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I have an oil painting on board which is bowed in the middle. I'd say the deflection is about 5mm in the centre.
I'm wondering about flattening it on a pine cradle. The painting is about 70 years old, the board is quite rigid (I think it's 4mm ply but could be mistaken). Is flattening it viable? My instinct is that there's going to be a risk of cracking the paint or even the board, but what do you think?
If I don't flatten it, any suggestions on how I can disguise the bend once its framed?
Well..... First make sure it's not a long-lost masterpiece and worth a fortune. Then make sure the customer understands that it's his risk if the job goes pear-shaped.
But I'm thinking 5mm isn't way-off and 4mm ply is fairly weak, so it may look OK once in the frame.
A pine frame (with suitable cross-bars) would add stability to the whole thing. But make sure the pine frame is dead flat. Then you just need to spot-glue it down under a nice flat board with some weight on top.
Hmmm... it's what I had in mind, but actually I think it is quite valuable and I'm feeling nervous about risking it
I think you're right though, once the edges are concealed under the rebate and/or slip it shouldn't be too bad. Maybe the thing to do will be to ensure the face of the moulding is proud of the painting at it's most bendy.
This is a dilemma that framers are often faced with. Where does framing end and restoration begin? People often bring things along assuming the framer will clean/repair and generally 'improve' the artwork as part of the framing deal. And many framers tend to get suckered into it. How many times have we heard "Can't you just........."
If the work needs any sort of restoration before it can be framed, this should be addressed first as a separate issue. Otherwise the thing ought to be framed warts and all.
Most of the time the customer will not be willing the shell out cash for a pro job. This may cost many times the price of the framing alone.
Don't let their problem become yours.
In this case I would seriously advise glazing the painting. Oils on plywood are very iffy and very problematic to repair. Also, a sheet of glass might go some way to disguising any undulations.
This is a very difficult one to call! Although you told us that the artwork is bowed by about 5mm, you have not told us either the full size of the artwork, or the size of the area covered by the bow, so this makes expressing any meaningful opinion very difficult. Without further Information, I would let the painting and it's plywood base do it's own thing and accept that it is part of the history of the piece, unless I had good reason to do otherwise.
The golden rule when attempting any conservation, or restoration work is to conduct a risk assessment and to ensure that you are able to correct any unintended outcome of each and ever proceedure which you intend to conduct. Since it is likely to be impossible to be sure of the security of the applied paintwork to the plywood, I would suggest that the cracking and detachment of the paint is another possibility to cosider as a possible risk.
Mark Lacey
“Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Experience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”
― Geoffrey Chaucer
Then make sure the customer understands that it's his risk if the job goes pear-shaped. 
Then you just need to spot-glue it down under a nice flat board with some weight on top.
I often give out sage advice to customers. I tell them to get stuffed.