Operation Crossbow
Sabotage of Hitler's ingenious weapons of mass destruction...the V1 and V2 rockets!
Country
Budget
$115 000
Box office
$3 700 000
Director
Actors
Scenario
Producer
Camera operator
Erwin Hillier
Composer
Ron Goodwin
Artist
Audition
Editing
Ernest Walter
Whole Team (22)
Whole Team (22)
Short description
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.
What's left behind the scenes
- Hanna Reitsch (1912-1979), played by Barbara Rutting (1927-2020), was a real person. She was a German pilot who served for a time as Adolf Hitler’s (1889-1945) personal pilot. During the Battle of Berlin, she was the one who tried to persuade the Führer to flee the capital in a light Fieseler Fi 156 Storch aircraft.
- George Peppard (1928-1994) had a contract with MGM Studios that he was very eager to be released from. MGM management did not object, but on the condition that the actor appear in one more film. That film turned out to be 'Operation Crossbow'.
- Richard Johnson (1927-2015) plays the role of Duncan Sandys (1908-1987). He was a real British politician, a member of Conservative governments in the United Kingdom in the 1950s and 1960s. Winston Churchill’s (1874-1965) son-in-law, he participated in combat during World War II and was wounded, after which he limped for the rest of his life.
- George Peppard (1928-1994) had a contract with MGM Studios that he desperately wanted to break. The MGM management didn't object, but stipulated that the actor had to star in one more film. That film turned out to be "Operation Crossbow".
- Richard Johnson (1927-2015) plays the role of Duncan Sandys (1908-1987). Sandys was a real British politician and a member of the UK's conservative governments in the 1950s and 1960s. The son-in-law of Winston Churchill (1874-1965), he served in World War II and was wounded, leaving him with a limp for the rest of his life.
- The actors playing the fascists actually speak German, which is not typical for war films of the 1960s. The bosses at MGM did not know the actors would be speaking German (with subtitles) until they saw the rough cut of the film. They wanted to dub all these lines into English, but director Michael Anderson (1920-2018) firmly refused.
- In Arab countries, Sophia Loren was blacklisted for her role as a Jewish woman who survived a concentration camp in Daniel Mann's (1912-1991) drama 'Judith' (1966). The film was shot in Israel and screened in Beirut, but all scenes featuring Loren were cut. The film's poster was altered, and the actress's name was removed from the cast list.
- The actors playing the fascists actually speak German, which was atypical for war films of the 1960s. The executives at MGM did not know the actors would be speaking German (with subtitles) until they saw the rough cut of the film. They wanted to dub all these lines into English, but director Michael Anderson (1920-2018) categorically refused.
- Hanna Reitsch (1912-1979), played by Barbara Rutting (1927-2020), actually existed. She was a German aviator who served for some time as the personal pilot for Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) himself. During the Battle of Berlin, it was she who tried to convince the Führer to flee the capital in a Fieseler Fi 156 Storch light aircraft.
- In Arab countries, Sophia Loren was blacklisted for her role as a Jewish woman who survived a concentration camp in Daniel Mann’s (1912-1991) drama “Judith” (1966). The film was shot in Israel and shown in Beirut, but all the scenes with Loren were cut from it. The film poster was changed, and the actress's last name was removed from the cast list.
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