Operation Crossbow (1965) Reviews

• How the German V1 & 2 rockets where dealt with.

  thomas j-22000-06-07

  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.

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• Could have been Bond in WWII

  louiss2001-05-26

  Exciting WWII adventure spy thriller resembles Bond films of the sixties. Elaborate underground German rocket base reminds me of a Ken Adem set. Sophia's early demise is a startling shock which adds credibility to the film as a thriller. The best of Peppards three war film trilogy. Also look for Anthony Quayle playing against type as a nazi out to stop Peppard. Great fun.

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• Undeservingly ignored WWII spy-thriller

  pete362003-01-11

  I remember seeing this movie as a kid and pretty bored I was, but having recently caught it on the BBC I was surprised how good it really is. Movie's basic outline concerns the development of the German V-1 and V-2 weapons and the subsequent allied attempt to infiltrate the underground factories at Peenemünde, where most of these these so-called `Vergeltungswaffen' ('revenge' weapons) were assembled Richard Anderson is the British government top official who puts a team together- Peppard, Kemp and Courtenay- posing as Dutch engineers volunteering to work for the Reich. As the spystory itself is undoubtedly heavily fictionalised the rest is pretty historically accurate. Movie has an elaborate script featuring a plot full of twists and loopholes. instead of relying on big battle scenes or derring-do. Which is probably the reason why it was a bit ignored by the public and critics alike on its release. Moviegoers were expecting some straightforward war epic as "The battle of the Bulge", "The Heroes of Telemark" or "Von Ryan's Express", all released in 1965, with plenty of action but seriously lacking in the historic credibility department. (spoiler ahead) Actors are solid but watch out for Anthony Quayle as an unusually shrewd German counterintelligence officer and the fact that some of the main stars get killed halfway the movie. Special effects in recreating the V-weapons and their subsequent effect on London are, definitly for that time, very well executed. There are several subplots, one involving Sophia Loren, but most interesting is the one with famous female Nazi test-pilot Hannah Reitsch (Barbara Rütting), as what must be only time she is personified on the big screen. Movie claims she actually had to test flight the V1, which was a not more then a flying bomb but the Germans first wanted to use it as some sort of semi-kamikaze contraption, with the pilot bailing out at the last minute. After several killed pilots they wisely opted for a simple unmanned version. These were launched en masse at London and other already liberated European cities. Incidentally, the biopic `The Glen Miller Story' (1954) has an important scene with Miller's orchestra playing while being under attack of several V1's. Quite another beast was the V2, a real ballistic missile and a 'wonder' weapon if there ever was one. It was capable of going up in to the stratosphere and remained undetected by radar and reaching speeds of up to 2 mach and at that time impossible to detect and to shoot down. A few hundreds were launched and did some important damage to major supply lines (especially the vital Belgian port of Antwerp) but never seriously endangered the allied offensives. The later ICBM's carrying nuclear warheads are all based on the V2. (major spoiler ahead) Finally the produces must have realised they had tot put some action sequences in it to justify the star cast and budget resulting in a very Bondlike action sequence trying to prevent, with the help of Bomber Command, a test flight of an improved V2 capable of reaching New York (!). The British actually bombed Peenemunde several times, which seriously delayed construction time and was instrumental in moving almost the whole plant underground (as most German heavy industry after 1943). British Director Michael Anderson is best-known for another WWII tale `The Dam Busters', also the SF-epic `Logan's Run' and the TV-series `The Martian Chronicles' He was active until 2000,still turning out the occasional TV-movie. George Peppard and Jeremy Kemp would team up again next year in the spectacular `The Blue Max' this time not involving rockets but WWI flying crates. See OC in its original Cinemascope format. Sadly the BBC choose to air in the so-called 'pan-and-scan'version, seriously harming the colour and perspective. If you like this try `The battle of Britain'. I gave it an 8.

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• Masterpiece WW 2 film

  kenandraf2002-07-28

  Masterpiece WW 2 film.Excellent production and attention to detail.Good spy story with great cinematography and cast performances.Good visuals on the German V-1/V-2 efforts.Not too much Holywood watering down of storyline.Nice short performance by Loren.One of the top 50 best WW 2 movies ever.One of the top 250 best movies ever.Only for WW 2 spy movie fans who don't mind seeing London get blasted a bit and for big fans of the lead actors......

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• " Yours will be a deep, dark secret, evidently to be taken to your death "

  thinker16912010-08-25

  In the annals of Allied history is one of the most secret and certainly most desperate covert attempts to destroy the Nazi's ultimate weapons. These weapons were called the Vengeance Rockets which nearly destroyed England and it willingness to survive. This story written by Duilio Coleitto and directed by Michael Anderson is comparatively close to the actual facts. The conclusion in England was that the V-1 and V-2 were wreaking havoc on London and the prime Minister (Patrick Wymark) called on his war ministry to design a plan to destroy them. Innically, the secret operation was called 'Operation Bodyline' but changed for the movie under " Operation Crossbow." The idea was to select allied officers, trained and educated as engineers, fly them to Germany, have them infiltrate the German War Machine and sabotage the entire V-rocket plant. What they did not harp on was that is was also considered a suicide mission. George Peppard, Tom Courtenay and Jeremy Kemp play the incredibly courageous allied agents who must carry out the task. Anthony Quayle is superb as the traitorous English/German counter agent who's job it is to stop them. Richard Todd, Paul Henreid, Trevor Howard, John Mills, Richard Johnson and Sophia Loren round out the cast. The movie is incredible with actual WWII footage and surprisingly great dramatic acting. The introduction of Sophia Loren within the actual story is puzzling, but interesting. A very good WWII action movie considered a Classic by many movie fans. ****

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