Operation Crossbow (1965)
Overview
Allied agents infiltrate the Nazi rocket complex at Peenemunde in order to obtain their secrets and sabotage the plant. The film alternates between German developments of the V-1 missile and V-2 rocket (with a German cast speaking their own language) and discovery by British Intelligence of the weapon.
Cast
Sophia Loren
Nora Van Ostamgen
George Peppard
Lt. John Curtis
Trevor Howard
Professor Lindemann
John Mills
General Boyd
Richard Johnson
Duncan Sandys
Tom Courtenay
Robert Henshaw
Jeremy Kemp
Captain Phil Bradley
Anthony Quayle
Bamford
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John Chard
If you're chute doesn't open, change it for a harp!
A passable WWII movie boosted by star casting and a grand finale. Plot essentially is about some Allied agents planning to infiltrate the Nazis' secretive rocket factory in Holland and destroy their deadly V rockets.
Much of the pic is given to character forming and painting political, army and human passion based groundwork. Unfortunately the narrative often sags and has some uneven patches that can take one out of the story line. On the plus side the finale is worth waiting for, full of suspense and heroics, while the espionage angle holds interest throughout. 6/10
JPV852
Engaging war-thriller doesn't always hit on all cylinders but the finale was suspense-filled and I do appreciate how the filmmakers handled the deaths, not at all sensationalized. No real standout performances but the cast did a fine job, though a bit surprising to see Sophie Loren got top-billing but only in it for maybe 15-minutes. **3.5/5**
CinemaSerf
There is something a little bit reminiscent of "The Adventures of Tartu" (1943) about this film. The Nazis are using ever increasingly effective missiles to bombard South East England and when the boffins discover their new, portable, V1 and V2 rockets then a team is assembled to go into the heart of the Reich to carry out some dangerous sabotage. George Peppard, Jeremy Kemp and Tom Courtenay are the three despatched and these characters alongside an interestingly, but effectively, cast Anthony Quayle as their Nazi antagonist work well building a sense of peril as they set about their tasks. It's a little bit cluttered by a bit of a contrived sub-plot with Sophia Loren, but for the most part it is an efficient drama that has just about every British actor you can shake a stick at appearing somewhere - John Mills; Trevor Howard; Richard Johnson; Richard Todd et al. Of course it uses a little cinematic licence - Peppard's Dutch accent (via Detroit) is a bit of a stretch at times - but it's still an engaging piece of wartime adventure cinema with quite an exciting climax.
