Pegasus Bridge - Feature Film

We thought people might be interested in the full length action drama feature film that is being made about events at Pegasus Bridge. Below is a one page synopsis of what the film is about - We also have a page on facebook which acts as a live production diary and you can get regular updates from their including pictures, videos and interviews.

In the early hours of the 6th of June 1944, Allied Airborne Forces launched one of the most daring raids of all time. 181 men in 6 gliders landed at night to capture two bridges vital to the success of the D-Day landings. This is the story of that day—the story of what would become known as Pegasus Bridge. Six gliders soar towards the coast at night. Below them the bridges slowly come into view, as the first glider swoops into the target and crashes just yards away from the objective we are transported back four weeks earlier.
It is May 1944 and in German occupied France the Gondrée family go about their business running their café in Bénouville, next to the Orne river canal bridge a few miles inland from the coast of Normandy. Secretly Georges Gondrée along with his friend Lea Vion who runs a maternity hospital at the local chateau speculate where the invasion might take place and are sending details of German defences back to England.
The local German commander seems more interested in acquiring gifts for his mistress than on the bridge defences and the men under his command are even less committed to their jobs but across the English Channel unknown to them all, plans are being made to capture that very bridge as a key target of D-Day.
The men of the Ox and Bucks Light Infantry, glider-borne troops of the 6th Airborne Division have been picked for the task. They’re led by Major John Howard and backed up the Paratroopers of the 7th Parachute Battalion, led by Colonel Geoffrey Pine-Coffin who will arrive soon after in much greater numbers to reinforce them. Major Howard & Colonel Pine-Coffin set about training and briefing their men most of whom are still in their early twenties. We’re introduced to a variety of characters of all ranks which include the comical Private Wally Parr, youthful Lieutenants David Wood, Sandy Smith and Den Brotheridge who is soon to be a father, Jim Wallwork who will helm the controls of Howard’s own glider and Joy Howard who knows her husband may not return home from such a vital mission to the invasion.
Their German counterpart back in France, Colonel Hans Von Luck who commands elements of the formidable 21st Panzer Division has his own problems. Assigned to defend a vast area of Normandy, which includes the bridge at Bénouville, he knows he doesn’t have enough men and tanks to cover all the possible Allied targets. As the day of the invasion draws near the men on both sides speculate as to what the future holds for them all. On the 5th of June the orders arrive to go to their respective airfields and on the way Pine-Coffin and his men are delayed outside an English pub. Those drinking soon realise that what they’re witnessing is in fact men on their way to France and the civilians stand to salute them all in honour.
The airborne armada leaves for France and although Howard manages to land right on target not everything goes as planned. The glider bringing his second in command doesn’t arrive at all and Pine-Coffin and his men are widely scattered in their drop resulting in many men being captured or drowning in the nearby marshes. The Gondrée family soon find themselves living in the first house to be liberated in France but consequently in the midst of a fierce battle. Soon the bridge and the adjacent village held by Pine-Coffin and his men is under attack by German forces from all directions. As the light of dawn begins to break on the day of the invasion with both the bridge and the village are under fire from both the ground and the air.
Will the men of the 6th Airborne Division be able to hold on until reinforcements arrive or will an enemy who will be able to threaten the entire invasion destroy them! All will be revealed in Pegasus Bridge.

 

Err... Hans von Luck was not commander of 21 Panzer...

I suggest you have your HA check over any press releases you make, and tidy up unit names/identifications:
7th Parachute Battalion (7 Para)
2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (Oxf & Bucks)

This sounds like a good project, but it is essential all your SM team... actually know the historical basis of what you are recreating to avoid factoids and blunders.

 

I'm delighted to hear a new feature film for a new generation on the Battle for Pegasus Bridge and Benouville is in the works and hope it all falls into place nicely for your production team. I look forward to it and the best of luck.

You forgot to post your Facebook site ...

https://www.facebook.com/PegasusBridgemovie

Regards ...

 

Hi Swiper - thanks for the correction on that - my fault, not the writers. I wrote the copy. He (Von Luck) is commanding some of the units we see in the film, but the divisional Commander (General Feuchtinger) is seen in an earlier scene in the film with General Rommel but we do not see him for the rest of the film as he was not present during that part of the films time line. Thank you for the other corrections. However the Ox or (Oxf) and Bucks have been known to use both abbreviations - Major Howard uses our version in his own diaries (Source - The Pegasus Diaries page 45) - Just so you know - our team have researched this thoroughly and its better for us, that mistakes, no matter how small are spotted now and not after the event.

