Operation Crossbow (1965) Movie Script
Mr. Duncan Sandys, sir.
Good afternoon, sir.
Come in, Duncan.
Sit down.
There's a vital job to be done.
The outcome of the war
may depend on how you handle it.
You read these reports, the Germans
are developing long-range rockets...
...in order to bombard Britain.
- Yes, but they're extremely vague.
And in some respects, contradictory.
But they can't be ignored.
If London and the channeled ports
should come under heavy bombardment...
...we would have to abandon our plan
to land in France next year.
I want you to find out quickly
whether this rocket threat is real.
And, if so, to recommend
how we should tackle it.
Do you want me to do this as well
as my job at the Ministry of Supply?
You think you could manage both?
Well, I'll just have to do
with rather less sleep.
Your first task will be to collect
all the evidence you can...
...and tell the War Cabinet
what you think about it.
All right, sir.
By the way...
...how are your legs since the accident?
Bloody awful.
Well, there we are.
Have they got a long-range rocket?
We've all seen the reports
from Intelligence.
Perhaps you'd let me have your reactions.
- Professor Lindemann.
- Not very intelligent.
- Would you elaborate on that?
- I can.
- Some of our agents could be wrong...
- There you are.
...and some would be right.
- Well, these are wrong.
What makes you think that?
If you were a scientist, you'd know
you cannot get reliable results...
...without solid propellants,
such as cordite.
With a cordite-propelled rocket
carrying a worthwhile warhead...
...you'd need no less than 50 tons of it.
Fifty tons.
Our biggest rocket has only 50 pounds.
Now, I ask you a question, gentlemen.
If we here admitted, which we do not...
...the possibility of a rocket project
in Germany, what would you do?
Well, there are three avenues
of approach as I see it.
Firstly, I'd go over
all the aerial photographs we've got...
...and I'd try and get some new ones.
Next, I'd interrogate
all the available prisoners...
...and then, of course,
I'd send in more agents.
And then?
lf, after that, I still believed
they got rockets...
...l'd recommend bombing their installations
before they got off the ground.
That's precisely what the Germans
want you to do.
To divert our bombing effort from more
important targets. Look, I'm a scientist.
In peacetime
there are no secrets in science.
And in four years of war,
they couldn't have advanced that far.
Even a less spectacular advance...
...it would have reduced
their war effort immensely.
Look, Boyd, send back your agents,
tell them to take a closer look.
What about this report that
the Germans are recruiting technicians...
...from the occupied countries?
- I can vouch for that.
But you can't vouch
for the rocket report.
Agents are like scientists, professor.
Some are good...
...and some are not so good.
In my opinion, the whole thing
is a wild goose chase.
Well, that remains to be seen.
As a scientist,
I was taught to be sure of my facts.
In war, decisions almost always have
to be taken on incomplete knowledge.
If you wait until you're certain,
you're sure to be too late.
What's the matter with that man?
He may be a brilliant scientist,
but he can't always be right.
As far as I'm concerned, he hasn't
explained away our Intelligence report.
Just because he can't build a rocket
doesn't mean to say the Germans can't.
For the sake of argument, let's assume they
have got one in the experimental stage.
Now, where would they test it?
Not in one of the occupied countries,
because they couldn't trust anybody.
They'd take it as far away from us
as possible to make it difficult to bomb.
Somewhere near the sea...
...so the duds wouldn't do any damage
and wouldn't leave a trace.
So it's gotta be the Baltic, hasn't it?
Sir.
Sir, would you come
and look at this, please?
- What am I supposed to be looking at?
- There, sir. On the left.
I don't know, Babs.
We know they're extending their airfield.
Could it be anything to do with that?
Dredging operations. Drains.
What do they want in London?
Oh, they want us to probe
every sortie for rocket installations.
- Sims, would you take this?
- Rocket installations?
What are they supposed to look like?
Nobody knows.
Something unusual.
They're new weapons...
...so we can't expect to see
anything we've seen before.
- So unusual we wouldn't even notice them?
- Maybe.
Something we wouldn't even notice?
Sir, there is something.
I spotted it the other day.
Look.
There, see?
Take a look at these.
Wait a minute.
Wait a minute.
The place is called Peenemnde.
- Where is it?
- It's on the Baltic coast.
You see, there's a new power station
they've just built here at Kplin.
It's much too big for ordinary use.
There's power lines radiating about
all over the place.
Up there among the trees,
there are some new workshops.
Down here,
there's some reclamation work.
I don't see what this has got
to do with rockets.
All these installations seem
to be perfectly consistent...
...with the place being
a rocket-firing establishment.
What about these circular earthworks
in the woods here?
Mightn't they be test stands
for launching rockets?
They're not gonna put a firing point
in the middle of the island.
It would be too risky.
If they have any,
they'll put them right on the coast.
Whatever they are, the Germans
aren't making all this effort for our benefit.
I'm not gonna believe your fairy tales
until you show me a photograph of a rocket.
Well, we'll just have to go on photographing
until we find one.
- Flight Officer Babington Smith.
- How do you do?
- You got something new on Peenemnde?
- Yes, sir.
Yes. The N8.60 cover,
that's all ready for you.
- How many times have we photographed it?
- Ten times now, sir.
Am I supposed
to look at anything in particular?
Just here on the coast.
I think this will interest you.
- In the middle of that elliptical earthwork.
- Next to that sort of observation tower.
A torpedo-like object on a transporter.
Oh, yes. Yes, I can see it.
We can estimate the size.
It's about 38 feet long, sir.
- Could it be?
- We've never seen anything like it before.
The shape's right, the observation tower,
the whole setup.
I'd take a heavy bet on it.
Yes, I think you're right.
It's a bloody great rocket.
It's a balloon.
- You can't be serious.
- It's a barrage balloon.
- I'm interested to hear you say that...
- It's a barrage balloon.
- Partially deflated.
- With a damn great transporter.
Why not? The shape's convenient.
About 7 feet across
and 50 feet in length.
Yes, but these vehicles
are designed to carry up to 25 tons.
Putting a barrage balloon
on them would be like...
Like putting a lightweight jockey
on an elephant?
It's a balloon.
Well, the photographic interpreters tell us
it's a rocket, and I'm quite satisfied it is.
Laughable. It's a hoax.
It's a damned expensive one.
Tractors, cranes,
launching equipment, living quarters.
It could be a naval base.
They might be testing
some kind of torpedo.
Oh, so now your balloon's a torpedo?
One must explore all possibilities.
Every possibility except the possibility
that it might be a rocket.
If it were a rocket,
it could never get off the ground.
And if it were a torpedo...
...what ship's going to be able
to launch it?
Whatever it is, I think you're making
a mountain out of a molehill.
You mean a torpedo out of a balloon.
I take it, then, that you still don't think
Peenemnde should be bombed.
Certainly not.
Air marshal, what have you got to say?
Well, to attack Peenemnde would mean
diverting the RAF from their main task...
...which is to destroy German industry.
- Quite.
And apart from that,
to reach Peenemnde...
...we'd have to fly
through their air-defense system.
No fighter cover, I suppose?
I'm afraid not at that distance.
And once we've attacked it,
the whole place will bristle with guns.
So we'd have to make sure that
we make a job of it first time.
- How would you do that?
- We'd have to send the whole bomber force.
- How many planes?
- Oh, about 600.
And if the German fighters
intercepted in strength...
...we could lose the lot in one night,
and with it, the war.
Are you prepared
to take such a risk, Sandys?
We'll never win the war
unless we are prepared to take risks.
Sometimes great risks.
So, what are you going to do?
I shall recommend to the War Cabinet...
...that Peenemnde be bombed
as quickly as possible.
The first Intelligence reports
have come in, sir.
It seems we did the job.
All installations
have been blown sky-high.
- Peenemnde's been smashed to bits.
- What about our losses? Any idea?
So far, 40 aircraft out of 571.
Right.
We've gained time.
That's the important thing.
Yes. Precious time.
We can't afford to waste a minute of it.
We discovered that large numbers
of engineers...
...were passing through Hamburg,
Bremen and Cologne.
The trail led us to this area around here.
- It's a new factory deep underground.
- What makes you think it's a rocket factory?
Because all the men going there
are top-grade specialists.
They're taking them
from aircraft and radio factories...
...chemical plants, research laboratories.
- The skills you'd need for making rockets.
- Right.
We never expected the Germans
to give up after Peenemnde.
They must know we're planning
to invade Europe this summer.
Supposing they've begun
mass-producing these things.
If they could get them off the ground...
...if they could launch a saturation attack
against this country...
...we could lose the war
at the very last minute.
Can you find out any more
about this place?
Tricky.
