After the Norwegian resistance leader Royal Norwegian Navy Lieutenant Erik Bergman travels to Great Britain to report the location of a German V-2 rocket fuel plant, the Royal Air Force's No. 633 Squadron is assigned to destroy it. The squadron is led by Wing Commander Roy Grant, a former Eagle Squadron pilot (an American serving in the RAF before the US entered the war).
The plant is in a seemingly impregnable location beneath an overhanging cliff at the end of a long, narrow fjord lined with numerous anti-aircraft guns. The only way to destroy the plant is by bombing the cliff until it collapses and buries the facility, a job for 633 Squadron's fast and manoeuvrable de Havilland Mosquitos. The squadron trains in Scotland, where there are narrow glens similar to the fjord. There, Grant is introduced to Bergman's sister, Hilde. They are attracted to each other, despite Grant's aversion to wartime relationships.
The Norwegian resistance has to destroy the anti-aircraft defences immediately before the attack. When unexpected German reinforcements arrive, Bergman returns to Norway to try to gather more forces. He is captured while transporting desperately needed weapons, taken to Gestapo headquarters and tortured for information. Since Bergman knows too much, he must be silenced before he breaks. Grant and newly married Pilot Officer Bissell are sent in with a single Mosquito to bomb the Gestapo building. Though they are successful, their shot-up Mosquito fighter-bomber crashes on its return; Bissell is wounded and becomes blind. A tearful Hilde thanks Grant for ending her brother's suffering.
Still worried, Air Vice-Marshal Davis decides to move up the attack to the next day. The resistance fighters are ambushed and killed, leaving the defences intact. Although Grant is given the option of aborting, he decides to press on. The factory is destroyed at the cost of the entire squadron, though a few crews are able to ditch in the fjord. Grant crash-lands but a local man helps Grant's navigator, Flight Lieutenant Hoppy Hopkinson, pull the wounded wing commander from the burning wreckage. Back in Britain, Davis tells a fellow officer who is aghast at the losses, "You can't kill a squadron".
Originally a project for director John Sturges, he initially worked on a script with Rod Serling of The Twilight Zone fame as early as 1958 and offered Jack Lord the leading role.[5] After Sturges dropped out in favour of making The Magnificent Seven, Walter Mirisch took on the project after reading the book.[6] Filming took place during the summer of 1963.[7]
Authentic period aircraft were used instead of models or special effects to create many of the aerial sequences. In part, this was because 633 Squadron was the first film shot in colour in Panavision widescreen format, a choice that made the use of archival film (a common expedient and cost-saving measure in previous films) unfeasible.
The original drafts of the script were penned by The Great Escape scriptwriter James Clavell. When Robertson expressed reservations about the story, producer Walter Mirisch engaged U.S. scriptwriter Howard Koch, resident in London, to rewrite the film to placate him.[8]
Locations
The scenes were shot in the Scottish Highlands near Glen Coe, with most of the attack sequences filmed above Loch Morar and Loch Nevis. Inverness Airport was used for filming purposes and aircraft were based there while filming in the Highlands. The distinctive outline of some islands can be seen behind some of the cockpit shots.[9] While the spectacular aerial scenes used real aircraft, more dangerous sequences were created with models.
The Lairig Ghru pass in the Cairngorms was used for the training flight sequences and scenes with the Norwegian resistance.
