Home / Operation Crossbow

Operation Crossbow

Year:

1965

Duration:

115 min

Genres:

Action | Drama | War

IMDB rate:

6.6

Director:

Michael Anderson

Awards:

1 win

Details

Country: UK

Release Date: 1965-04-01

Filming Locations: Holkham Beach and Estate, Norfolk, England, UK

Cast

Actor

Character

John Alderton

Anton Diffring

Jeremy Spenser

Sophia Loren

Nora Van Ostamgen

George Peppard

Lt. John Curtis

Trevor Howard

Prof. Lindemann

John Mills

Gen. Boyd

Richard Johnson

Duncan Sandys

Tom Courtenay

Robert Henshaw

Jeremy Kemp

Phil Bradley

Anthony Quayle

Bamford

Lilli Palmer

Frieda

Paul Henreid

Gen. Ziemann

Helmut Dantine

Gen. Linz

Barbara Rütting

Hannah Reitsch

Richard Todd

Wing Cmdr. Kendall

Sylvia Syms

Constance Babington Smith

John Fraser

Flight Lt. Kenny

Maurice Denham

RAF Officer

Patrick Wymark

Prime Minister Winston Churchill

Wolf Frees

German Police Inspector

Moray Watson

Col. Kenneth Post

Richard Wattis

Sir Charles Sims

Allan Cuthbertson

German Technical Examiner

Karel Stepanek

Prof. Hoffer

William Mervyn

Dutch Technical Examiner

Milo Sperber

German Hotel Porter

George Mikell

German Officer at V2 Launch

Ferdy Mayne

German Officer at rocket plant

Robert Brown

Air Commodore

Gordon Jackson

R.A.F. Pilot (scenes deleted)

John Le Mesurier

British Army Officer (scenes deleted)

John Abineri

German Policeman (uncredited)

George Lane Cooper

Power Plant Operator (uncredited)

Maxwell Craig

German Soldier (uncredited)

George Curtis

German Policeman (uncredited)

Guy Deghy

Dutch Barge Skipper (uncredited)

Carl Duering

German Officer Arriving at Rocket Plant (uncredited)

Frank Foley

Parachute Instructor (uncredited)

David Hadda

V1-Rocket Test Pilot (uncredited)

Paul Hansard

German Policeman (uncredited)

Philo Hauser

Hotel Desk Clerk (uncredited)

Gerard Heinz

German Officer (uncredited)

John G. Heller

German Officer in Charge of V2 Launch (uncredited)

Drewe Henley

(uncredited)

Carl Jaffe

German Officer at Rocket Plant (uncredited)

Gertan Klauber

Security Guard at Rocket Plant

Charles Lloyd Pack

Technical Examiner (uncredited)

Philip Madoc

German Police Officer (uncredited)

Rudolph Offenbach

Rocket Launch Leader (uncredited)

James Payne

Lorry Driver in Airfield (uncredited)

John Ronane

RAF 'Dakota' Pilot (uncredited)

Paddy Ryan

Power Plant Operator (uncredited)

Richard Shaw

German Officer (uncredited)

Fred Wood

Mess Steward (On the Right) (uncredited)

Did you know?

Trivia

Leading man George Peppard does not appear in this movie until the 28 minute mark. Leading lady Sophia Loren does not appear until the 47 minute mark.

Share this

The title was (briefly) changed by MGM for the US release to "The Great Spy Mission" because the studio thought that having the word "operation" in the title might make people think it was either a medical film or a Robin Hood-type movie, a genre that wasn't doing well at the box office at the time.

Share this

Richard Attenborough was offered a key role in this film

Share this

Goofs

Early on in the film, a V-1 flying bomb - marked 'M23' on the tail fin - takes off, veers to the right and crashes. A few scenes later, Hanna Reitsch is seen in another flying bomb, which, in its first shot from distance on the ramp, is marked... 'M23'. This was obviously spotted, because in the next scene, a close up of the tail fin, it has now magically and clumsily been changed to 'M28'.

Share this

When Peppard and Courtney's characters are entering Germany on the Rhine River boat, their guide is speaking a broken English. However, as both are supposed to be fluent in German and possibly Dutch there is no need for English.

Share this

When the agents are being briefed, they are shown a brief film clip. The blacks and greys in the projected image are much darker than the surrounding blank screen, as if the projector can project darkness as well as light.

Share this