The Heroes of Telemark (1965)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Anthony Mann

Writers:

Ben Barzman (screenplay)
Ivan Moffat (screenplay)

Release Date:

November 1965 (UK)

Genre:

Action | Drama | History | War

Tagline:

COME FROZEN HELL OR HIGH ADVENTURE...Their Mission: Stop the Nazis from developing the atom bomb!

Plot:

Norwegian resistance tries to stop German troops to produce an atomic bomb component during WW2. Based on a true story.

Plot Keywords:

Heavy Water | Norwegian Resistance | Commando | Norway | Traitor

Cast

Kirk Douglas	...	Dr. Rolf Pedersen
Richard Harris	...	Knut Straud
Ulla Jacobsson	...	Anna Pedersen
Michael Redgrave	...	Uncle
David Weston	...	Arne
Sebastian Breaks	...	Gunnar
John Golightly	...	Freddy
Alan Howard	...	Oli
Patrick Jordan	...	Henrik
William Marlowe	...	Claus
Brook Williams	...	Einar
Roy Dotrice	...	Jensen
Anton Diffring	...	Maj. Frick
Ralph Michael	...	Nilssen
Eric Porter	...	Terboven

Also Known As:

Anthony Mann's The Heroes of Telemark (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

131 min | Germany:108 min | West Germany:123 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German | Norwegian

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:11 | UK:U | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Gausta, Telemark, Norway

Company:

Benton Film Productions

Trivia:

The last film role of Barry Jones.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the darkroom scene Dr. Rolf Pedersen is about to print a black/white image yet we can see a lot of white light everywhere, therefore the paper will have fogged up long before he starts. A darkroom should only have red light in it.

Quotes:

Nilssen: That is... I must say that is fantastic efficiency!
Sturmfuhrer: Don't you ever make the mistake by underrating the Germans. By any means.
Sturmfuhrer: By Easter we will not have merely 10000 pounds of heavy water, but 12000 pounds of heavy water.

Movie Connections:

Featured in War Stories (2006) (TV)

Subdued but fairly interesting war thriller.

The Heroes of Telemark is based on a real-life story. It follows a unit of the Norweigan resistance in their efforts to destroy a German occupied factory, where the Germans are drawing near to creating the first atomic bomb. Kirk Douglas plays an academic from the University of Oslo who is brought in to help them because he is an expert on atomic science. Richard Harris plays the leader of the resistance fighters, a strong willed and courageous man who is always thinking of the best way to be a thorn in the side of the Nazis. There are other decent characterisations too, such as Ulla Jacobsen as Douglas's ex-wife (they parted because he seduced one of his students) and Eric Porter as a power hungry Nazi.

The film is quite good, but it might have been better still. For much of the running time, it seems curiously subdued, with lots of scenes which don't quite screw home the tension as far as they could. The sequence in which the resistance fighters infiltrate the factory and attempt to destroy the German's heavy water supply should have been unbearably tense, but it kind of comes and goes without generating the necessary atmosphere. The closing sequence aboard a boat full of children is very well done, though, and there's another taut bit where Douglas and Jacobsen are almost caught snooping around the factory but manage to convince a passing guard that they are merely young lovebirds trying to find a quiet spot for a bit of private love-making.

The Heroes of Telemark tells a worthy story and is reasonably entertaining, but it could have been a touch better if the maker's had concentrated slightly harder on the suspense.