Operation Crossbow (film)

Operation Crossbow
Theatrical release poster by Frank McCarthy
Directed byMichael Anderson
Screenplay byRichard Imrie
Derry Quinn
Ray Rigby
Story byDuilio Coletti
Vittoriano Petrilli
Produced byCarlo Ponti
StarringSophia Loren
George Peppard
Trevor Howard
John Mills
Richard Johnson
Tom Courtenay
CinematographyErwin Hillier
Edited byErnest Walter
Music byRon Goodwin
Color processMetrocolor
Production
company
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release dates
  • 1 April 1965 (1965-04-01) (United States)
  • 19 May 1965 (1965-05-19) (London-Premiere)
  • 30 August 1965 (1965-08-30) (United Kingdom)
Running time
116 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguagesEnglish
German
Box office$3.7 million (US/ Canada rentals)[1]

Operation Crossbow (later re-released as The Great Spy Mission) is a 1965 British espionage thriller set during the Second World War. This movie concerns an actual series of events where British undercover operatives targeted the German manufacturing facilities for experimental rocket-bombs.

The film was directed by Michael Anderson and stars Sophia Loren, George Peppard, Trevor Howard, John Mills, Richard Johnson, and Tom Courtenay. The screenplay was written by Emeric Pressburger (under the pseudonym "Richard Imrie"), in collaboration with Derry Quinn and Ray Rigby, from a story by Duilio Coletti and Vittoriano Petrilli. It was filmed in Panavision and Metrocolor at MGM-British Studios.[2]

Although it is largely fictional, the movie does touch on the main aspects of the operation, which was geared to thwart the German long-range weapons programme in the final years of World War II. The story alternates between Nazi Germany's development of the V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket, and the efforts of British Intelligence and its agents to counter those threats. All characters speak in the appropriate language, with English subtitles for those speaking German or Dutch.[3]

  1. ^ This figure consists of anticipated rentals accruing distributors in North America. See "Big Rental Pictures of 1965", Variety, 5 January 1966 p 6
  2. ^ "Film review: Operation Crossbow." Variety, 7 April 1965, p. 6.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Evans p. 145 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).