Shortly after this film opens we see a Wellington bomber crossing the coast; there is something strange about it though... there is nobody aboard! Shortly afterwards it crashes... the action then moves back to shortly before it took off to bomb its target in Stuttgart. The crew are a cross section of society including an actor, a footballer and a former diplomat who conveniently speaks a little Dutch. The early part of the film follows them as they fly out of England, over Holland then on to their target in Germany. As they return home the aircraft is hit and one engine lost. They try to limp back but eventually the second engine fails and they are forced to bail out over occupied Holland; as the last of them jumps the plane dives slightly causing the engine to restart! Once on the ground five of the six manage to regroup; they are soon found by a small group of local children who take them to their teacher who can speak English. Once they convince the Dutch that they are really British not part of a German ploy to undercover the resistance they are helped to escape a chain of loyal Dutch men and women till they get to the coast; from here they must make their own way home.
Made during the war this film was obviously intended to work as a piece of propaganda; showing both the plucky resolve of the downed airman to get home and the steely determination of the Dutch to help anybody fighting to free them from the German occupation... thankfully though it isn't heavy handed and proves to be a solid piece of entertainment. The early scenes of aircraft 'B for Bertie' heading to its target were particularly tense with the constant drone of the engines only serving to raise the tension. Once they are on the ground again there is still plenty of tension but there is also a surprising amount of humour; for example a couple of the airmen aren't too keen when they hear that they are to be taken to the church... it is a Catholic church and they are Chapel! No doubt people needed a chuckle in the dark days of 1942. It was interesting to see that it wasn't really the aircrew that got themselves home but the Dutch men and women they had to put their trust in; only one Dutchman is shown to be a collaborator and he ends up being fooled by a child in a rather amusing scene. The acting is pretty solid as are the effects; if I hadn't read otherwise I'd have thought the bombing scene had used footage of an actual raid rather then a mock-up. I'd certainly recommend this to anybody who enjoys war films or who has an interest in that period of history.
Made during the war this film was obviously intended to work as a piece of propaganda; showing both the plucky resolve of the downed airman to get home and the steely determination of the Dutch to help anybody fighting to free them from the German occupation... thankfully though it isn't heavy handed and proves to be a solid piece of entertainment. The early scenes of aircraft 'B for Bertie' heading to its target were particularly tense with the constant drone of the engines only serving to raise the tension. Once they are on the ground again there is still plenty of tension but there is also a surprising amount of humour; for example a couple of the airmen aren't too keen when they hear that they are to be taken to the church... it is a Catholic church and they are Chapel! No doubt people needed a chuckle in the dark days of 1942. It was interesting to see that it wasn't really the aircrew that got themselves home but the Dutch men and women they had to put their trust in; only one Dutchman is shown to be a collaborator and he ends up being fooled by a child in a rather amusing scene. The acting is pretty solid as are the effects; if I hadn't read otherwise I'd have thought the bombing scene had used footage of an actual raid rather then a mock-up. I'd certainly recommend this to anybody who enjoys war films or who has an interest in that period of history.