Battle of the V-1 (also known as Battle of the V.1, Battle of the V1, Missiles from Hell and Unseen Heroes[1]) is a British war film from 1958, starring Michael Rennie, Patricia Medina, Milly Vitale, David Knight and Christopher Lee. It is based on the novel They Saved London (1955), by Bernard Newman.[2]

Battle of the V-1
Directed byVernon Sewell
Written byJack Hanley
Eryk Wlodek
Bernard Newman
Produced byGeorge Maynard
John Bash
StarringMichael Rennie
Patricia Medina
Milly Vitale
David Knight
Esmond Knight
Christopher Lee
CinematographyBasil Emmott
Edited byLito Carruthers
Music byRobert Sharples
Production
company
Eros Films & John Bash Films Corporation
Distributed byEros Films
Release date
  • 25 August 1958 (1958-08-25) (UK)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Plot

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The film tells the story of a Polish Resistance group, which discovers details of the manufacture of the German V-1 'Flying Bomb' at Peenemünde in 1943. Liaising with service chiefs in London, the group manage to pass on enough information to convince them to launch a bombing raid and, in the climax to the film, are able to steal a V-1 which lands in a field during testing and arrange for its transport back to the United Kingdom.

Messages are got out from the camp via the dentist (at the loss of one tooth). The Poles are warned that a British bombing raid on Peenemünde is imminent and that they should prepare to escape during the raid.

Following their escape, the second part of the film looks at the attempts to find an entire V-1 to send back to Britain. They are eventually rewarded by an unexploded V-1 landing in a field which they quickly conceal from the German search team. Through convoluted means, they send the dismantled weapon back to Britain just before the critical first use of this terrible weapon.

Cast

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Reception

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Sewell said the film "made a fortune".[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ BFI Database: Alternatives names for "Battle of the V-1" Retrieved 2011-11-27
  2. ^ BFI Database: Synopsis for "Battle of the V-1" Retrieved 2011-11-27
  3. ^ Fowler, Roy (8 July 1994). "Vernon Sewell". British Entertainment History Project.
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