''Bomber's Moon'' is a 1943 American wartime

propaganda film A propaganda film is a film that involves some form of propaganda. Propaganda films spread and promote certain ideas that are usually religious, political, or cultural in nature. A propaganda film is made with the intent that the viewer will ad ...

, produced by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

, based on an unpublished magazine serial "Bomber's Moon" by Leonard Lee.

Plot

Captain Jeff Dakin ( George Montgomery) is shot down over Germany on a bombing raid. He sees his brother, Danny (Richard Graham), serving on the same aircraft, shot dead as he parachutes out of the stricken aircraft. Imprisoned in a camp, Dakin conspires with Alexandra "Alec" Zorich ( Annabella), a beautiful Russian doctor, and Captain Paul Husnik (

Kent Taylor Kent Taylor (born Louis William Weiss; May 11, 1907 – April 11, 1987) was an American actor of film and television. Taylor appeared in more than 110 films, the bulk of them B-movies in the 1930s and 1940s, although he also had roles in more pr ...

), a Czech resistance leader, to mount an escape. They escape during an air raid and make their way towards safety, but the Czech is not who he seems. Husnik is really

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

officer Paul von Block, who wants to get Alec to lead him to the leaders of the Czech underground movement. Killing the underground leader, von Block summons the Gestapo, but Dakin overpowers him and together with Alec, goes on the run. Reaching the Netherlands, Dakin learns that his bomber is now repaired, with the Nazis planning a mysterious flight to England. Disguised as a German soldier, Dakin finds out his brother's killer, Major. Von Streicher (

Martin Kosleck Martin Kosleck (born Nicolaie Yoshkin, March 24, 1904 – January 15, 1994) was a German film actor. Like many other German actors, he fled when the Nazis came to power. Inspired by his deep hatred of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, Kosleck made ...

), is to pilot the aircraft on a mission to kill Prime Minister

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

. Stealing a German aircraft, Dakin exacts his revenge by shooting down Von Streicher. Landing in England, he is reunited with Alec, who has made her way there.

Cast

* George Montgomery as Jeffrey Dakin * Annabella as Alexandra "Alec" Zorich *

as Paul von Block *

Walter Kingsford Walter Kingsford (born Walter Pearce; 20 September 1882 – 7 February 1958) was an English stage, film and television actor. Early years Kingsford was born in Redhill, Surrey, England. Career Kingsford began his acting career on the Lo ...

as Professor Mueller *

as ''Luftwaffe'' Maj. von Streicher *

Dennis Hoey Dennis Hoey (born Samuel David Hyams, 30 March 1893 – 25 July 1960) was a British film and stage actor, best known for playing Inspector Lestrade in six films of Universal's Sherlock Holmes series. Early life Hoey was born Samuel David ...

as ''Gestapo'' Col. von Grunow *

Robert Barrat Robert Harriot Barrat (July 10, 1891 – January 7, 1970) was an American stage, motion picture, and television character actor. Early years Barratt was born on July 10, 1891, in New York City and was educated in the public schools there. He ...

as Ernst * Leon Tyler as Karl *

Lionel Royce Lionel Royce (born Leon Moriz Reiss; March 30, 1891 – April 1, 1946) was an Austrian-American actor of stage and screen, also known during his European career as Leo Reuss. He began his career in theater in Vienna, Austria, in 1919, before ...

as Derbitz *

Victor Kilian Victor Arthur Kilian (March 6, 1891 – March 11, 1979) was an American actor who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses in the 1950s. Early life, career, and homicide Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Victor Kilian began his ca ...

as Henryk van Seeler

Production

Although a low-budget production, entirely filmed at the 20th Century Fox studio lot, a total of six directors worked on the film. Shortly after completing ''Bomber's Moon'', George Montgomery enlisted in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

and did not appear in another film until the 1946 20th Century Fox production ''

Three Little Girls in Blue ''Three Little Girls in Blue'' is a 1946 Technicolor musical film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and starring June Haver along with George Montgomery, Vivian Blaine, Celeste Holm, and Vera-Ellen. The 20th Century-Fox film was adapted from S ...

''. French actress Annabella also filmed '' Tonight We Raid Calais'' (1943) and '' 13 Rue Madeleine'' (1947).

Reception

Strictly a "B" film, ''Bomber's Moon'' was not well received. The contemporary review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' succinctly summed it up as "shoddy" and "... second-rate Hollywood."T.S
"Movie Review."
''The New York Times,'' July 31, 1943. Retrieved March 22, 2012.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Evans, Alun. ''Brassey's Guide to War Films''. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books, 2000. .

External links

* * * {{Harold D. Schuster 1943 films 1940s war films 20th Century Fox films American aviation films American World War II propaganda films Films about shot-down aviators American black-and-white films Films directed by Harold D. Schuster Films scored by David Buttolph Films about the United States Army Air Forces Films with screenplays by Aubrey Wisberg Films about Nazi Germany Films about prison escapes 1940s English-language films World War II aviation films World War II films made in wartime