Operation Crossbow (1965)
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AUDIENCE SCORE
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Movie Info
This big-budget, big-studio espionage film is set in the last years of World War II. George Peppard, Tom Courtenay and Jeremy Kemp parachute into Germany, with orders to destroy the Nazis' rocket base at Peenemunde. Featuring Sophia Loren as the wife of the Nazi collaborator whom Peppard is pretending to be, Operation Crossbow failed badly in its first release; MGM, deciding that the title misled moviegoers into thinking that the picture was a "Robin Hood" derivation, cleared up matters by… More
Rating: | PG-13 |
Genre: | Drama, Action & Adventure, Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense, Classics |
Directed By: | Michael Anderson |
Written By: | Duilio Coletti, Vittoriano Petrilli, Richard Imrie, Derry Quinn, Emeric Pressburger |
In Theaters: | Jan 1, 1965 Wide |
On DVD: | Jan 10, 2006 |
Runtime: |
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LoginCritic Reviews for Operation Crossbow
All Critics (10) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (3) | Rotten (2) | DVD (5)




Takes an unlikely scenario and ends it with an explosive fantasy James Bond-like finale.

...an entertaining, genuinely exciting adventure flick...

Audience Reviews for Operation Crossbow
A real good WWII espionage film. With a host of actors and actress. Sophia Loren plays a very short part in this movie, about the shortest I've ever seen her play. The Germans are developing the V-1 Bomber and The V-2 Rocket Missile. The British must get within the German factories to provide bombing information or lost the war. Very interesting story line, with good actual footage now and then. The V-1 know as the flying Bomb a pilot less aircraft, The first V-1 was launched at London on 13 June 1944, one week after (and prompted by) the successful Allied landing in Europe. At its peak, over a hundred V-1s a day were fired at southeast England, 9,521 in total, decreasing in number as sites were overrun until October 1944, when the last V-1 site in range of Britain was overrun by Allied forces. This caused the remaining V-1s to be directed at the port of Antwerp and other targets in Belgium, with 2,448 V-1s being launched. The attacks stopped when the last site was overrun on 29 March 1945. In total, the V-1 attacks caused 22,892 casualties (almost entirely civilians). The V-2 Over 3,000 V-2s were launched as military rockets by the German Wehrmacht against Allied targets during the war, mostly London and later Antwerp. The attacks resulted in the death of an estimated 7,250 military personnel and civilians[, while 12,000 forced laborers were killed at the production of the weapons. This movie is outstanding and gets a 4 1/2 star rating.

Super Reviewer
This highly underrated war film is very similar to the guns of Navarone mode as far as the story is concerened. A group of allied soldiers are on a near impossible mission to destroy a german weapons base that is launching the dreaded V1 and V2 rockets to London. However, in many ways this film is better than the guns of navarone which was more in the popular mode of filmmaking rather than showing the real harsh realities of warfare. That is far better portrayed in this film. From the neccessary killing of a friendly Sophia Loren (just to keep the secrecy of the mission intact) right down to the end where none survive the mission although they accomplish their end. Operation Crossbow is a terrific highly underrated war movie.
Story: B+
Acting: B+
Direction: A
Visuals: C+
Overall: B+
***1/2 out of 4 stars

Super Reviewer
A decent WW2 spy movie. Sophia Loren is very good in her limited role. The plot is solid and could benefit from a modernized remake.

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