Entry 1 for contest. Another action packed suspense from Alistair Maclean. You would notice a lot of similarities between this movie and the Guns of Navarone. And yes, the highlight of the movie on cable cars is much better or equals the blowing of the Guns of Navarone.
Storyline: WW2 -1944 A British mosquito aircraft is shot down and crashes in Nazi territory. The Germans have captured a General. A rescue mission is arranged to get him back from the ‘Castle of Eagles’(The German Base).
The rescue team members ask, why don’t we just send 10 Lancasters and bomb the place? The General is an American and if he dies, the American allies would not be too happy. Another question - why is this man so damned important? The General was returning from a mission to Russia after finalizing plans for a second battle front. So it appears that the Germans have unwittingly captured a very important General who has full knowledge of the D-day operations. The Germans do not know this. But if they interrogate him, they might extract the info. The heroes need to rescue the General from the castle of Eagles and fast!
Major John Smith (Richard Burton) is in charge. Yes, all the supporting members of the crew are British officers, except for one American (Clint Eastwood) selected for the mission as they are experts ’in surviving behind enemy lines’. Why? You know the reasons in the latter part. Excellent drama underscored by the movie’s action scenes.
As they drop in enemy territory, things go wrong for Major Smith. He finds one man dead. At first he thinks he's dead due to an accident, but Smith on closer inspection finds murder. After enclosing all men in a cabin he teams up with another member, the female lead (Mary Ure). But yes, the female leads in the movie have a major role to play in this movie aka the Guns of Navarone.
My friends often ask me for explanations to the scene where Richard Burton converses with the German officers. I am explaining that particular scene as it explains the entire plot of the movie, the rest being the action.
The plot: There are a few suspect German agents in Britain. For some time classified information which only the British intelligence and high ranking officers knew passes into the hands of the Germans. Vice Admiral Rolland plays a game to flush out the agents. He plans a crash of an American general (who is a corporal) and asks all suspect agents to go on the rescue mission.
But then, the ace up his sleeve is Major John Smith himself who is a double agent working for Britain while passing useless info to the Germans! (Confusing? A little!) How he convinces the suspects to provide the top German operatives names in the presence of the German officers is superb drama! Read below
Burton comes in holding the gun against the Germans. He then threatens the American ‘punk’ to drop the gun and sides with the Germans. He begins to prove his credentials as a German agent. Then explains that the others were (his team mates) German agents but captured and now working for the British MI6. He presents his proof in 3 parts.
a. If he is not the German agent, what is he doing here in the company of Germans? And why would he expose the British agents if he was a British agent?
b. Secondly if the suspects claim to be on the German side, then they would know the names of the German operatives or their contact in Britain. He gives them slips and asks each one to note all the names for comparison with his list.
c. He makes them ring a Field Marshall in Italy to confirm that he is indeed a German agent. On confirmation, all the suspects, in their eagerness to prove they too are on the German side, write the names. He gives the books to a German officer and asks him to compare with his own list (Actually blank). By the time it dawns on the officer that it was a trick to reveal the names, they are under arrest again by the American punk!
Actually, that scene is artfully depicted. You are left wondering as to how scintillating some scenes can be. All the agents jot down one name in common as they report to him. Guess who?
There is a young German officer smitten by Mary, but feels that her describing the Casino to be on the other side of the river in Dusseldorf, odd. He’s suspicious and checks on the officers and gatecrashes on the party. It is then that Smith comes up with a brilliant line stating that they have ‘just uncovered a plot to assassinate the Fuhrer!’
And so, Eastwood plays the lone American ‘second rate punk’ whom Major John Smith can trust. He can’t trust the others in the mission. Have I revealed the movie in detail? Nope! Except for the actual storyline! I have only described a scene of 10 mins for a privileged few. After this drama, the story gets moving. Real fast paced action out here for a 68 movie!!!
And yes, the action scenes scintillate. (I can’t make up my mind if the movie is good at drama or excels at action.) Especially as none of it is animation. The action scenes on the cable car, the chase sequence, some of the initial scenes are awesome. Including the ones where they mingle in the German base. The director has not wasted a moment right from the movie title to the end.
Performances to watch
Richard Burton - Famous for his voice, but also famous for the Shakespeare plays. And then Cleopatra happened (With Elizabeth Taylor, his wife). That gave him a worldwide following. His notable works include My Cousin Rachel, The desert rats, Alexander the great, The Longest Day, Cleopatra, The spy who came in from the cold (written by John Le Carre), Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Where Eagles Dare and 1984 (Written by George Orwell).
Clint Eastwood - Ah, our generation is more familiar with him. An excellent actor, but even more an astounding director. He is famous for under acting, I mean, talks less and lets action speak more. He has a style which was displayed in cowboy westerns such as A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The good, the bad & the ugly and as the hard ace, wisecracking cop(Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry). True he had more to show being in Hollywood especially in some of the forerunners to today’s movies. The underperformer in him lets his action do the talking.
Anton Diffring - Typecast as the young German officer. He was so fed up with it that he fled to Italy to seek different roles. Very underrated actor. He comes across truly as the young German officer in search of glory. Other movies of this actor are The Colditz story, Fahrenheit 451, Operation Daybreak and others.
Directed by Brian G. Hutton /Time - 158 mins
Cast: Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood, Mary Ure, Patrick Wymark, Michael Hordern, Anton Diffring
Trivia - The usage of an helicopter in the movie. The one used in the movie is a Bell helicopter which was not available till 1947.
This movie was made even before the novel was finished.
This movie was thanks due to Richard Burton’s son who wanted to see his dad in an action movie. (Cast,trivia source - imdb.com)