The only way would be to get some of
our own agents right inside the factory.
Still, the Germans are crying out
for engineers.
- It's possible.
- Men with technical knowledge...
...foreign languages...
...who'd also make good agents:
They'd be pretty rare birds.
Yes. Especially in the shooting season.
Looks like a recruiting drive right away,
doesn't it?
Among the armed forces
and the government departments.
If we interview a thousand men,
we'll be lucky to find 12 suitable.
Well, the sooner you find them,
the better.
- Two pound on the clock, guv.
- Right. Wait for me.
- Here, work on that.
- Thanks very much. Ta.
Be right back. And remember...
...concentrate on what I told you.
Next, please.
Oh, that's me.
- An article there on Holland.
- Thank you.
Take a chair, please, sir.
- You been waiting long?
- A few minutes.
Do you have any idea
what this is all about?
Engineers who speak languages.
I only took it so I could
get a day in London.
But I don't wanna spend it here.
But look, I was brought up in Germany.
Your German's very good. So good you'd
be a loss to the Ministry of Information.
I studied Applied Mechanics in Dresden,
I do assure you.
I may be a bit rusty,
but I can easily brush it up.
I'm afraid your technical knowledge
isn't up to standard.
I really am very sorry.
Well...
Next, please.
- Excuse me.
- What did they ask you?
Damn fool questions. Usual chaos.
They don't know what they want.
I hope they don't want me.
I wanna get back to my ship.
Well, I hope you do.
Next, please.
- Bradley.
- Oh, yes, sir.
Take a chair, sir, please, sir.
- Thank you, sergeant.
- Sir.
- Excuse me.
- Sure.
Funny fellow.
I did three years special study of ballistics
at the Royal Institute in Den Helder.
And then supervisory work
at an ordnance factory in Hembrug.
You're familiar with the dynamics
of projectiles?
Oh, yes, sir. Yes.
What about your family?
- Are they still in Holland?
- Yes.
My mother and two sisters.
What about you?
I'm making a rather vain attempt
to further my unmilitary career.
Thought there might be something in this.
I'm with a tiresome lot...
...under canvas in the wilds of Essex.
Not enjoying it.
- I don't blame you.
- Next, please.
Do you mind? I shan't keep you a moment.
I'm in a tearing hurry.
Next gentleman, please.
- Excuse me.
- Yes?
- It's me, Curtis.
- Curtis?
You remember me, don't you?
- Oh, yes. Yes, of course.
- Nice to see you.
I must say, I can't fault your German.
It's perfect.
- Cambridge?
- Fluid mechanics, sir.
I gave up pure mathematics
after the first year...
...and then more recently I've been messing
about with anti-aircraft rockets.
These rather secret people I'm with...
The first rocket I built
rose three feet into the ground.
The second took off horizontally, straight
through a henhouse, and killed 40 roosters.
How very discouraging for you.
What did you do after that?
Buried the roosters, sir.
Mastered at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology in physics...
...and graduated magna cum laude.
Have you worked in any
of your father's factories?
What for?
Have you had any practical experience?
Flying a P-38?
Thank you, lieutenant.
- We'll let you know.
- Thank you.
I say, Curtis, it was Birmingham,
wasn't it?
No, further south.
South?
Further south.
Good morning, Captain Bradley.
Finished?
Next, please.
- How did you get on?
- Sent back to the base.
They said they'd let me know.
What, they didn't say.
Probably planning
some new secret weapon.
That reminds me.
Can I give you a ride in my cab?
Thank you very much.
If it's not out of your way. Boodles.
Boodles? What's that?
Club, old boy.
Sure.
Come on, jump!
Cut the conversation and jump.
Come on, you idle lots. Jump!
He's getting excited again.
I think he wants you to jump, old boy.
- You think that's it?
- Afraid so.
- Jump.
- Yeah. I guess you're right.
Gate's open.
- Red brake off.
- Brake off.
- There you are, sergeant.
- There you bloody well are not, sir.
If that was a parachute descent,
you'd have broken your legs.
You're behaving like an irresponsible nit.
Now get back up that tower again
and do a parachute landing as I've told you.
Get back up the tower.
Sir.
Gate's open.
- Red brake off.
- Red brake off.
Sir, where's your hat?
Your jumping hat, sir. The hat I drew
from stores for you for parachute training.
Why aren't you wearing it on your head?
- You mean this one?
- I mean that one, sir.
Take if off there, put it back on your head
and get back up the tower.
- Up the tower, sir?
- Yes, sir, up the tower.
- Red brake off.
- Red brake off.
- Red brake off.
- Red brake off.
Gate's open.
- Red brake off!
- Red brake off.
Bloody good.
We want you to pass as engineers
from a German-occupied country.
The Dutch will help you
join one of the parties...
...the Germans are taking
to their underground factories.
Your job will be
to get information back to us.
Now, you two go to Holland.
You'll have a much easier time
in Brussels.
All you have to do is to sift the information,
decide what's worth sending, what isn't.
- Will we be parachuted in, sir?
- Yes.
Now, here are your identities.
Erik Van Ostamgen.
Jean Marcel.
Jacob Bijus.
On this mission, your face is your fortune.
You look very much like him.
- Yes.
- How do I get to look like him?
A bit po-faced, isn't he?
- I'd hate to meet him in a dark alley.
- You won't. These three men are dead.
Two were Dutch
engineering specialists...
...working at the Skoda factory
in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia.
The third came from Paris,
a professor of applied mathematics.
Now, he can wait.
But you two are urgent.
You've gotta think in Dutch,
think in German, think in French.
- Any idea how these men died?
- We're not certain.
- The papers only came in last week.
- You're not certain?
No German is going to ask you
how you died.
Bob and I have to take the identities
of these dead, pro-Nazi Dutchmen.
- We don't know they were pro-Nazi.
- You don't?
- No.
- What do you call this mission?
Operation Question Mark?
Curtis, we want you for this job,
but you don't have to take it.
Well, would you like my answer
right now?
- Who's that?
- Me again, Eric Van Ostamgen.
- Leyden University.
- And?
And I studied for five years
in the Faculty of Science.
My brother, Willem Bijus.
My father, Karl Van Ostamgen.
I really gave him a bad time.
Seen much of him lately?
Not much. He's dead, actually.
He died April 30th, 1937.
- Now, when am I gonna see my wife?
- Your ex-wife. She divorced you, remember?
- Yes. Silly girl.
- Right.
Thanks. That helps a lot.
She could be my mother.
- What year were you married?
- 1936.
- Where?
- Rome.
- Where'd you meet?
- Capri.
- Children's names?
- Piet, he's six. Erica, she's four.
Birth dates?
Piet, March 22nd, 1937.
Erica, June 13th, 1939.
I've got a court order
to give me access to see them.
- Not bad. Not bad at all.
- Thanks. I just wish I looked like him.
If the Germans kept a photographic record
of all their workers...
...they'd need a filing cabinet
as big as Hitler's ego.
Who's that?
Me, Jacob Bijus.
- Family?
- One brother.
- Your father?
- He left home when I was 3.
What year was that?
We're over Holland.
It's almost time for our orders.
What do you bet
we get down on the ground...
...we'll find General Boyd to show us slides
of our prenatal experiences?
"Your Agent will identify himself
to you...
...by offering you a cigarette from
a cigarette case that has no cigarettes."
- Navigator.
- Yes.
- We're approaching drop zone.
- Right.
Check equipment.
Action stations!
Stand in the door.
If your chute doesn't open,
change it for a harp.
Jump!
I'm not musical!
Jump!
There's a message to return, sir.
Who says so?
Base, sir. Message reads,
"Operation cancelled. Return to base."
Cancel it? Now?
Come in, Bradley.
Glad you're here. Sit down.
- Thank you, sir,
- We're in a bit of a mess.
I've just got a signal from Holland.
Jacob Bijus is wanted by the police.
- I thought he was dead, sir.
- He is. But the Germans don't know it.
So if Henshaw's picked up, he could be
in a spot of trouble, couldn't he?
Can't your people warn him, sir?
Communication is unreliable. It isn't exactly
like sending a birthday telegram, you know.
I'm sorry, Bradley,
I haven't got anybody else.
I was almost looking forward
to going to Brussels, sir.
Thought I might find
a decent bottle of claret.
The best my wine merchant can rustle up
is a rather timorous Chateau Lafon '32.
It'll taste better when you get it.
Henshaw's new identity papers
are sewn into the spine of this book.
I have a most awful habit
of losing books.
For God's sake, don't lose that one.
Now, here are your new papers.
Your name is Engel,
Dr. Engel, traveling from Pilsen.
Your background's a bit sketchy.
