''The Thousand Plane Raid'' (also known as ''The One Thousand Plane Raid'') is a 1969

DeLuxe Color DeLuxe Color or Deluxe color or Color by DeLuxe is Deluxe Laboratories brand of color process for motion pictures. DeLuxe Color is Eastmancolor-based, with certain adaptations for improved compositing for printing (similar to Technicolor's "sele ...

film directed by

Boris Sagal Boris Sagal (October 18, 1923 – May 22, 1981) was an American television and film director. Early life and career Born in Yekaterinoslav, Ukrainian SSR (now known as Dnipro, Ukraine) to a Ukrainian-Jewish family, Sagal immigrated to the Unite ...

and starring

Christopher George Christopher John George ( Greek: Χριστόφορος Γεωργίου; February 25, 1931 – November 28, 1983) was an American television and film actor who starred in the 1960s television series '' The Rat Patrol''. He was nominated for a G ...

and Laraine Stephens. Although claimed to be derived from

Ralph Barker Ralph Hammond Cecil Barker (21 October 1917 – 16 May 2011) was an English non-fiction author with over twenty-five books to his credit. He wrote mainly about the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Air Force (RAF) operations in the First ...

's ''The Thousand Plane Raid'' (also published as ''The Thousand Plan: the Story of the First Thousand Bomber Raids on Cologne''), the storyline of the film inaccurately portrays the first raid as an

8th Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces ...

mission while the actual attack was undertaken by 1,047

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

bombers against the city of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

, Germany in May 1942.

Plot

In 1943, Colonel Greg Brandon (

), stationed at a

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

8th Air Force, 103rd Bomb Group base in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, attempts to persuade superiors that a massive, co-ordinated daylight bombing raid will hasten the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In spite of the mission's extreme difficulty and risk, his plan is eventually put into effect against a vital enemy aircraft factory in central Germany. Brandon has never been popular with his men, many of whom feel he drives them too hard. During preparation for the raid, Brandon alienates them further by insisting that they step up their training. He has disdain for cautious young flyer Lieutenant Archer (

Ben Murphy Benjamin Edward Murphy (born Benjamin Edward Castleberry Jr., March 6, 1942) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Kid Curry in the ABC television series ''Alias Smith and Jones''. Early life Murphy was born in Jonesboro, Ar ...

), who he suspects of being a coward. An RAF Wing Commander Trafton Howard (Gary Marshal) has been assigned to Brandon's base to teach the squadron combat tactics. Brandon starts out resenting Howard's brash manner, and things get worse between them when Howard takes Archer on an unauthorized flying lesson. As the date draws closer Brandon further antagonizes his associates, as well as his girlfriend, WAC Lieutenant Gabrielle Ames ( Laraine Stephens). The raid's prospects seem dim when it is revealed that the Germans know some, and possibly all, of its important details. Nevertheless, it is scheduled to go ahead as planned. On the morning of the mission Brandon's plane crashes, and Brandon is forced to board a bomber manned by Archer and Howard. During the raid, in combat over the target area, Brandon is impressed by Archer's piloting skills and Howard's judgment. On their return to base Brandon is told that the raid's target has been totally destroyed, and that allied losses were considerably less than anticipated.

Cast

as Colonel Greg Brandon * Laraine Stephens as Lieutenant Gabrielle "Gabby" Ames *

J. D. Cannon John Donovan Cannon (April 24, 1922 – May 20, 2005) was an American actor. An alumnus of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, he is best known for his co-starring role of Chief of Detectives Peter B. Clifford in the tele ...

as General Cotten Palmer * Gary Marshal as Wing Commander "Taffy" Howard * Michael Evans as Group Commander Leslie Hardwicke * Gavin MacLeod as Sergeant Kruger *

Noam Pitlik Noam Pitlik (November 4, 1932February 18, 1999) was an American television director and actor. In 1979, Pitlik won an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for his work on the ABC sitcom ''Barney Miller''. Early life The son of ...

as Lieutenant Jacoby *

as Lieutenant Harvey Archer *

Bo Hopkins William Mauldin "Bo" Hopkins (February 2, 1938 – May 28, 2022) Issucover/ref> was an American actor. He was known for playing supporting roles in a number of major studio films between 1969 and 1979, and appeared in many television shows and ...

as Captain Douglass (in his screen debut) * Tim McIntire as Lieutenant Quimby * Scott Thomas as Lieutenant Richman * John Carter as Middleton *

James Gammon James Richard Gammon (April 20, 1940 – July 16, 2010) was an American actor, known for playing grizzled "good ol' boy" types in numerous films and television series. Gammon portrayed Lou Brown, the manager in the movies '' Major League'' and ' ...

as Major Varga *

Charles Dierkop Charles Richard Dierkop (born September 11, 1936) is an American character actor. He is most recognized for his supporting roles in the films ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' (1969) and ''The Sting'' (1973) and the television series ''Pol ...

as Railla * Henry Jaglom as Worchek

Production

The film was based on Ralph Baker's book of the same name which was published in 1966. The film was made for the Mirisch Corporation. Shooting started 16 January 1968. The Mirisch Corporation signed George to a five-picture contract. The film was shot in a budget-conscious manner. The main sets were in Santa Maria, California, and principal photography took place in winter 1968. The local village and airport realistically portrayed a typical British wartime base. Period-style maintenance shops, an operations center and a wartime-style control tower were added to re-create the fictional Steeple Bassington base.Orriss 1984, p. 186. Additional studio work was completed at the Samuel Goldwyn Studios in Hollywood.Orriss 1984, p. 187. Aerial sequences included a mix of stock wartime footage, including the '' Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress'' (1944), some of it colorized to match original footage. The air-boss was legendary Hollywood stunt pilot Frank Tallman, but the most spectacular scene was a low-flying B-17 scene flown by Don Lykins. Another crash scene was taken from '' Twelve O'Clock High'', the famous crash-landing carried out by

Paul Mantz Albert Paul Mantz (August 2, 1903 – July 8, 1965) was a noted air racing pilot, movie stunt pilot and consultant from the late 1930s until his death in the mid-1960s. He gained fame on two stages: Hollywood and in air races. Early years Ma ...

, another of Hollywood's leading stunt pilots, and Tallman's one-time partner in Tallmantz Aviation, before his death in 1965.Orriss 1984, p. 185. Three

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Thea ...

bombers (DB-17P 44-83684 3713Gfrom The Air Museum at Ontario, California, DB-17P 44-83525 83525 from Tallmantz Aviation at Santa Ana, California, and B-17F 42-29782 17W from Aircraft Specialties at Mesa, Arizona, were used in the production.

Reception

Critical reviews commented on the "stereotyped adventure yarn" aspect of the production while noting that the aerial footage was often exciting. The film was not a success at the box office.Chris George back in action in 'Man on a String' Murphy, Mary. Los Angeles Times 13 Feb 1972: x46.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Dolan Edward F. Jr. ''Hollywood Goes to War''. London: Bison Books, 1985. . * Evans, Alun. ''Brassey's Guide to War Films.'' Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books, 2000. . * Harwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies". ''The Making of the Great Aviation Films,'' General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989. * Orriss, Bruce. ''When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Aviation Film Classics of World War II.'' Hawthorne, California: Aero Associates Inc., 1984. .

External links