Mosquito Squadron (1969) Reviews

• Action-packed airplanes movie with little budget and spectacular bombing raid final

  ma-cortes2007-05-15

  This standard warfare movie concerns a Mosquito squadron assigned to destroy a stronghold castle where are making V3 , V4 rocket-bombs . The Mosquito Squadron of this movie's title refers to a World War II squadron of Mosquito airplanes which are more specifically described as RAF (Royal Air Force) de Havilland Mosquito fighter-bomber aircraft . As the squadron leader (David McCallum : Cipol agent , Jag , Navy CSI) falls in love with the wife of a recently deceased pilot . The Air vice-commander (Charles Gray : You only live twice , Night of Generals , The Devil rides out) orders to leader along with his squadron on a dangerous and nearly impossible mission into French territory occupied by Nazis . The Mosquito squadron to save England must sacrifice themselves and eliminate vital points guarded by heavy anti-airplane defenses and guns positions considered bomb-proof . Besides , RAF pilots are being held prisoners and used as human shields , though they are helped by the French Resistance . This difficult mission is further complicated by the German guns , Nazi air raids and impenetrable fortress where are manufacturing the destructive bombs . It's a fictionalized recounting of the Mosquitos squadron with a sustained and predictable story , although partially based on true deeds . The movie utilizes an often-used plot line of the war movie genre which has two brave soldiers in love with the same woman , such as : ¨Day-D the sixth of June¨(1956) by Henry Koster and ¨Kings go forth¨(1958) by Delmer Daves . ¨Mosquito Squadron¨ was reminiscent of other wartime films like ¨The dam busters¨, ¨Operation Crossbow¨ (Michael Anderson) and especially ¨633 Squadron¨ (Walter Grauman) with a similar storyline and aerial scenes ; being similar title in both films , this movie is not a sequel to the same studio's 633 Squadron (1964) . This was not the first movie to feature "bouncing bombs" , they were firstly seen in the earlier British war movie , ¨The Dam Busters¨ (1955) and subsequently ¨The thousand plane raid¨ in which thousand allied Bombers to destroy a specific target producing German fighter planes , among others . The movie actually comes to life by excellently realized action shots , they were fairly well-staged ; however , it also contains some stock-shot footage . Splendid , spectacular aerial cinematography by photographer Paul Beeson , he's Walt Disney's usual cameraman (In search castaways , Kidnapped , Disneyland , Moon-spinners) . Most of the aerial flying scenes were filmed at the airfield at Royal Bovington Royal Air Force (RAF) Station in Hertfordshire , UK . Rousing and memorable score by Frank Cordell (Khartoum , Cromwell , Flight from Ashiya). The motion picture was professionally directed by Boris Sagal, a television series expert (Rich man, poor man , Ike , Columbo , Diary of Anne Frank , Masada) . The film was produced by Oakmont production , a company exclusively dedicated to warfare films (Hell boats , Submarine X1, Thousand plane raid , Last escape). The picture isn't a classic by any means , but not a turkey either . It's a passable film in limited budget and it will appeal to British warlike enthusiasts , being a pretty cool time-waster for the airplane lovers .

• Much Maligned Movie!

  Linda Lee2003-09-19

  I have watched this several times, purely because I had such a crush on David McCallum in the 1960s! It is his 70th birthday today (19 September 2003) and I suddenly feel very very old!! I agree with other reviewers - some of the acting is dire, the script is poor, and the clothing and hairstyles are very 60s. Despite all that, I still find it quite watchable! Suzanne Neve is very sweet as Beth Scott, and David McCallum - well, I always liked Illya Kuryakin! For British viewers there are lots of familiar faces to spot among the cast - and isn't that half the fun of watching old movies on a wet weekend afternoon?! Can't comment on the flying sequences or the planes, I'm afraid, because I don't know anything about them. I do think that if reviewers are going to criticise a film, though, they should at least get the names and facts right (yes, kilroy138, I'm talking about you!). Not the best of WWII films, admittedly, but I don't think it deserves some of the other comments on this site. If it's on again on a quiet afternoon, curl up in front of the TV and give it a chance!