We haven't had a great deal of time.
- But supposing I'm questioned, sir?
- You'll have to use your imagination.
Have to lose the handlebars. Don't worry,
you'll only be in Germany a couple of days.
- I'm greatly relieved to hear it, sir.
- Let's have a look over the ground.
Your dropping zone is here.
Now, our chaps will be there
to take care of you. Code word "Lorelei."
"Lorelei," sir.
You will take Henshaw and Curtis's
route up the Rhine.
Up the Rhine, sir.
This is your baggage.
Over two hours shall we come
by the frontier.
From then, I cannot help you no more.
But I thought you were supposed to tell us
where we are going.
This is your way to the hotel.
You will show your papers
and get rooms like other engineers.
The Gestapo will not suspect nothing.
I don't like the double negative.
Sorry. I do not understand
the English too well.
Glad to hear it.
Cigarette?
Cigarette?
Van Ostamgen.
Bijus?
Jacob Bijus.
- Have you a fire?
- Yeah.
Cigarette?
Something's gone wrong.
The police have taken your papers.
You'd better go to Room 119.
If one of you gets into trouble,
the other must be safe.
- What does the Gestapo want with Bob?
- It's not the Gestapo. It's the police.
- What's the reason?
- I wish I knew.
You'd better pack as fast as you can and
go to Room 119. I'll get it ready for you.
- I'll see you in a minute.
- Right.
Make sure that that door is locked
after he goes.
Maybe they'll move the engineers out
before anything can happen to him.
I'll try and find out something.
- Oh, stay in your room.
- Don't worry.
Don't worry.
At least it's not the Gestapo.
Who's worried?
We can always meet during the air raids.
The man downstairs told me room 111.
I heard you speaking English just now.
It's none of my business.
I guess I am the one who should explain.
No, no, that's perfectly all right.
I work for the Propaganda Ministry,
broadcasting on the radio.
They must have given me
the wrong room number. I'm very sorry.
Not at all.
This is my husband's room.
Of course. I should have noticed.
I'm sorry.
- Are you a friend of Erik?
- Yes, I'm waiting for him.
- Where is he?
- I don't know. He went out.
Oh, thank God I found him at last.
If only you knew what it means to me.
- Well, this is quite a surprise for him too.
- He has to sign an important paper for me.
We arranged to meet in Hamburg
weeks ago.
I get to Hamburg and they tell me he has
been transferred to Prague. I go to Prague.
Oh, it's nothing. He wasn't there.
God, the traveling I've done.
Hotels, offices, hospitals.
- I even had him reported missing.
- You did?
Yes. Then the police told me
he was here perhaps.
- Will he be long?
- I've no idea.
If I knew where he was
I could go and find him.
Yes.
- Maybe I'll call up the police here.
- I'm sorry, that's out of order.
Won't you sit down?
Oh, sure.
I'm going back to Italy to my parents.
But I can't take the children
without his consent.
It's the law in Holland, you know.
Is that why you have
to have him sign the paper?
How long have you known Erik?
I met him a couple of months ago
in a railroad station.
Here he is.
This is Frau Van Ostamgen.
This is our housekeeper.
Oh, she speaks excellent English.
She's waiting for her husband.
I told her I didn't know
when Erik would be back.
Do you have any idea?
Well, I am sorry, but I've come up
for the very purpose...
...of packing Herr Van Ostamgen's
luggage and putting it in storage.
But why?
A message from the Labor Office.
They had to send your husband away
all of a sudden.
Oh, no. But where have they sent him?
They didn't say.
- Would you give me a hand?
- I'd be glad to. I'm sorry.
But... But who could I ask?
Who can tell me?
Oh, I don't think it's any use inquiring.
From here on, his destination
is a military secret.
If you take my advice, you'll go home and
wait for him to send you his code address.
It's the best thing, really.
I've been traveling for two days. I'm tired.
Could I stay here? I must get some sleep.
- Impossible. This room has been taken.
- I could wait in the lounge, then.
The lounge has been closed
ever since the air raids started.
The porter will help you
with the luggage.
I'm so sorry.
Please?
Aren't you going to open the door?
It's the police.
Erik Van Ostamgen.
It's all right, let her go.
Who are you? Who are you?
Didn't you hear?
He's Erik Van Ostamgen.
He's not. Where is my husband?
Where is Erik?
I'll find out for myself.
Get out of my way...
Shut up.
- lf you don't shut up, I'll gag you.
- We'll have to tell her.
Your husband is dead.
- It can't be true.
- I'm afraid it is.
But how did he die? When?
As far as we know,
four months ago in an air raid.
I see.
You told the police you were
Erik Van Ostamgen. You're using his papers.
You have my photograph.
Now I believe Erik is dead.
And you've taken his place.
Don't let her leave the room
or talk to anyone.
I'll be back as soon as I can.
Where is she going?
What is she going to do?
Open the door.
I won't betray you, I swear it.
I won't say a word to anyone.
Open the door.
I can't.
But I must get back to my children.
I can't let you go.
I will never see them again, will I?
I brought you something to eat.
You must be famished.
You might as well eat something.
Well, then have something to drink.
Now, tell me.
What was your husband like?
Erik is dead.
I know Erik is dead.
I need to know what he was like.
You want to know about Erik?
Well, I want to know about you,
about the kind of man...
...who would keep a woman locked
in a room away from her children...
...when there are people
downstairs who...
You don't know
what they're doing downstairs.
I do.
She... She has made up her mind
to kill me.
All right. Let's say she has.
You walked into this. It's not my fault.
You asked me before if you would
ever see your children again.
I'll tell you the truth. You won't.
Unless you can convince me
that I can trust you.
And you'd stand by and let it happen.
You are thinking of nothing
but your own life.
- Mine and others.
- What about mine and my children's?
We don't matter as long
as you and that woman are safe.
Look, I want to trust you.
But I'm leaving. I've got to convince her.
It's as simple as that.
- Your husband worked for the Germans?
- Yes.
Willingly?
Did he work willingly or was he forced?
Erik believed he could get through life
without ever being hurt.
When the Germans came, the way
not to get hurt was to work for them.
And you agreed?
- Did you agree or didn't you?
- No.
Is that why you got a divorce?
Or other reasons?
I don't think the Gestapo
would question you...
...about things which concern
my feelings, my thoughts.
It's just talk, isn't it? To keep me quiet.
Didn't they tell you in England
that Erik was a collaborator?
No.
That the Germans treated him
like one of themselves?
Perhaps I think the same way as he did.
How can you really know?
Perhaps, after all, I have German friends.
And you talk about
that woman trusting me.
Listen, I'm trying to help you.
That's wonderful.
That's really wonderful.
You are always trying to help.
Well, maybe I could if you'd let me.
- I think there's a way out of this.
- Through the door.
You have the key...
The key in your pocket.
Do you have children?
No.
Are you married?
No.
Then it's easy to play the hero.
How's Piet?
Oh, of course
you know my children's names.
Yeah. I know as much as that.
Oh, what's so funny?
You. You are funny.
This awful room, the little waiter,
that dreadful woman downstairs.
And you asking me about my children.
You'd better come to your senses.
Oh, I'm being perfectly sensible.
I want you to let me out of this room.
How can I convince you?
How can I persuade you?
Can you be bribed?
With money?
I haven't got any.
But you've had enough to drink.
Come on. Come on.
I'll try to find a way.
I promise you I'll try.
Erik was always making me promises.
I remember he promised...
...to take me to Paris once.
But he never did.
He did take you to Capri
on your honeymoon, didn't he?
Yes.
- Where do you live in Italy?
- Civitavecchia.
Via Mazzina 19, Civitavecchia.
Near Rome.
By the sea.
You really don't have any choice.
You may as well trust me.
I trust you.
Dr. Engel? Dr. Engel?
You're Dr. Engel?
Yes, yes. In spite of every appearance
to the contrary.
Oh, I'm sorry I'm rather scruffy.
I'm afraid I didn't have a very good journey.
I landed in a hawthorn tree
and spent the night in a field of turnips.
It was a bit uncomfortable.
However, I've got the documents.
They've arrested Bijus.
There's a chance they'll let him go.
They need engineers too badly.
Hope you're right.
Might as well have stayed at home.
Nothing we can do.
I'll show you to your room.
- Will there be a police check?
- No.
They've checked the passes.
They never come twice.
And if they do, you're Engel.
I'm not very well acquainted
with Dr. Engel.
In fact, we're scarcely on nodding terms.
- lf they ask any questions...
- Invent.
London. Room 426, wasn't it?
They turned me down.
Evidently, you were accepted.
My congratulations.
You're not Bijus.
You're a petty officer
in the so-called Free Dutch Navy.