The aircraft
Walter Grauman, the director, collected flying period aircraft, creating the "Mirisch Air Force" or M.A.F. as it was dubbed.[3] Grauman's wartime experience as a North American B-25 Mitchell bomber pilot helped create an authentic aviation epic.[13]
The film features eight De Havilland Mosquitos. As the Royal Air Force had retired the type in 1963, civilian operators mostly leased former converted bomber examples (TT Mk 35) to the RAF for target-towing.[14] Scouring RAF airfields at Exeter, South Devon, Henlow, Shawbury and the Central Flying School at Little Rissington provided not only ten authentic aircraft but also vehicles and equipment from the war.[15]
Eight Mosquitos were primarily used, five airworthy and others that could be taxied on runways or used as set dressing. The airworthy TT 35 Mosquitos were converted to resemble a fighter-bomber variant (FB Mk VI). The TT 35 models had their clear nosecones and side windows painted over and dummy machine gun barrels fitted. One airworthy Mosquito was a T3 with a solid nose, which only required the fitting of dummy gun barrels. It lacked the two-stage Merlin engines, V-shaped windscreen and bulged bomb bay of the TT 35s. At least one surplus Mosquito was destroyed in a simulated crash scene.[16]
No German aircraft of the right type were available; consequently Nord Pingouin aircraft (French licence-built variants of the Messerschmitt Bf 108 Taifun) were used to represent the Messerschmitt Bf 109.[17][18] At the beginning of the film, Lieutenant Erik Bergman's original escape from Norway is in a Miles Messenger.[17]
The primary camera aircraft, a North American B-25 Mitchell set up as a camera ship by Greg Board (also appearing in The War Lover) and flown by him, also appears in the film, dropping Bergman back into Norway. The director and former Mitchell bomber pilot Walter Grauman flew the B-25 himself, acting as co-pilot in the right-hand seat.[citation needed] During filming, technical advisor Hamish Mahaddie, who had acquired the aircraft for the film, told Walter Mirisch he "commanded the 14th largest air force in the world".[19]
Special effects
Although the film made extensive use of real flying aircraft, special effects were needed to create the final attack scenes. Oscar winning special effects technician Tom Howard used miniatures, front and rear projection and matte paintings to make the sequences work.[20]
Cliff Robertson enjoyed working on the film and stated that the atmosphere on set was very good, but was unhappy with the ambiguous ending. He noted that the movie was shot on a very tight schedule and budget. He regretted not being allowed to pilot a Mosquito, which he was forbidden to do for insurance reasons.[21]
Differences from the book
The film and the novel on which it was based follow the same basic plot, but many details were changed for the film. Some scenes were re-arranged in sequence and the story was heavily condensed with most of the characters' backgrounds not mentioned.[22] The first half of the book sees the squadron equipped with Douglas Boston light bombers before converting to the Mosquito. An early coastal shipping strike sequence was omitted for the film, as was an action-packed reconnaissance mission. The film adapts only the second half of the novel.[23]
In the novel, Squadron Leader Roy Grenville was a British character, but becomes Americanised as Wing Commander Roy Grant for the film. Robertson was cast because he was popular internationally at the time and because an American central character improved the production's access to finance and worldwide audiences. Additionally, Robertson was an experienced pilot, owned a Supermarine Spitfire, and was personally interested in making the film as an accurate portrayal of wartime flying. Although he was refused permission to fly in the film, his scenes stand out as a realistic depiction of operational flying.[24]
At the end of the film, it is unclear whether Grant survives the mission or not. However, in the book Grenville does survive but becomes a prisoner of war. In the novel, much more time was devoted to the personal lives of the squadron's personnel than in the film.[25]
Historical accuracy
The Royal Air Force (RAF) did not form a unit called "633 Squadron" during the Second World War. However, there was a 613 Squadron, equipped with Mosquitos, and credited with an attack on a Dutch Central Population Registry building on 11 April 1944, where the Germans held their Dutch Gestapo records.[26] Furthermore, RAF Bomber Command undertook a variety of operations against German missile production facilities similar to that of the film, including Operations Crossbow, Bellicose, and Hydra.
The film draws from many of the real operations of 617 Squadron, in particular their attack on the German battleship Tirpitz in a Norwegian fjord, although that squadron used four-engined Avro Lancaster heavy bombers to carry the Barnes Wallis designed, 5.35-ton Tallboyearthquake bombs, not the twin-engined de Havilland Mosquitos depicted. However, the Mosquito was used by 618 Squadron in connection with another of Barnes Wallis' "bouncing bombs", called Highball. Though Highball was never used operationally, 618 Squadron was used as a special operations unit and is, probably, the closest match to "633".
