''Bomber's Moon'' is a 1943 American wartime propaganda film, produced by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

, based on an unpublished magazine serial "Bomber's Moon" by Leonard Lee.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), 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 (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, 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 F ...

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

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

. 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 * Kent Taylor as Paul von Block * Walter Kingsford as Professor Mueller * Martin Kosleck as ''Luftwaffe'' Maj. von Streicher * Dennis Hoey as ''Gestapo'' Col. von Grunow * Robert Barrat as Ernst * Leon Tyler as Karl * Lionel Royce as Derbitz * Victor Kilian 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 ri ...

and did not appear in another film until the 1946 20th Century Fox production '' Three Little Girls in Blue''. 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'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 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 English-language war films