We've known for a long time...
...that Allied agents were being
planted in our underground factories.
I was sent into England
to try and join one of these groups.
And English.
Now, tell me,
who are your contacts here?
Who helped you get into Germany?
How did you plan
to send information to England?
Look, we can easily find out
who you really are.
You're obviously a qualified engineer.
Holland's a very small country.
With a photograph,
we can identify you in a matter of days.
Perhaps you have a family in Holland.
You wouldn't like to have them sent
to a concentration camp.
I'm not asking you
to betray your country.
You're a Dutchman. Good.
There are millions in Holland
and occupied Europe working for the Reich.
Do you think they're all wrong?
You take my case, for example.
I'm half English, half German.
When the war came, I had to make up my
mind what I really believed, where I stood.
Has it ever occurred to you
that you might be wrong...
...and the Germans just might be right?
Look what we've achieved
in the past 10 years.
Before Hitler came to power,
we were nothing.
Now we're the greatest nation in the world,
the most feared and the most respected.
You understand, don't you?
I've only got to give the order...
...and things would become
extremely unpleasant for you.
On the other hand, if you cooperate,
I promise that you'll end this war alive...
...and on the winning side.
Because we are going to win the war,
I assure you.
So, what's the trouble?
What's holding you back?
I'd like to understand.
You're a very silly young man.
Here, you have this.
Sordid, isn't it?
Not one of history's immortal moments.
And unnecessary. You proved your point.
You're a very brave man.
I have the greatest admiration for you.
But it's all wasted.
The war will go on.
The outcome will be just the same...
...only you'll be dead...
...and no one will even know
how you died.
For God's sake, man,
don't throw your life away for nothing.
- Could I have a word with you, please?
- Of course.
I just got a message. The trucks will be here
any moment. Here are your papers.
We have to be careful. It may be some time
before anybody gets in touch with you.
Here they are. Now, don't worry
about the girl. I'll take care of her.
You don't have to.
We can trust her, we can let her go.
Trust her? How can you be sure?
I know what I'm doing.
Give me that document
about your children.
This document gives Frau Van Ostamgen
permission to take her children to Italy.
- That's why you came here, isn't it?
- That's all I care about.
To get safely home with my children.
I can forge his signature perfectly.
I'll date it today.
Once she's on her way home,
she can't tell the police...
...her husband died four months ago
and betray us, can she?
Would you like to witness it?
With pleasure.
You must tell everyone
that you've seen Erik and he's well.
- Erik Van Ostamgen?
- Nora Van Ostamgen.
Van Ostamgen.
I won't be long.
Sims.
Remember this?
Yes, I remember. Drains.
- I wonder if it could be something else.
- What makes you say that?
Well, this is new cover. The same
construction, but there's something on it.
- Where?
- To the left.
It looks like a midget aircraft.
Yes, it could be a very small plane.
Let us see what Kendall thinks.
It's the PM.
They're just putting him through.
I thought I should tell you at once
that we've found out what the ski sites are.
They're not for rockets.
We think they're for a kind
of flying bomb.
Altogether, we've destroyed
a hundred of these ski sites up to now.
We're bombing them continuously.
The Americans by day, and we by night.
As soon as we knock them down,
they put up new ones.
They're prefabricated. They can stick them
together in no time at all.
What are you worried about?
Nothing happened when the invasion
buildup was going on.
And I can think
of no more tempting target.
Now we've landed in France...
...and we still haven't had any sign
of your mythical secret weapon.
I believe that the reason
we haven't seen them up to now...
...is because our efforts
succeeded in delaying them.
But they could still do tremendous damage
if they get them off the ground in numbers.
Is Hitler waiting to produce them
at the peace conference?
Despite your opposition...
...which I'm sure is quite sincere,
I'm certain we've done the right thing.
Yes, hold on. It's Fighter Command.
Sandys.
I see.
Channel observation posts
report that flying objects...
...with a tail of fire...
...are passing over Dover
and heading towards London.
Speed over 400 miles an hour.
Over here!
- Get them first aid over there.
- Watch the pressure.
Come along. It's all right, it's all right.
- Breaking now. You have a go.
- Roger.
Missed the bastard.
Why not move the guns down here...
...stick them in a line
from Beachy Head to Dover?
Then your fighters would be free to operate
behind them over Kent and Sussex...
...up to the balloons in the suburbs.
- It's a good idea, I agree.
But it means moving a thousand guns,
20,000 personnel...
...and miles and miles of electric cable.
I must point out that it will leave London
defenseless for several days.
In any case, what about the chiefs of staff?
They'll never agree.
Well, we'll ask them afterwards,
shall we?
There aren't quite as many over tonight.
Just as well, with a thousand guns
on their way to the seaside...
Mind you, it's tomorrow
I'm worried about.
If German Intelligence is up to the mark,
they'll send everything they've got.
Yes, well, with luck,
they'll only think about it tomorrow.
And the day after tomorrow,
we'll be ready for them.
I hope so.
That's more like it.
Somebody's contacted me at last.
Good. V-2, gyroscope controls.
Speed, 3000.
And they're testing a new one,
long-range.
How long?
They call it the New York rocket.
All right, give me the kid, love.
I'll take him.
Come on. It's all right, son.
You'll be all right, come on.
- Steady that.
- All right.
Bring him this way. This way.
Come on, now. Got him now.
Get him to the stretcher over here.
- Bring him this way.
- Coming.
This morning, we have proof that
the V-2 rockets have no launching sites.
They've learnt by their mistakes.
For the flying bombs,
they had to have elaborate ramps.
They built them fast,
and we destroyed them almost as fast.
For the firing of the V-2,
they've invented a huge trailer.
They can transport their rocket
and launch it from the same vehicle.
The only hope of stopping them
is if a plane happens to pass overhead...
...when the rocket's erected,
just before firing.
That's a million-to-one chance.
Yea, and even then, it would hardly
provide a target for attack...
...if the sites are mobile.
Quite. So we've got to destroy them
where they're made.
Very difficult.
The factory's been moved underground.
Perfectly camouflaged.
There's more to it than that.
I've got some men inside.
Apparently, the Germans
are about to start testing a new rocket...
...with a much longer range.
So that even after we've liberated
the occupied countries...
...they could still fire at us
from the heart of Germany.
We'll have to lay on a full-scale raid.
Let your men know when it's going to be
so they can try sabotage at the same time.
We've gotta try everything.
Bombing and sabotage.
There's an air raid
tomorrow night, 11:30.
They're after the long-range rocket.
Don't they know
it's 80 feet down in solid rock?
No.
And they want us to pinpoint it for them.
- Can you open the launching-pit doors?
- No.
No, we always phone the Power House.
They pull the switch.
Have we got anybody in there?
No.
We'll have to get in
and pull the switch ourselves.
You know the switch?
No. Can you find out?
I think so.
We still have to get in there.
My pass will get us past most guards.
As soon as he opens the door,
we'll jump him and grab his gun.
Just like that?
Bit thin, isn't it?
Yeah.
Can you think of anything else?
No.
What time shall we meet?
Eleven twenty-five.
Assembly plant. Passage C.
Good morning.
Van Ostamgen.
Van Ordern, Van Osten, Van Ostamgen.
- Right. I've got the switch number.
- Good. Let's go.
Right. Door.
Curtis!
How long to target?
Two minutes, skipper.
Van Ostamgen...
... or whatever your real name is,
listen to me.
We've got your friend here.
I'm going to give you one minute
to come out...
... or he'll be shot.
Do you understand? Killed.
Now, I'm giving you
exactly one minute from...
...now.
Can you see anything?
They're supposed to show us a light.
Can't see a bloody thing.
Thirty seconds.
Fifteen.
Ten seconds.
Switch R9.
R9.
Halt.
Still can't see anything.
How about you?
No. Nothing, skipper.
What's that?
- Where?
- A bit to starboard.
That's it. That's the target.
Stand by.
Right. Right.
Steady!
I've been reading your final report
on Operation Crossbow.
- It was a vital task and a job well done.
- Thank you.
But we owe so much to the bravery
of our agents, many of whose names...
...will never be known.
- Yes, and to the RAF.
If Hitler's rocket plans hadn't been
totally upset by our raid on Peenemnde...
...London would have been devastated.
But it's time we began
to think about reconstruction...
...and I want you
to be minister of works.
With thousands of buildings destroyed by
bombs and rockets, it's an enormous task.
Let us start at once.
Let us clear the rubble
and lay the bricks...
... and let us do so in the firm conviction
that we are building for the future...
... that never again shall we have to embark
upon such a conflict...
... as we recently endured.
I solemnly believe
that the price of such a folly...