During the film, the pilots are briefed on using earthquake bombs, however the footage of the bombs arriving at the airfield clearly show the Mark I 1,800kg (4,000lb) Cookie. The delivery method, construction and effect of the two types of bomb are almost totally opposite. The Earthquake bomb must be released from high altitude for it to attain the necessary speed, and must have a heavy case to penetrate the ground. In the blockbuster bomb, the case is extremely light in comparison to allow maximum explosive payload to flatten buildings at or above ground level.
The single-plane raid on Gestapo Headquarters to kill Erik before he talked bore similarities to the Oslo Mosquito raid.[28]
The original plot, however, is similar to a real RAF mission. The novel's plot did not mention the nature of the target, only that it was a highly rated objective in Norway that could not be reached by the RAF until the Mosquito became operational. There was such a target, the molybdenum mine in Knaben, southern Norway. Typical of the mineral wealth that Hitler stated was worth the sacrifice of a significant portion of the Kriegsmarine, Knaben could produce four-fifths of Germany's requirements for molybdenum, an important element in the production of armour plate. The mine at Knaben was too small to hit in a night raid, and sending heavy, long-range bombers in daylight would have met with disaster. Light bombers such as the Blenheim were ideal for the job, but did not have the necessary range. However, Knaben was within the range of the Mosquito, and 139 Squadron was given the task on 3 March 1943. Nine Mosquitoes were dispatched. All placed their bombs on target, though one failed to return. The target was out of action for some time and was later visited by the United States Army Air Forces's Eighth Air Force.[29]
The "jeep" partly hidden behind a bush in one of the Scottish Highlands training sequences is a post-war Land Rover, and the "German halftrack" is an Alvis Saracen. Land Rovers are seen in backgrounds of other scenes, such as when Grant is being driven from the airfield to be given the squadron's new assignment.[30] The towing tractor seen on the airfield in the early part of the film is a Fordson E1A Major first produced in 1952.
Reception
633 Squadron had its world premiere on 4 June 1964 at the Leicester Square Theatre in the West End of London. While critics derided the wooden acting and hackneyed plot, and the use of the miscast Mirisch Pictures contract star George Chakiris, the aerial scenes were considered spectacular and with Ron Goodwin's music remained the main attraction. Walter Mirisch recalled that the film earned nearly its entire cost of US$1.3 million from Eady Levy receipts in the UK, making the film practically cost free when Mirisch released the film throughout the world. The great success of the film worldwide led to Mirisch making a series of UK based Oakmont Productions World War II productions shot mostly in the UK.[31]
It was among the ten most popular films of the year at the British box office in 1964.[32]
The film was re-released several times throughout the 1960s, sometimes on a double bill with other Mirisch features such as The Great Escape.[33] An oddity of this double billing was that actor Angus Lennie appeared in RAF uniform in both films.
The extensive footage of the Mosquito was also of considerable interest to aviation enthusiasts. 633 Squadron appears on the list of "The 100 Greatest War Films" voted by the UK public and is featured in the 2005 documentary of the same name.
Influence
The film's climax shows the squadron flying through a deep fjord while being fired on by anti-aircraft guns. George Lucas stated that this sequence inspired the "trench run" sequence in Star Wars.[34] Lucas intercut sequences into Star Wars during post-production as a guide.
633 Squadron is well known in the UK for its regular appearances on television, and became almost a part of the Christmas schedule. The film had its network premiere on British television on 17 November 1970 on BBC1.[35] It enjoyed the twelfth largest TV audience of the year.[36] Although erroneously considered a sequel, the film Mosquito Squadron (1969) is similar to 633 Squadron and influenced by it, even using footage from the original.
