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11 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Unusual film from Hollywood, its near to the truth., 18 February 2006
8/10
Author: j-nieurzyla from United Kingdom

This one of those rare films, that managed to get made without Hollywoods gross miss-interpretation. The truth has not been distorted for sensationalism, the facts are correct. It is a pity that stories like these are not remade today but with extra information about the story and maintaining the integrity, the truth makes a better story than those made up in Hollywood. Details about always having clean suits and the hair always in place, well what can you expect this was the style of movie making in those days. But the story line has not been altered to distort the truth, obviously certain details are missing, as these were still listed under the Official Secrets Act of the UK. Most the of the soldiers walking around seem to be SS in their black uniforms, but it is certainly better in its facts than later movies made about the war, ie. Enigma and U-571 which are an insult to those who took part in the original actions, and lousy education to those who are not aware of the original stories.

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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
low-key war film without Hollywood glamour, 1 June 2007
6/10
Author: Marlburian from United Kingdom

This is an old-style war film without glamorous actors and spectacular special effects; all the characters look quite ordinary, even the often-suave Michael Rennie, and there's no great romance. Thank goodness; this film is all the better for it. Other comments suggest there's a lot of fact in the film, and I'm not sure how much was liberty was taken with the actual heroic efforts of the Polish Resistance. A quick Google suggests that the Poles did find a V2 (not V1) rocket that had been fired, but that it was a Danish naval officer who discovered an early test version of the V1 that had crash-landed on a small island between Germany and Sweden. The officer sent a photograph and sketch of the bomb to Britain. In the film an actual rocket is loaded on to a Dakota aircraft in a sequence that I found unconvincing.

A previous commentator reckons that Rod Steiger made a brief uncredited appearance as a German officer. By the time the film was released, Steiger had starred in several films, not least "Run of the Arrow"; established actors sometimes make uncredited cameo appearances for fun or as a favour, but I was surprised by the claim that Steiger did appear in this film; if it was he, his acting against type was extremely good! Christopher Lee gets a high billing, but makes only a brief appearance.

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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
"Interesting low budget wartime drama delivered in a likable boys own adventure style.", 16 January 2007
Author: jamesraeburn2003 from Poole, Dorset

1943: A schoolmaster called Stefan Novak (Michael Rennie) and his watchmaker friend Tadek (David Knight) are working for the Polish resistance lead by Stanislav Muski (Peter Madden) and allow themselves to be captured by the Nazis and taken to a labour camp on the Baltic coast so that they can spy on the operations there. Stefan and Tadek discover that the camp houses a huge production where the V1 rocket is being built, which Hitler intends to use to destroy London.

The pair succeed in informing the resistance of what is happening who in turn tip off the allies who launch a full scale raid on the plant and destroy it therefore setting back the Nazis' plan by months. However, the fight is far from over as Hitler's generals proceed with plans to build yet another plant and Stefan and Tadek are faced with a dangerous challenge, they must capture a complete V1 rocket and help in smuggling it back to Britain so that the allies can prepare themselves for Hitler's proposed invasion...

A low budget wartime drama, which is based on half facts and half fiction. Produced by Eros Films whose output largely consisted of routine poverty row b-movies so this was probably their sole attempt to go into the big time. The film also utilises footage of actual allied air raids. All in all, The Battle Of The V1, is quite entertainingly put together and in some instances it gets its facts right though once or twice I couldn't help thinking that it bordered towards the improbable. Nevertheless, the film is delivered in a likable boys own adventure story fashion by director Vernon Sewell who could easily lay claim to being one of this country's most prolific and veteran filmmakers. Indeed in the early 1990's when he was interviewed for the only time in his life at the age of 91 by Brian McFarlane, the author of the splendid "Autobiography Of British Cinema", he went on to regard The Battle Of The V1 as his most important film. Good performances are given by Rennie and Knight as the two Polish prisoners of war who risk their lives to save London and at the same time drive the enemy out of Poland. Also of note is a young Christopher Lee who appears as a Nazi Labour Camp Captain. At this time he was just starting to carve his niche as an international star with Hammer as the cinema's most famous Dracula. Lee would also work with Vernon Sewell again nine years later in The Curse Of The Crimson Altar co starring alongside another horror icon Boris Karloff.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Great for the period, 10 August 2008
6/10
Author: colingbradley from Spain

Of course this is a low budget effort, of course the acting is stiff and very odd to our modern eyes.

