One of my all time favorites.

Just perfect...

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The Nazis are developing long-range rockets. Their "flying bomb" could win World War II for the Axis powers. As you might expect, the British are miffed. They send American military engineer George Peppard (as John Curtis) along with Jeremy Kemp (as Phil Bradley) and Tom Courtenay (as Robert Henshaw) over to infiltrate and destroy the German underground factory from the inside. The trio pose as dead men and arrive via parachute. There are some problems with their impersonations...Michael Anderson skillfully directs this spy drama. The story does seem cluttered, which is not helped by a distinguished cast, all requiring their moments. The plot requires concentration. Peppard is the star, but something doesn't seem quite right in his portrayal. His character often appears to be lacking in determination - this is somewhat remedied by the script and some closing action...Everyone else is the cast is supporting Peppard, including top-billed Sophia Loren (as Nora). Her husband Carlo Ponti produced "Operation Crossbow" and Ms. Loren is an attractive addition to the cast. An incredibly beautiful woman who can also act, Loren dominates her section of the film. Marvelously holding her own during the Loren sequence is helpful maid Lilli Palmer (as Frieda). Of those orchestrating the mission, Richard Johnson (as Duncan Sandys) plays a good part.****** Operation Crossbow (4/1/65) Michael Anderson ~ George Peppard, Jeremy Kemp, Sophia Loren, Tom Courtenay

Exciting WWII military thriller including a moving final and overwhelming pyrotechnics . This interesting picture packs big stars , intrigue , action packed , suspense and historic deeds . It deals with a trio (George Peppard , Tom Courtneay, Jeremy Kemp) of Allied agents are assigned by high command (John Mills , Richard Johnson , Trevor Howard , Richard Todd , Maurice Denham) to destroy a Nazi munitions installation . They attempt to infiltrate the Nazis' rocket research site. Their mission is complicated by appearing a wife (Sophia Loren) , one traitor and several dangers . Thrilling war film in which there are nail-biting action scenes , drama , intrigue , explosion , suspenseful set pieces and almost overloaded with stars . The movie gets a simple emotional appeal , professionalism and being rightly shot . This film's title is the same code-name for the real World War II spy mission, which was code-named "Crossbow". After the Second World War, because of this movie's title, reference to these events popularized them as being "Operation Crossbow" . This blazing WWII yarn pulled the public into cinemas in droves when it was first released . Director Michael Anderson steered skillfully through its numerous twists . Despite receiving top billing , Sophia Loren only appears in a extended cameo role ; producer Carlo Ponti, Loren's husband, believed his wife's popularity in the United States would boost the film's chances at the box office and had her billed accordingly . Filmed on splashy color and brilliant cinematography by cameraman Erwin Hillier . Breathtaking as well as evocative musical score by Ron Goodwin . Excellent production design and nice special effects , for the section of the film where RAF Bomber Command raid the Peenemunde rocket research site the producers used the Avro Lancaster PA474 used by the Cranfield institute of technology . For the scene in which a street is wiped out by a V-2, the filmmakers actually destroyed a row of flats which were slated for demolition , the shot was, necessarily, done in one take.This movie is based on historical events , as there appears the character of Hannah Reitsch, played by Barbara Rütting , was a real-life person . Reitsch was a German aviatrix and at one time Adolf Hitler's own personal pilot. During the Battle of Berlin, Reitsch attempted to persuade Hitler to escape from the city in a small lightweight Fieseler Storch airplane . Furthermore , appears Duncan Sandys, a character in this movie played by Richard Johnson, was a real-life person ; Sandys was Chairman of the British War Cabinet Committee for the Defence against German rockets and flying bombs , he was the son-in-law of British wartime prime minister, Winston Churchill and was wounded during the Second World War in Norway in 1941 which resulted in him having a permanent limp . The motion picture was professionally directed by Michael Anderson . He was a craftsman with reputation for making a variety of commercial and amusing films , it's well demonstrated in ¨Operation Crossbow¨. His films from 1953-58 were all quite well received , his cycle ended with the best of them , the suspense , thriller ,¨Chase a crooked shadow¨ . Latterly resident in Canada , he has continued to direct , mainly in lower-profile projects and TV adventure movies . Anderson has filmed all kind of genres as cinema as TV ; such as Adventure : ¨Around the world in 80 days¨ , ¨Doc Savage¨ , ¨The sea Wolf¨ , ¨20.000 leagues under the sea¨ ; Sci-Fi : ¨Logan's run¨, ¨The martian chronicles¨ , ¨Milennium¨ ; Thriller: ¨The Quiller Memorandum , ¨Dominique is dead¨ , ¨The naked edge¨ , The wreck of the Mary Deare¨ , ¨Murder by phone¨ and Wartime : ¨Battle hell¨, ¨Shake hands with the devil¨, Damm Busters¨ and of course , ¨Operation Crossbow¨ .

Despite the nice production values this war movie doesn't rise above a pedestrian telling of some heroic mission 'round the end of WWII.Ah, and it happens to be about V1 and V2 German secret weapons.Ah, and there are mighty good actors scattered in it.The rest is a soulless movie with a big lousy procrastinating device: the extended cameo by Sophia Loren. She gets top billing, she gets a couple of bland lines in uninteresting scenes opposite George Peppard, and then that's all.Then the movie goes on, at the pace of a diesel engine, seemingly content with its historical background.

OPERATION CROSSBOW was a box office disaster, possibly because of the dreadful title as well as a trailer that makes the film look awful; BUT...The film itself is a way-above-average WW II story --- brilliantly directed, well acted, lavishly produced, with a cast of over a dozen stars. The on-location filming in Europe, in wide screen color, is another big plus.The story involves the German development of missile bombs as well as the V-2 rockets that devastated London in the early part of the war (before American involvement). This is the story of the intelligence agents assigned to infiltrate the manufacturing plant for these new high-tech weapons, carefully protected by 80 feet of rock in the German Alps. Very fine movie. Not one dull minute. Nuff said!