Frederick Smith wrote several sequel novels about 633 Squadron's further exploits, but these were never adapted for the screen.[37]
Soundtrack
The musical score of 633 Squadron was written by the British composer Ron Goodwin and became very popular and well known to the public after the film's initial release.[38] The theme was adapted for the computer games 1942[39] and Into the Eagle's Nest.[40][41] It was used for TV advertisements for an insurance company during the early 2000s.[42] It has also become a standard part of the repertoire of the RAF bands, most recently included in an album marking the 100th Anniversary of the RAF.[43]
Home media
633 Squadron was released on Region 2DVD on 5 May 2003. The movie is presented in Widescreen 2.35:1 format and Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. The original trailer is included as an extra.
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its airframe was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or "Mossie". Lord Beaverbrook, Minister of Aircraft Production, nicknamed it "Freeman's Folly", alluding to Air Chief Marshal Sir Wilfrid Freeman, who defended Geoffrey de Havilland and his design concept against orders to scrap the project. In 1941, it was one of the fastest operational aircraft in the world.
The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirling, all three aircraft being four-engined heavy bombers adopted by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the same era.
The Dam Busters is a 1955 British epic docudrama war film starring Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave, that was directed by Michael Anderson. Adapted by R. C. Sherriff from the books The Dam Busters (1951) by Paul Brickhill and Enemy Coast Ahead (1946) by Guy Gibson, the film depicts the true story of Operation Chastise when in 1943 the RAF's 617 Squadron attacked the Möhne, Eder, and Sorpe dams in Nazi Germany with Barnes Wallis's bouncing bomb.
Battle of Britain is a 1969 British war film directed by Guy Hamilton, and produced by Harry Saltzman and S. Benjamin Fisz. The film documents the events of the Battle of Britain. The film drew many respected British actors to accept roles as key figures of the battle, including Laurence Olivier as Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, Trevor Howard as Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, and Patrick Wymark as Air Vice-Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory. It also starred Michael Caine, Christopher Plummer, and Robert Shaw as Squadron Leaders. The script by James Kennaway and Wilfred Greatorex was based on the book The Narrow Margin by Derek Wood and Derek Dempster.
Royal Air Force West Malling or more simply RAF West Malling is a former Royal Air Force station located 1.6 miles (2.6 km) south of West Malling, Kent and 5.2 miles (8.4 km) west of Maidstone, Kent, England.
Walter E. Grauman was an American director of stage shows, films and television shows.
A Yank in the R.A.F. is a 1941 American war drama film directed by Henry King and starring Tyrone Power, Betty Grable and John Sutton. Released three months before the attack on Pearl Harbor plunged the United States into World War II, it is considered a typical early-World War II production. Originally titled The Eagle Squadron, it is based on a story by "Melville Crossman", the pen name for 20th Century Fox studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck. It follows an American pilot who joins the Royal Air Force (RAF), during a period when the United States was still neutral.
Royal Air Force Bovingdon or more simply RAF Bovingdon is a former Royal Air Force station located near the village of Bovingdon, Hertfordshire, England, about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south-west of Hemel Hempstead and 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south-east of Berkhamsted.
No. 21 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was formed in 1915 and was disbanded for the last time in 1979.
Appointment in London is a 1953 British war film set during the Second World War and starring Dirk Bogarde. The film was directed by Philip Leacock and based on a story by John Wooldridge, who as an RAF bomber pilot flew 108 operational sorties over Europe. Wooldridge, who after the war established himself as a successful film composer before his untimely death in a car accident, also wrote the film score and participated in writing the screenplay for Appointment in London.
Operation Paravane was a British air raid of World War II that inflicted heavy damage on the German battleship Tirpitz, at anchor in Kaafjord in the far north of German-occupied Norway. The attack was conducted on 15 September 1944 by 21 Royal Air Force heavy bombers, which flew from an airfield in the north of the Soviet Union. The battleship was struck by one bomb, and further damaged by several near misses. This damage rendered Tirpitz unfit for combat, and she could not be repaired as it was no longer possible for the Germans to sail her to a major port.