It is of the time and included the rather funny way that actors and directors of the old English school did things. Note the early scene with Rennie's farewell, she studies the ground and then looks away from him, these sorts of dramatic methods of "showing deep sorrow or concern" are never used today and really do look quite funny.

In addition to the clean suits and perfect hair, check out when the 2 German soldiers get their uniforms taken by the leading men but even though the Germans are from the same unit, the uniforms are quite different a while later. There was simply not enough money to do it right.

Better to fast fwd some of the more obvious bits and just enjoy this period film of a long gone time.

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7 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
Boys own Adventure, 29 January 2006
4/10
Author: The-Other-Monkey from Casa Nostra

This is a simple, boys own adventure that is hard to believe.

Two resistance men are deliberately captured and sent to a labour camp so that they can spy on the scientific experiments.

They stand out from the rest of the inmates like two sore thumbs, always wearing their suits even when "breaking rocks!"

They use clumsy methods of communicating with the resistance and by some miracle the German guards don't suspect a thing.

The V1 rocket is being made and tested at this camp and our two spays successfully send information back to base resulting in the works being bombed out of existence.

This film is of interest only for two things.

Firstly, Christopher Lee appears as the Camp Commandant.

Secondly, and perhaps most interesting, It features an uncredited early appearance of Rod Steiger as a bespectacled German officer.

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0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Just plain wrong!, 28 June 2009
6/10
Author: Robert Philpot from United Kingdom

Thuis film is one of many that use an historical background for what is in fact a fictional story. Now there is nothing wrong in that except that scholars may in future take the films information as fact. You see the V1 (FZG-76 as it was known to the Germans) was never a rocket nor was it rocket powered! The film makers even use a rocket type sound effect when the engine is supposedly running. Yes there was a flying bomb and yes it was designed (but not built) in the Baltic, but that is where the facts stop. The V1 was in fact powered by a pulse jet, a sort of repeating explosion. Once heard never forgotten. The part at the end where a rocket is tested is inspired by the later V2, but never by the V1. If you are researching the German V weapons please do not take this film as factual. If you intend teaching the subject then please look elsewhere!

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0 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
A rigidly stiff cast make this tough going., 31 May 2008
4/10
Author: dbborroughs from Glen Cove, New York

Michael Rennie stars as a block of wood...er as a stoic member of the Polish Resistance who along with a compatriot get themselves captured with the hopes of getting sent to a German labor camp where they can spy on the new wonder weapon the V-1. Based on a true story and supposedly close to what actually happened,which usually keeps things lively, this was a tough go through for me. The problem was that the performances are very stiff. Michael Rennie's performance seemed to consist of standing rigidly and looking something like concerned. Most of his fellow actors were similar in what I can only describe as statue like performances. I'm forced to wonder if the stiffness was due to a limited wardrobe budget since no one seems to get dirty or change their clothes. Its all very serious in life or death way, but at the same time some of the deep pronouncements sound very silly in a "we must soldier on" sort of way.

Christopher Lee, despite having a relatively high billing, is in a couple of scenes as a Nazi camp officer. His performance is as animated as Rennie's is rigid making me wonder if he either thought this was a comedy, or was angry with the director and gave a bizarre reading of the role.(Of course it could be simply that he had some life while the rest of the cast was blocks of wood.) The story is a good one, but as told here its a long 80 minutes that makes you wonder why they bothered. Recommended for those times when you are in a forgiving mood and want a WW2 drama you haven't seen before.

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1 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
In times of war, truth is generally much weirder than fiction..., 31 May 2007
10/10
Author: cinnamonbrandy from United Kingdom

My Mum always used to tell me that you should use every part of the pig - except its squeal. She also used to tell me that the reason the Nazis lost is that they tried to use the squeal.

One of the turning points of the war was when Alan Turing (no umlaut!) - or possibly one of his chums - or even one of his enemies - worked out that the base number used to set everyone's Enigma machine was the published rate of deaths in Auschwitz. See? They prided themselves on using the skin, the bones, the fillings - the lot. And then they used the squeal.

Give me a film, or book, or song, about Violette or Odette or Noor - or Alan, or Leo, or Vera - and I'm just about in heaven. Loved this film - loved it.

Helen

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