... would be far more than mankind
could afford to pay.
Good afternoon, sir.
Come in, Duncan.
Sit down.
There's a vital job to be done.
The outcome of the war
may depend on how you handle it.
You read these reports, the Germans
are developing long-range rockets...
...in order to bombard Britain.
- Yes, but they're extremely vague.
And in some respects, contradictory.
But they can't be ignored.
If London and the channeled ports
should come under heavy bombardment...
...we would have to abandon our plan
to land in France next year.
I want you to find out quickly
whether this rocket threat is real.
And, if so, to recommend
how we should tackle it.
Do you want me to do this as well
as my job at the Ministry of Supply?
You think you could manage both?
Well, I'll just have to do
with rather less sleep.
Your first task will be to collect
all the evidence you can...
...and tell the War Cabinet
what you think about it.
All right, sir.
By the way...
...how are your legs since the accident?
Bloody awful.
Well, there we are.
Have they got a long-range rocket?
We've all seen the reports
from Intelligence.
Perhaps you'd let me have your reactions.
- Professor Lindemann.
- Not very intelligent.
- Would you elaborate on that?
- I can.
- Some of our agents could be wrong...
- There you are.
...and some would be right.
- Well, these are wrong.
What makes you think that?
If you were a scientist, you'd know
you cannot get reliable results...
...without solid propellants,
such as cordite.
With a cordite-propelled rocket
carrying a worthwhile warhead...
...you'd need no less than 50 tons of it.
Fifty tons.
Our biggest rocket has only 50 pounds.
Now, I ask you a question, gentlemen.
If we here admitted, which we do not...
...the possibility of a rocket project
in Germany, what would you do?
Well, there are three avenues
of approach as I see it.
Firstly, I'd go over
all the aerial photographs we've got...
...and I'd try and get some new ones.
Next, I'd interrogate
all the available prisoners...
...and then, of course,
I'd send in more agents.
And then?
lf, after that, I still believed
they got rockets...
...l'd recommend bombing their installations
before they got off the ground.
That's precisely what the Germans
want you to do.
To divert our bombing effort from more
important targets. Look, I'm a scientist.
In peacetime
there are no secrets in science.
And in four years of war,
they couldn't have advanced that far.
Even a less spectacular advance...
...it would have reduced
their war effort immensely.
Look, Boyd, send back your agents,
tell them to take a closer look.
What about this report that
the Germans are recruiting technicians...
...from the occupied countries?
- I can vouch for that.
But you can't vouch
for the rocket report.
Agents are like scientists, professor.
Some are good...
...and some are not so good.
In my opinion, the whole thing
is a wild goose chase.
Well, that remains to be seen.
As a scientist,
I was taught to be sure of my facts.
In war, decisions almost always have
to be taken on incomplete knowledge.
If you wait until you're certain,
you're sure to be too late.
What's the matter with that man?
He may be a brilliant scientist,
but he can't always be right.
As far as I'm concerned, he hasn't
explained away our Intelligence report.
Just because he can't build a rocket
doesn't mean to say the Germans can't.
For the sake of argument, let's assume they
have got one in the experimental stage.
Now, where would they test it?
Not in one of the occupied countries,
because they couldn't trust anybody.
They'd take it as far away from us
as possible to make it difficult to bomb.
Somewhere near the sea...
...so the duds wouldn't do any damage
and wouldn't leave a trace.
So it's gotta be the Baltic, hasn't it?
Sir.
Sir, would you come
and look at this, please?
- What am I supposed to be looking at?
- There, sir. On the left.
I don't know, Babs.
We know they're extending their airfield.
Could it be anything to do with that?
Dredging operations. Drains.
What do they want in London?
Oh, they want us to probe
every sortie for rocket installations.
- Sims, would you take this?
- Rocket installations?
What are they supposed to look like?
Nobody knows.
Something unusual.
They're new weapons...
...so we can't expect to see
anything we've seen before.
- So unusual we wouldn't even notice them?
- Maybe.
Something we wouldn't even notice?
Sir, there is something.
I spotted it the other day.
Look.
There, see?
Take a look at these.
Wait a minute.
Wait a minute.
The place is called Peenemnde.
- Where is it?
- It's on the Baltic coast.
You see, there's a new power station
they've just built here at Kplin.
It's much too big for ordinary use.
There's power lines radiating about
all over the place.
Up there among the trees,
there are some new workshops.
Down here,
there's some reclamation work.
I don't see what this has got
to do with rockets.
All these installations seem
to be perfectly consistent...
...with the place being
a rocket-firing establishment.
What about these circular earthworks
in the woods here?
Mightn't they be test stands
for launching rockets?
They're not gonna put a firing point
in the middle of the island.
It would be too risky.
If they have any,
they'll put them right on the coast.
Whatever they are, the Germans
aren't making all this effort for our benefit.
I'm not gonna believe your fairy tales
until you show me a photograph of a rocket.
Well, we'll just have to go on photographing
until we find one.
- Flight Officer Babington Smith.
- How do you do?
- You got something new on Peenemnde?
- Yes, sir.
Yes. The N8.60 cover,
that's all ready for you.
- How many times have we photographed it?
- Ten times now, sir.
Am I supposed
to look at anything in particular?
Just here on the coast.
I think this will interest you.
- In the middle of that elliptical earthwork.
- Next to that sort of observation tower.
A torpedo-like object on a transporter.
Oh, yes. Yes, I can see it.
We can estimate the size.
It's about 38 feet long, sir.
- Could it be?
- We've never seen anything like it before.
The shape's right, the observation tower,
the whole setup.
I'd take a heavy bet on it.
Yes, I think you're right.
It's a bloody great rocket.
It's a balloon.
- You can't be serious.
- It's a barrage balloon.
- I'm interested to hear you say that...
- It's a barrage balloon.
- Partially deflated.
- With a damn great transporter.
Why not? The shape's convenient.
About 7 feet across
and 50 feet in length.
Yes, but these vehicles
are designed to carry up to 25 tons.
Putting a barrage balloon
on them would be like...
Like putting a lightweight jockey
on an elephant?
It's a balloon.
Well, the photographic interpreters tell us
it's a rocket, and I'm quite satisfied it is.
Laughable. It's a hoax.
It's a damned expensive one.
Tractors, cranes,
launching equipment, living quarters.
It could be a naval base.
They might be testing
some kind of torpedo.
Oh, so now your balloon's a torpedo?
One must explore all possibilities.
Every possibility except the possibility
that it might be a rocket.
If it were a rocket,
it could never get off the ground.
And if it were a torpedo...
...what ship's going to be able
to launch it?
Whatever it is, I think you're making
a mountain out of a molehill.
You mean a torpedo out of a balloon.
I take it, then, that you still don't think
Peenemnde should be bombed.
Certainly not.
Air marshal, what have you got to say?
Well, to attack Peenemnde would mean
diverting the RAF from their main task...
...which is to destroy German industry.
- Quite.
And apart from that,
to reach Peenemnde...
...we'd have to fly
through their air-defense system.
No fighter cover, I suppose?
I'm afraid not at that distance.
And once we've attacked it,
the whole place will bristle with guns.
So we'd have to make sure that
we make a job of it first time.
- How would you do that?
- We'd have to send the whole bomber force.
- How many planes?
- Oh, about 600.
And if the German fighters
intercepted in strength...
...we could lose the lot in one night,
and with it, the war.
Are you prepared
to take such a risk, Sandys?
We'll never win the war
unless we are prepared to take risks.
Sometimes great risks.
So, what are you going to do?
I shall recommend to the War Cabinet...
...that Peenemnde be bombed
as quickly as possible.
The first Intelligence reports
have come in, sir.
It seems we did the job.
All installations
have been blown sky-high.
- Peenemnde's been smashed to bits.
- What about our losses? Any idea?
So far, 40 aircraft out of 571.
Right.
We've gained time.
That's the important thing.
Yes. Precious time.
We can't afford to waste a minute of it.
We discovered that large numbers
of engineers...
...were passing through Hamburg,
Bremen and Cologne.
The trail led us to this area around here.
- It's a new factory deep underground.
- What makes you think it's a rocket factory?
Because all the men going there
are top-grade specialists.
They're taking them
from aircraft and radio factories...
...chemical plants, research laboratories.
- The skills you'd need for making rockets.
- Right.
We never expected the Germans
to give up after Peenemnde.
They must know we're planning
to invade Europe this summer.
Supposing they've begun
mass-producing these things.
If they could get them off the ground...
...if they could launch a saturation attack
against this country...
...we could lose the war
at the very last minute.
Can you find out any more
about this place?
Tricky.
The only way would be to get some of
our own agents right inside the factory.