Operation Obviate was an unsuccessful British air raid of World War II which targeted the German battleship Tirpitz. It was conducted by Royal Air Force heavy bombers on 29 October 1944, and sought to destroy the damaged battleship after she moved to a new anchorage near Tromsø in northern Norway.
Operation Carthage, on 21 March 1945, was a British air raid on Copenhagen, Denmark during the Second World War which caused significant collateral damage. The target of the raid was the Shellhus, used as Gestapo headquarters in the city centre. It was used for the storage of dossiers and the torture of Danish citizens during interrogations. The Danish Resistance had long asked the British to conduct a raid against the site. The building was destroyed, 18 prisoners were freed and Nazi anti-resistance activities were disrupted. Part of the raid was mistakenly directed against a nearby school; the raid caused 123 civilian deaths. The incident was dramatised in the 2021 Danish film The Shadow in My Eye. A similar raid against the Gestapo headquarters in Aarhus, on 31 October 1944, had succeeded.
The Oslo Mosquito raid was a British air raid on Oslo, Norway, during the Second World War. The target of the raid was the Victoria Terrasse building, the headquarters of the Gestapo. It was intended to be a "morale booster" for the Norwegian people and was scheduled to coincide with a rally of Norwegian collaborators, led by Vidkun Quisling. The raid is also known for it being the moment when the Royal Air Force revealed the existence of the Mosquito aircraft to the British public, when the BBC Home Service reported on the raid the following day.
Mosquito Squadron is a 1969 British war film made by Oakmont Productions, directed by Boris Sagal and starring David McCallum. The raid echoes Operation Jericho, a combined RAF–Maquis raid which freed French prisoners from Amiens jail in which the Mosquitos took part.
Dive Bomber is a 1941 American aviation drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, and starring Errol Flynn, Fred MacMurray and Alexis Smith. It was produced and distributed by Warner Brothers. The film is notable for both its Technicolor photography of pre-World War II United States Navy aircraft and as a historical document of the U.S. in 1941. This includes the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, one of the best-known U.S. warships of World War II.
The de Havilland Mosquito was a British light bomber that served in many roles during and after the Second World War. Mosquito-equipped squadrons performed medium bomber, reconnaissance, tactical strike, anti-submarine warfare and shipping attack and night fighter duties, both defensive and offensive. Mosquitos were widely used by the RAF Pathfinder Force, which marked targets for night-time strategic bombing. Despite an initially high loss rate due to low-level daylight attack operations, the Mosquito ended the war with the lowest losses of any of the aircraft types in RAF Bomber Command service.
The Thousand Plane Raid is a 1969 DeLuxe Color film directed by Boris Sagal and starring Christopher George and Laraine Stephens. Although claimed to be derived from Ralph Barker's The Thousand Plane Raid, the storyline of the film inaccurately portrays the first raid as an 8th Air Force mission while the actual attack was undertaken by 1,047 Royal Air Force bombers against the city of Cologne, Germany in May 1942.
No. 139 (Jamaica) Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron that was fighter unit in World War I and a bomber unit from World War II until the 1960s.
Group Captain Thomas Gilbert "Hamish" Mahaddie, was a Scotsman who served in the Royal Air Force (RAF). As a youth he was selected for an apprentice programme and was trained as an RAF ground crew "metal rigger". He had earned his wings and reached the rank of sergeant pilot by the outbreak of the Second World War. In his second tour he was selected to be a member of the newly formed "Pathfinder Force". At the end of his second combat tour he was brought onto Air Vice Marshal Don Bennett's Headquarter Staff in the position of "Group Training Inspector". In this position he selected, recruited and trained aircrews to serve in the Pathfinder Force. Within the span of two years from the start of the war Mahaddie had risen in rank from sergeant to group captain. Following the war he continued to serve in the RAF until 1958. Out of the service he worked as an electronics consultant for the Armed Services, and as an aircraft consultant for the film industry. His most remarkable accomplishment in the film industry was the procurement of aircraft, crews and service personnel for the film Battle of Britain (1969).
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
