The Mosquito bomber was one of the more extraordinary developments of the Royal Air Force during World War II. A twin-engine plane made largely of wood, it flew faster than almost any fighter on the German side, carrying a maximum load of two bombs, and was employed on specialized missions that required pinpoint accuracy on a precise target -- obliterating a building or a small cluster of buildings rather than large tracts of enemy real estate. The men who flew them were among the elites of the Royal Air Force, some of the best of the best. Mosquito Squadron deals with such men and the kinds of missions they were assigned and the sacrifices they made. Quint Munroe (David McCallum) loses his oldest friend, Squadron Leader David Scott (David Buck), on a mission to destroy a group of German V-1 launchers -- he was like a brother to Scott, and must break the news to his wife Beth (Suzanne Neve), with whom Quint had once been involved. In the months that follow, he and Beth slowly rekindle their romance -- meanwhile, the German V-weapon program continues to advance, and they are getting ready to unveil the V-3. Quint is given the task of destroying the V-weapon plant at Charlon, a mission made possible by a new "bouncing bomb" called the "highball," invented by Dr. Barnes Wallis (of "Dambusters" fame). Just before the mission is to be undertaken, however, the Germans drop a film showing air prisoners, including a still-alive Scott, being moved to Charlon. Now the Mosquito crews will be killing their own colleagues and friends, and Quint must carry out his orders, which include hiding the fact that Scott is alive from Beth. The secret gets out to the squadron pilots, however, and a rebellion starts brewing in their ranks. Try as he might to find a way to save the lives of the prisoners, there seems to be no way for Munroe to avoid killing British pilots with British bombs. This reviewer would love to have a detailed production history of Boris Sagal's Mosquito Squadron -- made in 1968 but not released until 1970, if you blinked you missed it in theaters, and it never got much exposure on television, either. It was the last of an interesting series of modestly budgeted World War II thrillers that included Attack on the Iron Coast and The 633 Squadron, all made in association with the Mirisch Brothers and United Artists. As it happens, Mosquito Squadron isn't a bad little movie and, in fact, is superior in some ways to UA's much bigger budgeted Battle of Britain (1969). It's nicely made, with good production values throughout -- although a lot of it looks a little too clean and a tiny bit threadbare to be quite strictly realistic, the only patently false scene is one in which David McCallum and Suzanne Neve are driving through the countryside in what is a painfully obvious back-projection sequence; but otherwise, this is an unassuming and exciting war movie, with a good script that only falters (and does so very badly, for about three minutes) at one point in the denouement. David McCallum is good in his portrayal of the conflicted hero, Squadron Leader Quint Munroe, and he gets good support from Suzanne Neve, Dave Dundas, Charles Gray, and Dinsdale Landen. The score by Frank Cordell is also one of the better bodies of music for a film of this genre in this period, stirring in all of the right places and lyrical and sweeping where it needs to be. As for the action sequences, they're very well done, especially the scenes of the Mosquito squadron in flight, which are very stirring and almost spellbinding. Director Boris Sagal (who also directed McCallum on The Man From U.N.C.L.E.) shows himself a fine action director with a good handle on the dramatic side of the script as well.

• published: 17 Mar 2014
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