''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 "se ...

film directed by

Boris Sagal Boris Sagal (October 18, 1923 – May 22, 1981) was an American television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather t ...

and starring

Christopher George Christopher John George (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 Golden Globe Award in 1967 as Best TV Star for his ...

and

Laraine Stephens Laraine Stephens (born 24 July 1941) is a retired American actress. Stephens was born in Oakland, California. She studied at both Los Angeles City College and the University of California, Los Angeles. A coloratura soprano, Stephens performed ...

. Although claimed to be derived from Ralph Barker'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 S ...

mission while the actual attack was undertaken by 1,047

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

bombers against the city of

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, 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 Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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 Ben Murphy (born 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, Arkansas, to Benjamin R. Castleberry and Nadi ...

), whom 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 (

). 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 *

as Lieutenant Gabrielle "Gabby" Ames * J. D. Cannon as General Cotten Palmer * Gary Marshal as Wing Commander "Taffy" Howard *

Barry Atwater Garrett "Barry" Atwater (May 16, 1918 – May 24, 1978) was an American character actor who appeared frequently on television from the 1950s into the 1970s. He was sometimes credited as G.B. Atwater. Life and career The son of the landscape pai ...

as General Conway * Michael Evans as Group Commander Leslie Hardwicke *

Gavin MacLeod Gavin MacLeod ( ; born Allan George See; February 28, 1931 – May 29, 2021) was an American actor best known for his roles as news writer Murray Slaughter on ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' and ship's captain Merrill Stubing on ABC's ''The Love ...

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) was an American actor. He was known for playing supporting roles in several major studio films from 1969 to 1979, especially for his breakout role in the ensemble cast of ''Americ ...

as Captain Douglass (in his screen debut) *

Tim McIntire Timothy John McIntire (July 19, 1944 – April 15, 1986) was an American character actor, perhaps best known for his starring roles as Alan Freed in the film ''American Hot Wax'' (1978), as singer George Jones in the television movie ''Stand by ...

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 of fictionalized versions of the Cleve ...

as Major Varga *

Charles Dierkop Charles Richard Dierkop (September 11, 1936 – February 25, 2024) was 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 televis ...

as Railla *

Henry Jaglom Henry David Jaglom (born January 26, 1938) is an English-born American actor, film director and playwright. Life and career Jaglom was born to a Jewish family in London, England, the son of Marie (née Stadthagen) and Simon M. Jaglom, who wor ...

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 Frank Gifford Tallman III (April 17, 1919 in East Orange, New Jersey – April 15, 1978 in Santiago Peak, Trabuco Canyon, California) was a Aerobatics, stunt pilot who worked in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood during the 1960s and 1970s. He wa ...

, 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 ''Twelve O'Clock High'' is a 1949 American war film directed by Henry King and based on the novel of the same name by Sy Bartlett and Beirne Lay Jr. It stars Gregory Peck as Brig. General Frank Savage. Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill, Millard ...

'', the famous crash-landing carried out by

Paul Mantz Albert Paul Mantz (August 2, 1903 – July 8, 1965) was an American air racing and 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 an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

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