Still, the Germans are crying out
for engineers.
- It's possible.
- Men with technical knowledge...
...foreign languages...
...who'd also make good agents:
They'd be pretty rare birds.
Yes. Especially in the shooting season.
Looks like a recruiting drive right away,
doesn't it?
Among the armed forces
and the government departments.
If we interview a thousand men,
we'll be lucky to find 12 suitable.
Well, the sooner you find them,
the better.
- Two pound on the clock, guv.
- Right. Wait for me.
- Here, work on that.
- Thanks very much. Ta.
Be right back. And remember...
...concentrate on what I told you.
Next, please.
Oh, that's me.
- An article there on Holland.
- Thank you.
Take a chair, please, sir.
- You been waiting long?
- A few minutes.
Do you have any idea
what this is all about?
Engineers who speak languages.
I only took it so I could
get a day in London.
But I don't wanna spend it here.
But look, I was brought up in Germany.
Your German's very good. So good you'd
be a loss to the Ministry of Information.
I studied Applied Mechanics in Dresden,
I do assure you.
I may be a bit rusty,
but I can easily brush it up.
I'm afraid your technical knowledge
isn't up to standard.
I really am very sorry.
Well...
Next, please.
- Excuse me.
- What did they ask you?
Damn fool questions. Usual chaos.
They don't know what they want.
I hope they don't want me.
I wanna get back to my ship.
Well, I hope you do.
Next, please.
- Bradley.
- Oh, yes, sir.
Take a chair, sir, please, sir.
- Thank you, sergeant.
- Sir.
- Excuse me.
- Sure.
Funny fellow.
I did three years special study of ballistics
at the Royal Institute in Den Helder.
And then supervisory work
at an ordnance factory in Hembrug.
You're familiar with the dynamics
of projectiles?
Oh, yes, sir. Yes.
What about your family?
- Are they still in Holland?
- Yes.
My mother and two sisters.
What about you?
I'm making a rather vain attempt
to further my unmilitary career.
Thought there might be something in this.
I'm with a tiresome lot...
...under canvas in the wilds of Essex.
Not enjoying it.
- I don't blame you.
- Next, please.
Do you mind? I shan't keep you a moment.
I'm in a tearing hurry.
Next gentleman, please.
- Excuse me.
- Yes?
- It's me, Curtis.
- Curtis?
You remember me, don't you?
- Oh, yes. Yes, of course.
- Nice to see you.
I must say, I can't fault your German.
It's perfect.
- Cambridge?
- Fluid mechanics, sir.
I gave up pure mathematics
after the first year...
...and then more recently I've been messing
about with anti-aircraft rockets.
These rather secret people I'm with...
The first rocket I built
rose three feet into the ground.
The second took off horizontally, straight
through a henhouse, and killed 40 roosters.
How very discouraging for you.
What did you do after that?
Buried the roosters, sir.
Mastered at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology in physics...
...and graduated magna cum laude.
Have you worked in any
of your father's factories?
What for?
Have you had any practical experience?
Flying a P-38?
Thank you, lieutenant.
- We'll let you know.
- Thank you.
I say, Curtis, it was Birmingham,
wasn't it?
No, further south.
South?
Further south.
Good morning, Captain Bradley.
Finished?
Next, please.
- How did you get on?
- Sent back to the base.
They said they'd let me know.
What, they didn't say.
Probably planning
some new secret weapon.
That reminds me.
Can I give you a ride in my cab?
Thank you very much.
If it's not out of your way. Boodles.
Boodles? What's that?
Club, old boy.
Sure.
Come on, jump!
Cut the conversation and jump.
Come on, you idle lots. Jump!
He's getting excited again.
I think he wants you to jump, old boy.
- You think that's it?
- Afraid so.
- Jump.
- Yeah. I guess you're right.
Gate's open.
- Red brake off.
- Brake off.
- There you are, sergeant.
- There you bloody well are not, sir.
If that was a parachute descent,
you'd have broken your legs.
You're behaving like an irresponsible nit.
Now get back up that tower again
and do a parachute landing as I've told you.
Get back up the tower.
Sir.
Gate's open.
- Red brake off.
- Red brake off.
Sir, where's your hat?
Your jumping hat, sir. The hat I drew
from stores for you for parachute training.
Why aren't you wearing it on your head?
- You mean this one?
- I mean that one, sir.
Take if off there, put it back on your head
and get back up the tower.
- Up the tower, sir?
- Yes, sir, up the tower.
- Red brake off.
- Red brake off.
- Red brake off.
- Red brake off.
Gate's open.
- Red brake off!
- Red brake off.
Bloody good.
We want you to pass as engineers
from a German-occupied country.
The Dutch will help you
join one of the parties...
...the Germans are taking
to their underground factories.
Your job will be
to get information back to us.
Now, you two go to Holland.
You'll have a much easier time
in Brussels.
All you have to do is to sift the information,
decide what's worth sending, what isn't.
- Will we be parachuted in, sir?
- Yes.
Now, here are your identities.
Erik Van Ostamgen.
Jean Marcel.
Jacob Bijus.
On this mission, your face is your fortune.
You look very much like him.
- Yes.
- How do I get to look like him?
A bit po-faced, isn't he?
- I'd hate to meet him in a dark alley.
- You won't. These three men are dead.
Two were Dutch
engineering specialists...
...working at the Skoda factory
in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia.
The third came from Paris,
a professor of applied mathematics.
Now, he can wait.
But you two are urgent.
You've gotta think in Dutch,
think in German, think in French.
- Any idea how these men died?
- We're not certain.
- The papers only came in last week.
- You're not certain?
No German is going to ask you
how you died.
Bob and I have to take the identities
of these dead, pro-Nazi Dutchmen.
- We don't know they were pro-Nazi.
- You don't?
- No.
- What do you call this mission?
Operation Question Mark?
Curtis, we want you for this job,
but you don't have to take it.
Well, would you like my answer
right now?
- Who's that?
- Me again, Eric Van Ostamgen.
- Leyden University.
- And?
And I studied for five years
in the Faculty of Science.
My brother, Willem Bijus.
My father, Karl Van Ostamgen.
I really gave him a bad time.
Seen much of him lately?
Not much. He's dead, actually.
He died April 30th, 1937.
- Now, when am I gonna see my wife?
- Your ex-wife. She divorced you, remember?
- Yes. Silly girl.
- Right.
Thanks. That helps a lot.
She could be my mother.
- What year were you married?
- 1936.
- Where?
- Rome.
- Where'd you meet?
- Capri.
- Children's names?
- Piet, he's six. Erica, she's four.
Birth dates?
Piet, March 22nd, 1937.
Erica, June 13th, 1939.
I've got a court order
to give me access to see them.
- Not bad. Not bad at all.
- Thanks. I just wish I looked like him.
If the Germans kept a photographic record
of all their workers...
...they'd need a filing cabinet
as big as Hitler's ego.
Who's that?
Me, Jacob Bijus.
- Family?
- One brother.
- Your father?
- He left home when I was 3.
What year was that?
We're over Holland.
It's almost time for our orders.
What do you bet
we get down on the ground...
...we'll find General Boyd to show us slides
of our prenatal experiences?
"Your Agent will identify himself
to you...
...by offering you a cigarette from
a cigarette case that has no cigarettes."
- Navigator.
- Yes.
- We're approaching drop zone.
- Right.
Check equipment.
Action stations!
Stand in the door.
If your chute doesn't open,
change it for a harp.
Jump!
I'm not musical!
Jump!
There's a message to return, sir.
Who says so?
Base, sir. Message reads,
"Operation cancelled. Return to base."
Cancel it? Now?
Come in, Bradley.
Glad you're here. Sit down.
- Thank you, sir,
- We're in a bit of a mess.
I've just got a signal from Holland.
Jacob Bijus is wanted by the police.
- I thought he was dead, sir.
- He is. But the Germans don't know it.
So if Henshaw's picked up, he could be
in a spot of trouble, couldn't he?
Can't your people warn him, sir?
Communication is unreliable. It isn't exactly
like sending a birthday telegram, you know.
I'm sorry, Bradley,
I haven't got anybody else.
I was almost looking forward
to going to Brussels, sir.
Thought I might find
a decent bottle of claret.
The best my wine merchant can rustle up
is a rather timorous Chateau Lafon '32.
It'll taste better when you get it.
Henshaw's new identity papers
are sewn into the spine of this book.
I have a most awful habit
of losing books.
For God's sake, don't lose that one.
Now, here are your new papers.
Your name is Engel,
Dr. Engel, traveling from Pilsen.
Your background's a bit sketchy.
We haven't had a great deal of time.
