Thanks to the fine recommendations here by fellow Flypast readers on a good book about the Amiens Prison Raid of Feb 18th, 1944.. I have ordered several titles on this from abebooks.com. I know back several years ago there was a story in FlyPast on a the raid and a French film made after the war about this raid. I have searched on the net for any clues about the name of the film…anyone here know the name or even have copy of the film…or where I can order one if its in print???? Questions..Questions…thanks !
BlueNoser352!
By: Dave Homewood - 11th April 2005 at 09:29
No problem, I’m glad to help. I wouldn’t mind tracking the film down too, but I don’t speak French though so I’d need a dubbed or subtitled copy.
Though I’ve no idea, I would imagine it is mostly non-aviation, with the French angle of the Resistance workers getting the message to Britain that their men are to be exectuted, and the ground prep for the mission by the RAF. IMDb notes they used the real footage of the raid, so they probably pliced in other real wartime footage of Mossies too, rather than filmed specially.
It appears to have been made in 1945, released 1946, so maybe real Mossie and Tiffie sqns were used in France for ground shots, take off, etc, I guess a number of squadrons stayed on for a bit after the war. They may have used the real Amiens Raid sqns perhaps for ground shots if they were still in France then?
By: BlueNoser352 - 11th April 2005 at 04:52
Dave , thanks for all that great info on the movie, now comes the hard part…finding a copy out there. I see on IMDB there is no listing on VHS or DVD , maybe some of our French friends can help or recommend a video house that sells this title ! I see it came out in 1945, wonder how many real Mossie’s they used in the film? Would be nice to hear from any of our readers who have been to Amien Prison to visit it or have photos of how the place looks today! A film waiting to be made ! Thanks again Dave for the great info !
BlueNoser352!
By: Dave Homewood - 10th April 2005 at 08:24
Just an additional addition, if you look at the plot summary on the IMDb page, it has an email of the person who wrote it, and I note part of the email is calef. As the film was directed by Henri Calef, there could be a family connection, or this may be a fan of the director’s. So perhaps that person can help supply a copy.
By: Dave Homewood - 10th April 2005 at 08:16
IMDb page on this film with full cast, etc
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037830/
It seems to make so much sense now when you know the title was Jericho – I, like you, had wondered about this film for some time. Remember, if you find anything in those books on Richard Sampson of Cambridge, I’d be keen to hear please.
By: Dave Homewood - 10th April 2005 at 08:11
Cancel that, I have found the details:
From: http://www.jer-cin.org.il/intercolldramaticj.htm
JERICHO
HENRI CALEF
FRANCE 1945
Lang.: FRENCH; Length: 95 MIN
. Once the French film industry was able to make WWII epics, it did so with
a vengeance. Jericho is the true story of the bombing of the Nazi-held prison
at Amiens. It is argued that, while the RAF took an enormous public-relations
risk in the bombing, the end result was largely salutary, resulting in freedom
for 50 French hostages. The dramatic portions of the film share space with
newsreel footage of the actual attack. One of the better films of its kind,
Jericho failed to make a dent in the U.S. market, which at the time was
inundated with war pictures.
1495B, 16 MM, FRE., NO SUBT.
2347B, 16 MM, FRE., NO SUBT.
By: Dave Homewood - 10th April 2005 at 08:00
This is undoubtedly a HUGE longshot, but Amiens these days has an interntaional film festival. Perhaps if you contact the organisers they may be able to track down something about the film about their own town?
Amiens International Film Festival
36 rue de Noyou
F-80000 Amiens , France
tel: 22 91 01 44
fax: 22 92 53 04
Contact: Jean-Pierre Garcia
You never know, they may finance the film you want to make about the raid (ha ha!!)
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April 10, 2005 at 7:10 am