Bomber's Moon
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Charles Fuhr
George Montgomery
Annabella
Kent Taylor
Walter Kingsford
Martin Kosleck
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Capt. Jeff Dakin, an American bomber pilot stationed in England, embarks on a mission over Germany and gives a pep talk to his younger brother, Lt. Danny Dakin, who is his bombsighter. Jeff's plane reaches its target but is severely damaged, and on the return journey, Jeff orders Danny and his gunner, Curly, to bail out. As Danny's parachute opens, however, the defenseless young lieutenant is shot and killed by Maj. von Streicher, a German flying ace. Von Streicher also shoots Curly, but Jeff survives when he crash lands the plane in Belgium. Jeff is captured, and, after spending four weeks in a hospital prison, is incarcerated in an ancient German castle that has been turned into an escape-proof prison. There, Jeff meets a Czech prisoner, Capt. Paul Husnik, and Alec, a Russian army doctor who is forced to tend to the other captives. Unknown to Jeff, Alec, who wears a man's uniform, is really Lt. Alexandra Zoreisch, and Husnik is a Gestapo spy. Hoping to trap a ring of underground rebels, Gestapo colonel von Grunow arranges for Husnik to escape with Jeff and Alec. Once they have eluded their pursuers, Jeff discovers that Alec is a woman and is impressed by her unrelenting courage. The trio travel to the Frankfurt home of Professor Friederich Mueller, a well-known economist who is a member of the Nazi party. Mueller, who is actually the head of the resistance group sought by von Grunow, had been working with Alec's late father to topple the Nazi regime. Mueller organizes an escape route for Jeff, Alec and Husnik, but before they can leave, Husnik reveals his true identity as Gestapo agent Capt. Paul von Block when Jeff catches him telephoning von Grunow. Alec shoots Husnik as he struggles with Jeff, then tends to Mueller, who was mortally wounded by Husnik. Mueller gives Alec important papers to take to Col. Sir Charles Sanford in England, and Alec and Jeff then continue their journey. Despite several harrowing incidents, the couple make their way to Rotterdam, where a fisherman agrees to take them in his boat to a pre-arranged spot to be picked up by a British sea plane. Upon learning that von Streicher is at a nearby air base, Jeff instead sends Alec on alone, telling her that he will meet her at his favorite pub in London. While Alec is making her way to England, Jeff goes to the air base. There he learns that von Streicher intends to fly a British plane to England, where he will bomb a train carrying Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Jeff is captured again, but after killing von Grunow, who had come to consult von Streicher, he follows the German ace into the air. After a desperate dogfight, Jeff succeeds in avenging his brother by killing von Streicher, then flies to England. Jeff, who is in a German plane, is at first targeted by the British air force, but Alec, who has arrived safely, helps to persuade Sanford that the plane's pilot is indeed Jeff. With the British attack called off, Jeff lands and looks forward to his reunion with Alec.
Director
Charles Fuhr
Cast
George Montgomery
Annabella
Kent Taylor
Walter Kingsford
Martin Kosleck
Dennis Hoey
Robert Barrat
Leon Tyler
Lionel Royce
Victor Kilian
Felix Basch
Edith Evanson
Guy Kingsford
Wallis Clark
Reginald Sheffield
Hermine Sterler
George Neise
Arno Frey
Fred Nurney
Lester Sharpe
John Epper
Richard Graham
Jack Lambert
Frederick Giermann
Eric Mack
Rudolf Lindau
James Bush
Constant Franke
Rudolph Myzet
Jack Lorenz
Abe Dinovitch
Paul Burns
Paul Kruger
Otto Reichow
Louis Arco
Hans Von Morhart
Crane Whitley
William Reid
Arthur Foster
Robert Stephenson
Leslie Denison
Leslie Vincent
Wolfgang Zilzer
Will Kaufman
Hans Schumm
Sam Waagenaar
George Sorel
Crew
Lucien Ballard
James Basevi
Jasper Blystone
John Brahm
David Buttolph
Lewis Creber
William Eckhardt
Robert Florey
Robert Fritch
Kenneth Gamet
William Goetz
Renè Hubert
Leonard Lee
Harry M. Leonard
George Leverett
Robert Lewis
Thomas Little
Emil Newman
Al Orenbach
Fred Sersen
Aubrey Wisberg
Sol M. Wurtzel
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Although a September 16, 1942 Hollywood Reporter news item stated that Twentieth Century-Fox had acquired the "forthcoming magazine serial" Bomber's Moon by Leonard Lee, contemporary sources indicated that Lee's original story was unpublished. According to Hollywood Reporter news items, Robert Florey was originally scheduled to direct the picture but instead shot second unit footage. A modern source notes that Florey was responsible for the aerial combat sequences. The name of the credited director, "Charles Fuhr," was a composite pseudonym for Edward Ludwig and Harold Schuster. According to Hollywood Reporter news items, filming began under Ludwig's direction, with John Brahm filling in for two days while Ludwig was away. When Ludwig sprained his ankle in mid-February 1943, Schuster took over the production, and also directed retakes and additional scenes shot in April 1943. As noted in the Hollywood Reporter review, Ludwig and Schuster each directed "an approximate half of the picture," and after completion, both felt "that the other rated first mention [so] a compromise was effected" by adopting the credited pseudonym. Although dialogue director Robert Lewis substituted for an ill actor who was scheduled to play a priest, his appearance in the finished film has not been confirmed.
February 1943 studio press releases list Kenneth Brown in the role of "Karl" and Gretl Dupont as "Elsa," but those roles were performed in the released picture by Leon Tyler and Edith Evanson, respectively. Another studio publicity statement reported that radio actor Bob Bailey would be making his screen debut in the picture as "Lt. Danny Dakin," but that part was played by Richard Graham. William Edmunds and Henry Guttman are included in the cast by a press release and a Hollywood Reporter news item, but their appearance in the completed picture has not been confirmed. Although a January 14, 1943 Hollywood Reporter news item stated that Ludwig had selected two location sites in the San Fernando Valley, CA, it has not been confirmed that the sites were used. George Montgomery, who entered the Army after completing Bomber's Moon, did not appear in another film until the 1946 Twentieth Century-Fox production Three Little Girls in Blue.