- But supposing I'm questioned, sir?
- You'll have to use your imagination.
Have to lose the handlebars. Don't worry,
you'll only be in Germany a couple of days.
- I'm greatly relieved to hear it, sir.
- Let's have a look over the ground.
Your dropping zone is here.
Now, our chaps will be there
to take care of you. Code word "Lorelei."
"Lorelei," sir.
You will take Henshaw and Curtis's
route up the Rhine.
Up the Rhine, sir.
This is your baggage.
Over two hours shall we come
by the frontier.
From then, I cannot help you no more.
But I thought you were supposed to tell us
where we are going.
This is your way to the hotel.
You will show your papers
and get rooms like other engineers.
The Gestapo will not suspect nothing.
I don't like the double negative.
Sorry. I do not understand
the English too well.
Glad to hear it.
Cigarette?
Cigarette?
Van Ostamgen.
Bijus?
Jacob Bijus.
- Have you a fire?
- Yeah.
Cigarette?
Something's gone wrong.
The police have taken your papers.
You'd better go to Room 119.
If one of you gets into trouble,
the other must be safe.
- What does the Gestapo want with Bob?
- It's not the Gestapo. It's the police.
- What's the reason?
- I wish I knew.
You'd better pack as fast as you can and
go to Room 119. I'll get it ready for you.
- I'll see you in a minute.
- Right.
Make sure that that door is locked
after he goes.
Maybe they'll move the engineers out
before anything can happen to him.
I'll try and find out something.
- Oh, stay in your room.
- Don't worry.
Don't worry.
At least it's not the Gestapo.
Who's worried?
We can always meet during the air raids.
The man downstairs told me room 111.
I heard you speaking English just now.
It's none of my business.
I guess I am the one who should explain.
No, no, that's perfectly all right.
I work for the Propaganda Ministry,
broadcasting on the radio.
They must have given me
the wrong room number. I'm very sorry.
Not at all.
This is my husband's room.
Of course. I should have noticed.
I'm sorry.
- Are you a friend of Erik?
- Yes, I'm waiting for him.
- Where is he?
- I don't know. He went out.
Oh, thank God I found him at last.
If only you knew what it means to me.
- Well, this is quite a surprise for him too.
- He has to sign an important paper for me.
We arranged to meet in Hamburg
weeks ago.
I get to Hamburg and they tell me he has
been transferred to Prague. I go to Prague.
Oh, it's nothing. He wasn't there.
God, the traveling I've done.
Hotels, offices, hospitals.
- I even had him reported missing.
- You did?
Yes. Then the police told me
he was here perhaps.
- Will he be long?
- I've no idea.
If I knew where he was
I could go and find him.
Yes.
- Maybe I'll call up the police here.
- I'm sorry, that's out of order.
Won't you sit down?
Oh, sure.
I'm going back to Italy to my parents.
But I can't take the children
without his consent.
It's the law in Holland, you know.
Is that why you have
to have him sign the paper?
How long have you known Erik?
I met him a couple of months ago
in a railroad station.
Here he is.
This is Frau Van Ostamgen.
This is our housekeeper.
Oh, she speaks excellent English.
She's waiting for her husband.
I told her I didn't know
when Erik would be back.
Do you have any idea?
Well, I am sorry, but I've come up
for the very purpose...
...of packing Herr Van Ostamgen's
luggage and putting it in storage.
But why?
A message from the Labor Office.
They had to send your husband away
all of a sudden.
Oh, no. But where have they sent him?
They didn't say.
- Would you give me a hand?
- I'd be glad to. I'm sorry.
But... But who could I ask?
Who can tell me?
Oh, I don't think it's any use inquiring.
From here on, his destination
is a military secret.
If you take my advice, you'll go home and
wait for him to send you his code address.
It's the best thing, really.
I've been traveling for two days. I'm tired.
Could I stay here? I must get some sleep.
- Impossible. This room has been taken.
- I could wait in the lounge, then.
The lounge has been closed
ever since the air raids started.
The porter will help you
with the luggage.
I'm so sorry.
Please?
Aren't you going to open the door?
It's the police.
Erik Van Ostamgen.
It's all right, let her go.
Who are you? Who are you?
Didn't you hear?
He's Erik Van Ostamgen.
He's not. Where is my husband?
Where is Erik?
I'll find out for myself.
Get out of my way...
Shut up.
- lf you don't shut up, I'll gag you.
- We'll have to tell her.
Your husband is dead.
- It can't be true.
- I'm afraid it is.
But how did he die? When?
As far as we know,
four months ago in an air raid.
I see.
You told the police you were
Erik Van Ostamgen. You're using his papers.
You have my photograph.
Now I believe Erik is dead.
And you've taken his place.
Don't let her leave the room
or talk to anyone.
I'll be back as soon as I can.
Where is she going?
What is she going to do?
Open the door.
I won't betray you, I swear it.
I won't say a word to anyone.
Open the door.
I can't.
But I must get back to my children.
I can't let you go.
I will never see them again, will I?
I brought you something to eat.
You must be famished.
You might as well eat something.
Well, then have something to drink.
Now, tell me.
What was your husband like?
Erik is dead.
I know Erik is dead.
I need to know what he was like.
You want to know about Erik?
Well, I want to know about you,
about the kind of man...
...who would keep a woman locked
in a room away from her children...
...when there are people
downstairs who...
You don't know
what they're doing downstairs.
I do.
She... She has made up her mind
to kill me.
All right. Let's say she has.
You walked into this. It's not my fault.
You asked me before if you would
ever see your children again.
I'll tell you the truth. You won't.
Unless you can convince me
that I can trust you.
And you'd stand by and let it happen.
You are thinking of nothing
but your own life.
- Mine and others.
- What about mine and my children's?
We don't matter as long
as you and that woman are safe.
Look, I want to trust you.
But I'm leaving. I've got to convince her.
It's as simple as that.
- Your husband worked for the Germans?
- Yes.
Willingly?
Did he work willingly or was he forced?
Erik believed he could get through life
without ever being hurt.
When the Germans came, the way
not to get hurt was to work for them.
And you agreed?
- Did you agree or didn't you?
- No.
Is that why you got a divorce?
Or other reasons?
I don't think the Gestapo
would question you...
...about things which concern
my feelings, my thoughts.
It's just talk, isn't it? To keep me quiet.
Didn't they tell you in England
that Erik was a collaborator?
No.
That the Germans treated him
like one of themselves?
Perhaps I think the same way as he did.
How can you really know?
Perhaps, after all, I have German friends.
And you talk about
that woman trusting me.
Listen, I'm trying to help you.
That's wonderful.
That's really wonderful.
You are always trying to help.
Well, maybe I could if you'd let me.
- I think there's a way out of this.
- Through the door.
You have the key...
The key in your pocket.
Do you have children?
No.
Are you married?
No.
Then it's easy to play the hero.
How's Piet?
Oh, of course
you know my children's names.
Yeah. I know as much as that.
Oh, what's so funny?
You. You are funny.
This awful room, the little waiter,
that dreadful woman downstairs.
And you asking me about my children.
You'd better come to your senses.
Oh, I'm being perfectly sensible.
I want you to let me out of this room.
How can I convince you?
How can I persuade you?
Can you be bribed?
With money?
I haven't got any.
But you've had enough to drink.
Come on. Come on.
I'll try to find a way.
I promise you I'll try.
Erik was always making me promises.
I remember he promised...
...to take me to Paris once.
But he never did.
He did take you to Capri
on your honeymoon, didn't he?
Yes.
- Where do you live in Italy?
- Civitavecchia.
Via Mazzina 19, Civitavecchia.
Near Rome.
By the sea.
You really don't have any choice.
You may as well trust me.
I trust you.
Dr. Engel? Dr. Engel?
You're Dr. Engel?
Yes, yes. In spite of every appearance
to the contrary.
Oh, I'm sorry I'm rather scruffy.
I'm afraid I didn't have a very good journey.
I landed in a hawthorn tree
and spent the night in a field of turnips.
It was a bit uncomfortable.
However, I've got the documents.
They've arrested Bijus.
There's a chance they'll let him go.
They need engineers too badly.
Hope you're right.
Might as well have stayed at home.
Nothing we can do.
I'll show you to your room.
- Will there be a police check?
- No.
They've checked the passes.
They never come twice.
And if they do, you're Engel.
I'm not very well acquainted
with Dr. Engel.
In fact, we're scarcely on nodding terms.
- lf they ask any questions...
- Invent.
London. Room 426, wasn't it?
They turned me down.
Evidently, you were accepted.
My congratulations.
You're not Bijus.
You're a petty officer
in the so-called Free Dutch Navy.
We've known for a long time...