I didn't post the link before because I wasn't sure on the rules for posting links in here - its https://www.facebook.com/PegasusBridgemovie

The production team (Of which I am a member) do a Q and A there on the facebook page every Saturday. Sometimes the answers are done on video, as with last weeks. I can also provide occasional information here as well.

 

The Pegasus Bridge area has long been a favourite location of mine. It seems like a worthy project. Good luck.

What you actually said about Hans von Luck in your original post was:

"...Colonel Hans Von Luck who commands elements of the formidable 21st Panzer Division has his own problems ...".

In other words, it does not say he was commander of the whole 21st Panzer Division. Luck served with the Division in Normandy in 1944 and was in command of the 125th Panzer Grenadier Regiment.

 

No worries, slip ups happen.

Oddly enough on the Oxf & Bucks issue... I partially agree with you, having occasionally seen it noted that way, but the most common Regimental way was Oxf & Bucks. There are a few rather militant fellows out there on the issue! Even saw OBLI in documentation... once!

 

Cheers Swiper - we actually found in David Woods materials it is quoted the way you said above - it seems to be different with different people. We think we will go with Ox and Bucks because to a layman like myself (And press and so on) if they were reading the copy as Oxf they would probably think we had a made a typo.

risonvaljios - as I said, that was a typo and it was my fault - not the productions. I typed up a synopsis from an older one as we had to make some changes. Our historical consultant on the production is Neil Barber and he is checking everything believe me.

 

At our recent office Christmas party, I learned that one of the spouses who attended is the niece of Jim Wallwork DFM, pilot of the first glider that landed beside Pegasus Bridge. Jim lived near Vancouver for nearly 60 years before his death in 2013. There was a BBC show a couple of years ago that included an interview of him, and parts of it were filmed at the beach in White Rock, just south of Vancouver.

My father was at St. Lambert in the Falaise Gap from August 19 to 21, 1944, until, in his words, "the shooting and shelling stopped." Quite a coincidence that at one table, we had family connections to the start and finish of the Battle of Normandy.

 

Just found this on the net and thought it may be of interest.
http://pegasusbridgethemovie.com/

 

Hi Hobbes,

In case you missed it a member of the production team started a thread on the movie over here:

http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/59197-pegasus-bridge-feature-film/

I sent them quite a few photos of missing faces in their character list. They used some to finish off the 7 Para section, but none of the many missing Oxf and Bucks men. Some weren't the best quality taken from company photos.

Regards ..

 

I'm so excited about this movie...i just hope it's realistic and not had bits added for dramatic effect like what Hollywood do. One thing that really annoys me in war films is the little things that get overlooked....for example, when you see close up's of small arms firing and the bolt can be seen going backwards and forwards as it should, but no spent cases are ejected. Very annoying!

I can't wait to see it though

 

Hi Kieran, sorry for the lapse of time in reply, I do not get much time off from the movie to come to forums these days. Do you know if that interview is on line anywhere? We actually have someone lined up to play the Wallwork role, I am sure he would like to see that.

 

Hi Goody - us too. We were actually due to shoot all of our scenes in France this year, but they got pushed back because of the devalue of the £ against the Euro which effected our budget quite considerably. There are no fictional elements to the story, all the actions in the film actually happened, some meeting and briefing scenes have been amalgamated etc but those aside, its all as it happened. Which actually couldn't include everything we wanted to and I still have the producers trying to get me to cut stuff even now.

 

Pegasus Bridge is an upcoming British war film based on Operation Deadstick, the mission to capture the Bénouville Bridgeacross the Caen Canal on 6 June 1944 as part of the Normandy landings of World War II. It is directed by Lance Nielsen, filming is due to be completed by the end of 2017.

Pegasus Bridge (film) - Wikipedia

 

Pegasus Bridge The Movie (now a dead link)

For those with instagram

https://www.instagram.com/pegasusbridgethemovie/?hl=en

Kyle

 

No trailer yet?

 

Those things they towed were gliders, not trailers

 

I got the impression from looking at the website a while back that this is not going to be a film with a big budget. Crossing fingers that it turns out well regardless.

 

Yes, it is part of the BBC's "D-Day: The Last Heroes". It can by found on-line by searching "Jim Wallwork BBC interview".