Marketic
It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.
WillSushyMedia
This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.
Geraldine
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
lord woodburry
I saw the film 633 squadron when it was first released in '64. The film follows in the tradition of many great Air War Stories including DAWN PATROL. The score for the film is the finest musical adaptation or imitation of the revving aircraft engine. Cliff Robertson who was a good American actor played a credible leading role as wing commander. We did deem it odd that the British would make an American a Major in the Royal Air Force and appoint him wing commander. That could be the work of studios trying to sell the story here in the US.The perception of the colonial audience was that the mission portrayed was an attack on German Heavy Water experiments and that the attack took place earlier in the war. The scene of bombing the GESTAPO HQs came right out of an earlier film, 13 Rue Madeleine (1947)starring Jimmy Carney.Pre-Star Wars films like the live stage required a measure of "willing suspension of disbelief." I try to adjust myself to that before watching old films.
huwjenkins-254-54719
In many ways a pretty poor movie, as others have pointed out.However, poor as it is, it is one of only two films I know of (the other being the execrable "Mosquito Squadron") which features as its star the De Havilland HD98 Mosquito - THE outstanding aircraft of the Second World War, and for this reason alone, it is worth recommending.A much better film properly featuring the Mosquito deserves to be made, however.In case people don't know, the Mosquito was faster than any fighter aircraft, carried the same bomb load as a B-17 Flying Fortress, performed outstandingly on precision bombing raids, as a nightfighter, as a reconnaissance aircraft and suffered the lowest loss rate of any allied aircraft (despite the impression given in the film). It was also highly innovative in its construction - made of wood, but featuring composite construction techniques 50 years ahead of its time (the ply-balsa-ply rigid structure is very similar in concept to modern carbon fibre-honeycomb-carbon fibre methods used in advanced aircraft, F1 cars and even modern racing rowing boats).
modistreet
When you see this movie one thought crosses your mind. Is this A made for TV movie released in theatres? The budget for this film appears to be miniscule. Cliff Robertson the protagonist was card board like throughout the movie. He retained the same expression through various scenes in the whole movie, reminding you of a soap opera actor. The build up to the climax was OK. The final R.A.F. assault scene was so pathetic that it was almost laughable. You could clearly see that the action sequence took place on a board room table. The bombs that were supposed to invoke an earthquake looked nothing more than a child's firecracker. All in all a disappointing ending. There have been many classic war movies made during the 60's, this wouldn't be one of them by a long shot.
naseby
Where Eagles Dare, Operation Crossbow, The Dirty Dozen, The Battle of the Bulge and The Blue Max and The Guns of Navarone - and 633 Squadron, complete the '60's war spectaculars that have accredited classic war-movie status! There wasn't much in the way of 'air battles' films in the 1960's surprisingly. The Battle of Britain only came at the end of this decade. This air-epic involves the excellent De Havilland Mosquito aircraft, still an acknowledged warplane, but overlooked and thankfully helped by this film for its true recognition in the war.Naturally to sell it to the 'states, we were fed with an American 'Eagle Squadron' flyer , Roy Grant (Robertson) and numerous British stalwarts as the RAF flyers, but also treated to the other American actor, George Chakiris (Bergman) as the hero Norwegian resistance leader aiding the RAF (Who looked about as Norwegian as Nana Mouskouri). The mission - impossible of course - to fly low level down a Norwegian fjord to waste a V2 fuel refinery. Naturally it can't be done any other way. Bergman and his 'resistance-geologists' have decided the only way to destroy it is 'to bring the mountain down on top of it'. A crack below an overhanging rock will do this if the boys manage to fly at a real odd angle and get their eggs in the basket.We're treated to some good flying/action of/around the Mosquito. Training runs, a Nazi fighter sweep on the airfield and even in between the final raid, Bergman is captured, so the RAF despatch Grant to bomb the s*** out of him and of course keep the operation secret (under the guise of putting Bergman out of his misery - but we all know what that means!). Grant manages this, but although escapes being shot down cops a hole in an engine, his undercarriage wheel fails and we're given a good crash landing at 'Sutton Craddock' airfield.In actual fact although Bergman is dead he's squealed and as a consequence when Grant and the boys are in the air on their way to the V2 refinery, they're told to abort the mission as the Norwegian resistance were subsequently destroyed and the AA/Flak guns they were meant to knock out are obviously now intact. Of course 'Wingco' Grant does no such thing, and we're given the da-da-da-da-da-da-da-daaaaaaaahhhhhhh! music that follows them in to the fjord as each aircraft flies up to take its chances. (Excellent score as is the incidental music by Ron Goodwin).Many are blown away, some make the target with plenty of splinters in the cockpit and the 'mad' Aussie (John Meillon) decides to kamikaze against a Nazi fighter. The rock still ain't moving though despite several hits and the tension mounts - when the morse code is being sent back to Air Vice-Marshall Davis (Andrews), all seems lost as only one bomb is left. That is until Don (Donald Houston) gets his in there, sadly crashes (In plastic Revell/Airfix style in his 'Mossie'!) but has completed the job - the rock descends and demolishes the target. None of the squadron make it back though. "You can't kill a squadron." says Davis coldly in the last line of the film!This actioner was set in Norway,but the lochs of Scotland doubled (rather cheaply) for the fjords. I feel this would've elevated the film even more significantly to a 'ten' if they had filmed this there.(No offence to Scotland, nice scenery anyway, but wrong place!) Also, in typical 'sixties style, Hilda, (Maria Perschey) as Bergman's sister provided love-interest for Grant even though he's wasted her brother, but that's explained as a 'nicety' for him being relieved of his suffering. The score as I've said, is superb but does grate on your nerves a bit every time a Mosquito makes its run in to the 'fjord' and there are, as I've said already, a few more 'plastic moments' when aircraft are destroyed - but the crash-landing scenes and sweep on 'Sutton Craddock' technically are well-handled as is the general action, make up for this somewhat.Still, it's a definite must-see for at least aerial warfare fans if anything! As a footnote, another film made in 1968 titled 'Mosquito Squadron' was decidedly inferior and used some of this film in bits and bobs even though new action was included. Don't watch that, believe me it's a poor shadow of this film!
