Review: 633 Squadron

Flyboy Cliff Robertson and co are on an RAF squadron mission to bomb and destroy a Nazi rocket fuel munitions factory in occupied Norway during WWII. George Chakiris and Maria Perschy are brother and sister Norwegians (!), the former a freedom fighter on loan to the RAF, the latter Robertson’s love interest. Angus Lennie and smart-arse John Meillon play English and Australian RAF pilots, whilst the bigwigs and decision makers are played by Harry Andrews (as an Air Vice Marshal), Donald Houston, and Michael Goodliffe.

 

Quite enjoyable WWII RAF film from director Walter Grauman (“Lady in a Cage” with Olivia De Havilland, and a lot of “Murder She Wrote” episodes) boasts solid performances from most, has plenty of action, and gets in and out in fairly good time. You can definitely see the influence on “Star Wars” in the dogfight scenes here. They’re not exactly “The Blue Max” in terms of quality, but exciting nonetheless. The excellent Ron Goodwin (“Murder at the Gallop”, “Murder Ahoy”) score is the highlight here, along with a scene-stealing turn by Australia’s own John Meillon playing exactly the sort of ratbag, smart-arse Aussie character you expect.

 

Lead actor Cliff Robertson is a fine stand-in for a Steve McQueen-type, but George Chakiris is slightly miscast as a supposed Norwegian (!). I think Chakiris is an underrated actor, but he’s a bit bland and unhappily cast here. Austrian-born Maria Perschy is a lesser performer than Chakiris, but much more convincing as a Norwegian to me. Meanwhile, it’s a shame that Angus Lennie did most of his work on TV, because here, as with “The Great Escape”, he’s got a likeable, cheeky presence. Harry Andrews, Donald Houston (a real-life former RAF man during WWII), and Michael Goodliffe are all solid, sturdy presences representing the military brass, with Andrews in particular coming off a bit more paternal and warm than usual. Look out for a bizarre, uncredited turn by an actress named Anne Ridler as an Ilsa-esque SS torturer. It’s the one scene here that stands out like a sore thumb, a ridiculous character and performance that seem better off in a Bond film (or perhaps something like “Operation Crossbow”, a fun but very different kind of film to this). The screenplay is by Howard Koch (“The Fox”) and one James Clavell, who of course scripted the masterful all-star effort “The Great Escape” as well as “King Rat”.

 

Lively and entertaining second-tier WWII action flick with solid work in front of and behind the camera. Worth a look, it’s a solid yarn that gets the job done. 

 

Rating: B-

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