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 unit 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.
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.