...that Allied agents were being
planted in our underground factories.
I was sent into England
to try and join one of these groups.
And English.
Now, tell me,
who are your contacts here?
Who helped you get into Germany?
How did you plan
to send information to England?
Look, we can easily find out
who you really are.
You're obviously a qualified engineer.
Holland's a very small country.
With a photograph,
we can identify you in a matter of days.
Perhaps you have a family in Holland.
You wouldn't like to have them sent
to a concentration camp.
I'm not asking you
to betray your country.
You're a Dutchman. Good.
There are millions in Holland
and occupied Europe working for the Reich.
Do you think they're all wrong?
You take my case, for example.
I'm half English, half German.
When the war came, I had to make up my
mind what I really believed, where I stood.
Has it ever occurred to you
that you might be wrong...
...and the Germans just might be right?
Look what we've achieved
in the past 10 years.
Before Hitler came to power,
we were nothing.
Now we're the greatest nation in the world,
the most feared and the most respected.
You understand, don't you?
I've only got to give the order...
...and things would become
extremely unpleasant for you.
On the other hand, if you cooperate,
I promise that you'll end this war alive...
...and on the winning side.
Because we are going to win the war,
I assure you.
So, what's the trouble?
What's holding you back?
I'd like to understand.
You're a very silly young man.
Here, you have this.
Sordid, isn't it?
Not one of history's immortal moments.
And unnecessary. You proved your point.
You're a very brave man.
I have the greatest admiration for you.
But it's all wasted.
The war will go on.
The outcome will be just the same...
...only you'll be dead...
...and no one will even know
how you died.
For God's sake, man,
don't throw your life away for nothing.
- Could I have a word with you, please?
- Of course.
I just got a message. The trucks will be here
any moment. Here are your papers.
We have to be careful. It may be some time
before anybody gets in touch with you.
Here they are. Now, don't worry
about the girl. I'll take care of her.
You don't have to.
We can trust her, we can let her go.
Trust her? How can you be sure?
I know what I'm doing.
Give me that document
about your children.
This document gives Frau Van Ostamgen
permission to take her children to Italy.
- That's why you came here, isn't it?
- That's all I care about.
To get safely home with my children.
I can forge his signature perfectly.
I'll date it today.
Once she's on her way home,
she can't tell the police...
...her husband died four months ago
and betray us, can she?
Would you like to witness it?
With pleasure.
You must tell everyone
that you've seen Erik and he's well.
- Erik Van Ostamgen?
- Nora Van Ostamgen.
Van Ostamgen.
I won't be long.
Sims.
Remember this?
Yes, I remember. Drains.
- I wonder if it could be something else.
- What makes you say that?
Well, this is new cover. The same
construction, but there's something on it.
- Where?
- To the left.
It looks like a midget aircraft.
Yes, it could be a very small plane.
Let us see what Kendall thinks.
It's the PM.
They're just putting him through.
I thought I should tell you at once
that we've found out what the ski sites are.
They're not for rockets.
We think they're for a kind
of flying bomb.
Altogether, we've destroyed
a hundred of these ski sites up to now.
We're bombing them continuously.
The Americans by day, and we by night.
As soon as we knock them down,
they put up new ones.
They're prefabricated. They can stick them
together in no time at all.
What are you worried about?
Nothing happened when the invasion
buildup was going on.
And I can think
of no more tempting target.
Now we've landed in France...
...and we still haven't had any sign
of your mythical secret weapon.
I believe that the reason
we haven't seen them up to now...
...is because our efforts
succeeded in delaying them.
But they could still do tremendous damage
if they get them off the ground in numbers.
Is Hitler waiting to produce them
at the peace conference?
Despite your opposition...
...which I'm sure is quite sincere,
I'm certain we've done the right thing.
Yes, hold on. It's Fighter Command.
Sandys.
I see.
Channel observation posts
report that flying objects...
...with a tail of fire...
...are passing over Dover
and heading towards London.
Speed over 400 miles an hour.
Over here!
- Get them first aid over there.
- Watch the pressure.
Come along. It's all right, it's all right.
- Breaking now. You have a go.
- Roger.
Missed the bastard.
Why not move the guns down here...
...stick them in a line
from Beachy Head to Dover?
Then your fighters would be free to operate
behind them over Kent and Sussex...
...up to the balloons in the suburbs.
- It's a good idea, I agree.
But it means moving a thousand guns,
20,000 personnel...
...and miles and miles of electric cable.
I must point out that it will leave London
defenseless for several days.
In any case, what about the chiefs of staff?
They'll never agree.
Well, we'll ask them afterwards,
shall we?
There aren't quite as many over tonight.
Just as well, with a thousand guns
on their way to the seaside...
Mind you, it's tomorrow
I'm worried about.
If German Intelligence is up to the mark,
they'll send everything they've got.
Yes, well, with luck,
they'll only think about it tomorrow.
And the day after tomorrow,
we'll be ready for them.
I hope so.
That's more like it.
Somebody's contacted me at last.
Good. V-2, gyroscope controls.
Speed, 3000.
And they're testing a new one,
long-range.
How long?
They call it the New York rocket.
All right, give me the kid, love.
I'll take him.
Come on. It's all right, son.
You'll be all right, come on.
- Steady that.
- All right.
Bring him this way. This way.
Come on, now. Got him now.
Get him to the stretcher over here.
- Bring him this way.
- Coming.
This morning, we have proof that
the V-2 rockets have no launching sites.
They've learnt by their mistakes.
For the flying bombs,
they had to have elaborate ramps.
They built them fast,
and we destroyed them almost as fast.
For the firing of the V-2,
they've invented a huge trailer.
They can transport their rocket
and launch it from the same vehicle.
The only hope of stopping them
is if a plane happens to pass overhead...
...when the rocket's erected,
just before firing.
That's a million-to-one chance.
Yea, and even then, it would hardly
provide a target for attack...
...if the sites are mobile.
Quite. So we've got to destroy them
where they're made.
Very difficult.
The factory's been moved underground.
Perfectly camouflaged.
There's more to it than that.
I've got some men inside.
Apparently, the Germans
are about to start testing a new rocket...
...with a much longer range.
So that even after we've liberated
the occupied countries...
...they could still fire at us
from the heart of Germany.
We'll have to lay on a full-scale raid.
Let your men know when it's going to be
so they can try sabotage at the same time.
We've gotta try everything.
Bombing and sabotage.
There's an air raid
tomorrow night, 11:30.
They're after the long-range rocket.
Don't they know
it's 80 feet down in solid rock?
No.
And they want us to pinpoint it for them.
- Can you open the launching-pit doors?
- No.
No, we always phone the Power House.
They pull the switch.
Have we got anybody in there?
No.
We'll have to get in
and pull the switch ourselves.
You know the switch?
No. Can you find out?
I think so.
We still have to get in there.
My pass will get us past most guards.
As soon as he opens the door,
we'll jump him and grab his gun.
Just like that?
Bit thin, isn't it?
Yeah.
Can you think of anything else?
No.
What time shall we meet?
Eleven twenty-five.
Assembly plant. Passage C.
Good morning.
Van Ostamgen.
Van Ordern, Van Osten, Van Ostamgen.
- Right. I've got the switch number.
- Good. Let's go.
Right. Door.
Curtis!
How long to target?
Two minutes, skipper.
Van Ostamgen...
... or whatever your real name is,
listen to me.
We've got your friend here.
I'm going to give you one minute
to come out...
... or he'll be shot.
Do you understand? Killed.
Now, I'm giving you
exactly one minute from...
...now.
Can you see anything?
They're supposed to show us a light.
Can't see a bloody thing.
Thirty seconds.
Fifteen.
Ten seconds.
Switch R9.
R9.
Halt.
Still can't see anything.
How about you?
No. Nothing, skipper.
What's that?
- Where?
- A bit to starboard.
That's it. That's the target.
Stand by.
Right. Right.
Steady!
I've been reading your final report
on Operation Crossbow.
- It was a vital task and a job well done.
- Thank you.
But we owe so much to the bravery
of our agents, many of whose names...
...will never be known.
- Yes, and to the RAF.
If Hitler's rocket plans hadn't been
totally upset by our raid on Peenemnde...
...London would have been devastated.
But it's time we began
to think about reconstruction...
...and I want you
to be minister of works.
With thousands of buildings destroyed by
bombs and rockets, it's an enormous task.
Let us start at once.
Let us clear the rubble
and lay the bricks...
... and let us do so in the firm conviction
that we are building for the future...
... that never again shall we have to embark
upon such a conflict...
... as we recently endured.
I solemnly believe
that the price of such a folly...
... would be far more than mankind
could afford to pay.