Air Force'....but that term was created AFTER WWII. At that point the air service was part of the US Army and was called the US Army Air Corps.

This is very much like "The War Lover" with Steve McQueen 10 years earlier in black-and-white, it is basically the same story, but that film was humanly so much more interesting. This is in colour, and although Christopher George is very much like Steve McQueen, almost like a twin character, he is grimmer, harder and more superficial - the McQueen character has an abyss of depth in its psychopathic possibilities, while Christopher George is only doing his job. Both died too young, by the way, Steve McQueen at 50 and Christopher George at 54.

What saves the film are the other characters, first of all Gary Marshal, who adds a very needful sense of humour and detachment to the grim show, while colonel Brandon (George) has no humour at all and never smiles. The case of the grounded pilot Palmer (J.D.Cannon) also adds some interest to the epic, while on the whole, like as if it was made for television, this is clearly less realistic than the McQueen feature, which offers so much more human insight into the lives of the bomber pilots in this dreadful war. Here it more amounts to aerobatics and showing off. McQueen makes that showing off pathological, while here it is superficial.

Nevertheless, it's an interesting film, better than its reputation, awfully exciting and with splendid scenery of war pilot flights in the air and in action. The only disturbing thing was Laraine Stephens' hair style, a cold blonde with too much make-up for that war and a coiffure belonging entirely to the 60s.

If you want to watch real WW2 planes in real WW2 footage, this is a good movie. You won't see these beautiful planes flying again without CGI. The movie gives a pretty accurate depiction on life aboard a WW2 bomber. Movies today will have to use CGI to show these beautiful planes. Sadly, there are too few of these aircraft available today to duplicate the airplanes in this movie. Appreciate these beautiful airplanes and the bravery of the young pilots and crew that were able to keep these beautiful airplanes flying.

Pretty good movie that uses real WW2 footage and new footage.

The acting is okay with a pretty good cast.

World War Two had many facets which claim to have been the pivotal point of the conflict. Regardless, it took the whole industry of several countries to group themselves into the Allied cause, which eventually destroyed the Nazi dream of world dominance. This is one of the key elements which was essential towards that goal. The film is called " The Thousand Plane Raid " which was directed by Boris Sagal and penned by novelist Ralph Barker. It purports to tell the story of Col. Greg Brandon (Christopher George) who proposed to group together a thousand allied B-17 Bombers to destroy a specific target producing German fighter planes. He finds that he is troubled by both the British high command as well as his own men. In addition, those closest to him realize that he is obsessed with his idea and is losing touch with everyone. A good movie, though a bit melodramatic. Nevertheless, a solid action oriented story. A fine cast which includes J.D. Cannon, Gary Marshal, Michael Evans, Gavin MacLeod and Bo Hopkins as Capt. Douglass. Recommended to War buffs. ****

A US Air Col. Called Greg Brandon : Christopher George convinces Allies that a daylight bombing can change the course of the WWII . As about thousand planes have to destroy an industry where Nazis are making aircrafts .Hitler Knew the Plan...But the Allies Bet a Thousand Planes That He Didn't Know the Place!.This was the day the Allies turned the blitz on Hitler The biggest air-borne armada of the war - a thousand bombers on a secret mission to destroy the Nazi dream of a Thousand Year Reich!

Run-of-the-mill Warlike movie abot a dangerous mission with thrills, emotion , romance and a lot of stock footage . Concerning a true plot , around thousand allied Bombers assigned to destroy a specific target producing German fighter planes . Stars Christopher George who gives a nice but serious acting as the Colonel who receives a bombing mission against an industrial facility in France. Being well accompanied by a good cast of familiar faces , most of them from TV films such as the beautiful Laraine Stephens, J. D. Cannon, Gary Marshal , Gavin McLeod , Ben Murphy , Bo Hopkins , James Gammon , Charles Dierkop, among others . The Thousand Plane Raid 1969 is reminiscent of other warlike movies as Dam Busters , Operation Crossbow, by Michael Anderson, 633 Squadron by Walter Grauman and Mosquito Squadron by Boris Sagal himself .The motion picture was regular but professionally directed by Boris Sagal , a television series expert such as : Rich Man Poor Man , Ike , Columbo , Diary of Ana Frank , The Name is the Game , Madigan , Masada. And he occassionally directed some films as Omega Man , The Helicopter Spies , Mosquito Squadron. Rating : 5.5/10 . Only for WWII enthusiasts.