• Bad, bland little war movie

  SgtSlaughter2003-08-16

  The always-overrated David McCallum is one of the few good things in this low-budget World War II adventure piece, yet another quickie from Oakmont Films. Sometime prior to D-Day – probably early '44 or '43 – a Mosquito Squadron is sent to bomb a V-1 rocket installation in France, when Squadron Leader Scott (David Buck) is shot down and presumed dead. His second-in-command, Quint Munroe (who just happens to be like a life-long brother to him) has to return to England and tell his beautiful blonde wife (Suzanne Neve) the sad news. As one would expect, Munroe and Mrs. Scott slowly fall in love. But when Munroe is chosen to lead a mission to bomb a new V-3 development center, things will chance quite a bit – because Scott is a prisoner held at the target fortress! From start to finish, "Mosquito Squadron" is a total hack-job – literally. The story is filled with enough contrivances and clichés to drive any mildly serious critic mad. Let us take a brief look at a 1964 film entitled "633 Squadron". In said film, a squadron commander has a best friend shot down over Norway, and falls in love with his sister. Later on, he is assigned to bomb the fortress where his friend is being held. Sound familiar? And that's not all our title film steals! Virtually all of the aerial battle footage is directly lifted from "633 Squadron", while the new footage is comprised almost entirely of horrible-looking miniatures hanging from far-too-visible wires. The writers have also directly copied another classic war film, "The Dam Busters". The feasibility of Munroe's mission revolves around a bouncing bomb, which will skip along the ground and roll into an open tunnel leading to the V-3 rockets. (I won't even mention how convenient it was to leave a big open tunnel to drop a bomb into). The real bouncing bomb (made famous in 1954's "The Dam Busters") was designed to skip on water to destroy Nazi dams – not the ground as is seen here! The idea of dropping a bouncing bomb on the ground is, simply, ludicrous and impossible. Introduction of this concept kills the storyline immediately. The low budget shows up in every action sequence: the French resistance force is comprised of a half-dozen men in berets carrying Sten guns, and only a handful of German guards enforce security at the "fortress". The forests are obviously cheaply furnished soundstages, and a face-off with an imitation German "tank" is ludicrously shot. We never really see much of the German-held Château, and when we do it never looks as though we're inside some high-tech development center a la "Operation Crossbow". The scenes set in England fare somewhat better, with some excellent scenes set at airfields and a rather rowdy officer's club. David McCallum and the cast of little-known English actors do a fair job, even though the no-frills script doesn't give them much to do. McCallum is a fair actor, nowhere near as great as his fans hail him to be, though. He was better suited for television than cinema, and that comes out in every scene. He often looks uncomfortable and awkward, but delivers his often banal dialog convincingly and with conviction. His scenes with Neve are often touching, even though audiences have seen this dozens of times before. There aren't any other actors worth mention among the ensemble, besides perhaps Charles Gray who would go on to play Blofeld in the James Bond film "Diamonds are Forever" a few years later. Oakmont Productions financed a number of cheap British war films in the late 1960s and early 1970s: "Attack on the Iron Coast", "Hell Boats", "The Last Escape", "The One Thousand Plane Raid" among them. These quickies were best suited for TV viewing instead of theatrical release, but United Artists picked them all up and put them on the big screen. Anyone expecting a classic here – or in any of the aforementioned pieces for that matter – is in for a big disappointment. Check out "633 Squadron" instead.

• De havilland Mosquito

  Will-301999-08-01

  As an enthusiast of this aircraft, I derive great joy from this film and have done since I was about 7 years old. It nurtured me enough to join the Mosquito Aircraft Assoc. of Australia. It might not be the best film ever made but as a young lad, I was inspired. That is a lot more than can be said for most films period.

• War movie buffs will want to see this one.

  rich-932001-05-31

  This is not a quality film as far as directing, dialogue, or acting. However, it does have a decent plot-line and a lot of fine footage of the twin-engined British DeHavilland Mosquito light bomber in action. It is rare to see this aircraft in a war film and I therefore recommend that war movie buffs tape this one and keep it in their collection. The plot involves the precision bombing of a French chateau and underground German "V" rocket lab. David McCallum is, as usual, a very like-able character.