''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., 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, based on an unpublished magazine serial "Bomber's Moon" by Leonard Lee.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 Annabella, Anabella, or Anabela is a feminine given name. Notable people with the name include: *Annabella of Scotland (c. 1433–1509), daughter of King James I *Annabella (actress) (1907–1996), stage name of French actress Suzanne Georgette C ...

), 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 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 Nazi Germany, Nazis came to power. Inspired by his deep hatred of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis ...

), 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 *

as Alexandra "Alec" Zorich * Kent Taylor as Paul von Block *

Walter Kingsford Walter Kingsford (born Walter Pearce; 20 September 1881 – 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 L ...

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 remembered for playing Inspector Lestrade in six films of Universal's Sherlock Holmes series. Early life Hoey was born Samuel ...

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 educated in the public schools there. He left ...

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 Hollywood blacklist, blacklisted by the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood movie studio bosses in the 1950s. Early life, career, and homicide Born in J ...

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 ''Three Little Girls in Blue'' is a 1946 American Technicolor musical comedy film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and starring June Haver, George Montgomery, Vivian Blaine, Celeste Holm, Vera-Ellen, and Frank Latimore. The 20th Century-Fox f ...

''. French actress Annabella also filmed '' Tonight We Raid Calais'' (1943) and ''

13 Rue Madeleine ''13 Rue Madeleine'' is a 1947 American World War II spy film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring James Cagney, Annabella, Richard Conte and Frank Latimore. Allied volunteers are trained as spies in the leadup to the invasion of Europe, but ...

'' (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