DramaWarThriller

Operation Crossbow

- Sabotage of Hitler's ingenious weapons of mass destruction...the V1 and V2 rockets!

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.

Release Date : 1965-04-01

Language :EnglishGerman

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British StudiosMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Production Country : United Kingdom

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Nora Van Ostamgen

Original Name : Sophia Loren

Gender : Female

Character Name : Lt. John Curtis

Original Name : George Peppard

Gender : Male

Character Name : Professor Lindemann

Original Name : Trevor Howard

Gender : Male

Character Name : General Boyd

Original Name : John Mills

Gender : Male

Character Name : Duncan Sandys

Original Name : Richard Johnson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Robert Henshaw

Original Name : Tom Courtenay

Gender : Male

Character Name : Captain Phil Bradley

Original Name : Jeremy Kemp

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bamford

Original Name : Anthony Quayle

Gender : Male

Character Name : Frieda

Original Name : Lilli Palmer

Gender : Female

Character Name : General Ziemann

Original Name : Paul Henreid

Gender : Male

Character Name : General Linz

Original Name : Helmut Dantine

Gender : Male

Character Name : Hannah Reitsch

Original Name : Barbara Rütting

Gender : Female

Character Name : Wing Cmdr. Kendall

Original Name : Richard Todd

Gender : Male

Character Name : Constance Babington Smith

Original Name : Sylvia Syms

Gender : Female

Character Name : Flight Lt. Kenny

Original Name : John Fraser

Gender : Male

Character Name : RAF Officer

Original Name : Maurice Denham

Gender : Male

Character Name : Prime Minister Winston Churchill

Original Name : Patrick Wymark

Gender : Male

Character Name : German Police Inspector

Original Name : Wolf Frees

Gender : Male

Character Name : Col. Kenneth Post

Original Name : Moray Watson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sir Charles Sims

Original Name : Richard Wattis

Gender : Male

Character Name : German Technical Examiner

Original Name : Allan Cuthbertson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Prof. Hoffer

Original Name : Karl Stepanek

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dutch Technical Examiner

Original Name : William Mervyn

Gender : Male

Character Name : German Hotel Porter

Original Name : Milo Sperber

Gender : Male

Character Name : German Officer

Original Name : George Mikell

Gender : Male

Character Name : German Officer

Original Name : Ferdy Mayne

Gender : Male

Character Name : Air Commodore

Original Name : Robert Brown

Gender : Male

Character Name : SS Sturmbannfuhrer

Original Name : Anton Diffring

Gender : Male

Character Name : German Police Officer

Original Name : Philip Madoc

Gender : Male

Character Name : German Policeman

Original Name : John Abineri

Gender : Male

Character Name : Technical Examiner

Original Name : Charles Lloyd Pack

Gender : Male

Character Name : Soldier at Rocket Plant

Original Name : Gertan Klauber

Gender : Male

Character Name : SS Officer at Rocket Plant

Original Name : Jeremy Spenser

Gender : Male

Character Name : RAF Dakota Pilot

Original Name : John Ronane

Gender : Male

Reviews

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

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

@JPV852

2021-06-23

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

@Geronimo1967

2024-09-05

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 German 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.