David McCallum ("The Man From U.N.C.L.E.") stars in an epic adventure that perfectly captures the explosive action and emotional torment of war. With its astonishing special effects, stark cinematography and brilliantly choreographed aerial combat sequences, Mosquito Squadron catapults the viewer into the searing heat of battle! As Allied forces struggle against the awesome might of the German Luftwaffe, an even greater threat is posed by the destructive V3 rocket nearing completion at a secret testing center. The Royal Air Force's Mosquito Squadron gears up to destroy the site, but its leader, Quint Monroe (McCallum), becomes conflicted when he discovers that the air strikemay kill hundreds of British POWsincluding the squad's former commander!
World War II aviation buffs may quibble with details in Mosquito Squadron, but they'll love it just the same. It's an average war movie, capably directed by Boris Sagal, who thrived in television before he was tragically killed by a helicopter rotor in 1981. At the peak of his post-Man from U.N.C.L.E. success, David McCallum plays a melancholy RAF ace, leading his squadron of De Havilland "Mosquito" bombers on low-altitude strikes over Nazi strongholds in Germany and France. His ground-based dilemma involves the grieving wife of his best friend, a fellow pilot presumed dead but later discovered alive with other POWs held at a French chalet where the Nazis are developing advanced V-class bombers. The RAF employs bouncing "highballs" capable of penetrating difficult targets, and the rousing climax doubles as a rescue mission and treacherous bombing run. Explosive action compensates for predictable melodrama, and Rocky Horror fans will enjoy seeing Charles ("the Criminologist") Gray as a stuffy RAF Commodore. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.0 / 5.0
Intriguing WWII story:
The movie may not earn high marks in special effects, but it isn't bad for the era. Some criticized the performances as "wooden", but I would say it's more a matter of being reserved. Aside from these criticisms, the overall story is well done. Told from the British perspective, the primary story line is not too heavy on war (minimal ground combat and bloodshed). The few brief departures to the secondary story of a romance developing between the squadron leader and his best friend's widow are not... more info
Mosquitoes revisited:
Mosquito Squadron is a take-off on the 633 Squadron film. After viewing the movie, many sequences were taken from 633. The same landing pattern segment was used and the same crash landing and firefighting sequence. The saving grace was a better storyline and better acting. However, Sixties special effects were still inadequate. George Lucas has spoiled us or at least me. Again, my motivation in purchasing this DVD was to see the flying abilities of the De Havilland Mosquito in low altitude attack mode. This... more info
Patched together mess:
This is a scrapbook movie - a little taken from "Operation Crossbow", and parts of the rest from a better film about Mosquito bombers called "633 Squadron" and David McCallum's "Beatle" haircut is absurd.
Okay World War 2 air drama:
The most suprising thing about this movie is its date -1968 .It bears all the marks of a movie made in the UK about a decade or so earlier when the war movie was a staple ingredient of the British film industry The eponymous squadron of the RAF is tasked with carrying out a raid on a German occupied chateau in France where the Nazis are developing a new weapon ,the remote control bomb the V3 .They are utilising new and untested technology -a new type of bomb-and they are also having to cope with a... more info
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