Mosquito Squadron [DVD]

There is just enough historical background to the story to allow the viewer to suspend belief. Hard to beat the entertainment value if you are an aircraft buff. The special effects are somewhat dated would be my only complaint but that is due to a lack of the techniques and technology we are used to today.

I'm not sure if I'm meant to be reviewing the purchase or the movie.I rented the dvd. I haven't seen this flick for years. Unfortunately it was damaged in the post. So I looked up amazon and purchased a copy instead.The purchase was very simple and it arrived reasonably fast. David McCallum looks (and is) very young indeed. This was around the time when he was playingIllya Kuryakin in the man from U.N.C.L.E. It's a classic war (WWII air force) type movie with a bit of romance & divided loyalties thrown in.A happy time all round and the good guy's win :)

Unlike 633 Squadron, which was a good movie in it's day, Mosquito Squadron was very B-movie when it came out. I was a 13 year old kid when they shot the Chateau scenes at Minley Manor in Hampshire UK.We were allowed to wander the set, and watch the wall blow up with the resistance attacking. A German soldier extra got shouted at for letting me pose for a photo with his SMG loaded with blanks.

I like those old warmonger a lot .thanks.

The aerial scenes could have been handled on their own meritsBut this film was made a few years after another mosquito movie called " 633 Squadron also on DVD "and they used a lot of cuts from that movie to make this movie mostly scenes taken from 633 Squadron...so yes this movie was CHEAPLY DONE..AND THATS THE REASON FOR ONLY 2 STARS..AND ALSO YOU COULD SEE THE BLACK WIRES ON THE MODEL PLANES ..AS THEY WENT ALONG THE SKY'S ON FIRE..SO YES..THIS IS A ONE TIME WATCH FILM..AND THEN,. ON.THE SHELF IT GO'SESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE THE MOVIE "633 SQUADRON "...AFTERTHIS I'LL JUST STICK TO WATCHING HISTORY documentary films of the mosquito...for it was truly a planeAhead of its time..and was the fastest accurate multi tasking/ prop DRIVEN AIRCRAFT.....IN THE WORLD ...ATTHAT TIME IN HISTORY for Britain and the world during ww2.FASTER THEN THE P-51 ,THE SPIRIT FIRE ,AND THE 109'S..Check it out on YOUTUBE.YOU WILL LOVE WHAT you see..because these movies do not give this wooden wounder..itsProper respect..the plane itself..Deserves the medal of Honor....END OF REVIEW..

David McCallum, in the initial stages of his long slide down and out after his "Man From U.N.C.L.E" stint, stars in this hopelessly cliched WWII flying flick. As "Quint Munroe", he watches his Squadron Leader-wingman crash and burn. But wait - that wasn't just his Squadron Leader - it's his sort-of-brother! (Don't ask.) Crushed with guilt and remorse, his duty is to tell the dead pilot's wife. But wait - not only was this his best-friend and sort-of-brother's wife, she was HIS girlfriend first! Next, he must tell the pilot's parents, who are his sort-of-parents. Phew. What emotions all this raise, in everyone EXCEPT McCallum, who must have taken stiff-acting lessons from a fence-post.Naturally McCallum takes over the squadron, and naturally, they are selected for one of those "only you can do it" missions, this time taking out a "V3 and "V4" launch site/plant. Someone had watched "Dambusters" once too often, because they decide that the best approach is to use the "Barnes Wallis" spinning bomb - on a land target. But wait - in an entirely predictable plot-thickener, a German pilot literally drops a bit of info on them that gives them pause in their plans.OK, I stand second to NO one in my love of flying movies and Mosquitos are at the very top of my list. (Go read my review of "633 Squadron", please.) These just don't hack it, and the "outside cockpit" shots are really awful. The plot is tired, the acting is a cypher, and you know, I couldn't even be bothered to finish it. It's nice to see real airplanes instead of CGI (how long, o lord, how long will we be afflicted with THAT gimmick?), but it simply isn't worth it in THIS flick. Watch "633 Squadron" or "Battle of Britain" or "Dambusters" or "12 O'Clock High" or......you get the idea.

Average WW 2 flick, not as engaging as the other Mosquito bomber film Squadron 633, starring Cliff Robertson.Story line’s almost similar with a replacement squadron leader sent on a bombing mission to free Allied prisoners held by the Gestapo then discovers his presumed dead predecessor friend is amongst those in the prison targeted for bombing.Uses lots of recycled footage from Squadron 633. An ok film if you like footage of Mosquito planes which were made mostly of wood, were very fast, though caught fire easily.

I enjoyed this film long ago in a place far far away. With corn fields near the fence and the heaped mounds of a local cement company piled behind it I first saw this WWII picture on a Drive In theater screen. It made a mighty impression upon the young man who watched from a station wagon tail gate. Nostalgia for the place out shines what I might write about this film Now, after recalling bits and moments of this feature I must relate that being a David McCallum Fan Club President will go a long way toward elevating the films status for you. Other wise save your dollars for a good salad.

Not the worst WWII film ever made but certainly in the honorable mention group. Only the great old deHavillands were more wooden than the acting.In addition to the huge problems other rational reviewers have cited I am adding the following in no particular order.They introduce their bouncing bomb as "top secret". Never mind this film was made 16 years after Dam Busters and is about countering the V-1,V-2 rocket attacks in 1944, two years after they bounced their bombs into the Ruhr dams in 1942. While the stage hands were cranking the scenery past our hero at 60 mph in his open sports car somebody should have blown a fan on the heroine's hair. The group leader survived an exploding plane crash with just a scratch on the head,judging by how fast he ran during the escape. Speaking of the group leader, I think he saw too many Yank westerns as a boy because after he empties the sub-machine gun he has in the escape , he throws it at the germans. I assume he missed because they kept shooting. He did find a swell bazooka though, and ran right at a tank machine gun until he was so close he blew himself up when he touched it off. The landing of a camera and film carrying damaged plane was a work of art also. With damaged hydraulics the wheels work perfectly until almost at a stop when both wheels fly off and they pancake. Our hero jumps out of the plane with its tail on fire leaving a wounded major behind. Just before he jumped to the ground he was fine, but in the next shot he is rolling on the ground to put out the flames that suddenly sprang up on his back. After the ground crew drags the major out and puts him in the rescue truck, they douse the flames. Did anybody grab the film they had just risked their necks to shoot? Lastly, in the air raid scene,where did the german planes come from? The first warning was when somebody screamed "air raid !" and the bullets were tearing up the end of the runway. This is what you get when you lift whole sequences from othe movies.

Dvd days full frame 4:3 or 16:9 odd mine was 4:3 in middle of the TV (32"), 16:9 didn't work 🙁I had to use the zoom to get close to full screen. Plus the sound was mono and I had to turn it right up to hear what they were saying. Think I got a cheaper production copy of the original release. The movie despite the nicked scenes from the 633 squadron and naff effects was great, especially the opening where the German is shooting at the planes and has a "damn! I missed" look. And the shit tiger tank at the end which looks like a Sherman done up😂anyway its got Mossies in it, go buy it😁

I hate this movie for three main reasons, 1st the acting is awful, 2nd the movies best flying scenes have been cut from the superior "633 Squadron" then added to this pile of cack causing the picture quality to keep changing form pretty good to very bad and the final insult is that model aircraft was used in some of the dog fight scenes with their strings that operate them clearly visable.

This is very similar if not a direct copy of the much better 633 squadron. I even think I may have noticed a sequence that was actually the same footage as the aforementioned film. OK film, but as they are in essence the same film/story line I will probably get rid of this one!

To se the airplanes...