Eagles Over London (1969) La battaglia d'Inghilterra (original title)

Director:

Enzo G. Castellari

Writers:

Tito Carpi (story) &
Vincenzo Flamini (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

January 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

In World war 2, a German undercover unit infiltrates British lines during the evacuation of Dunkirk, 1939. The film revolves around their successes and failures in disrupting R.A.F. operations during the Battle of Britain. |

Plot Keywords:

World War Two | Apostrophe In Title | Country Name In Title | Punctuation In Title | Airforce

Cast

Frederick Stafford	...	Captain Paul Stevens
Van Johnson	...	Air Marshal George Taylor
Francisco Rabal	...	Martin Donovan
Ida Galli	...	Meg (as Evelyn Stewart)
Luigi Pistilli	...	Maj. Krueger
Renzo Palmer	...	Sgt. Donald Mulligan
Luis Dávila	...	Jacques
Christian Hay	...	Gaston
Jacques Berthier	...	Colonel Smith
Teresa Gimpera	...	Sheila
George Rigaud	...	British general
Eduardo Fajardo	...	German officer
Ugo Adinolfi
Umberto Di Grazia
Ricardo Valle
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Edy Biagetti	...	Karl (uncredited)
Ángel del Pozo	...	English airman (uncredited)
Alfredo Mayo	...	English officer (uncredited)
Walter Patriarca	...	Cameraman at Dunkirk (uncredited)
Alfonso Rojas	...	English officer (uncredited)

Directed by
Enzo G. Castellari

Writing credits
Tito Carpi		(story) &
Vincenzo Flamini		(story) &
José Luis Martínez Mollá		(story) (as José Martinez Molla) &
Gilles Morris-Dumoulin		(story) (as Gilles Dumoulin) &
Enzo G. Castellari		(story)
Tito Carpi		(screenplay) &
Vincenzo Flamini		(screenplay) &
José Luis Martínez Mollá		(screenplay) (as José Martinez Molla) &
Gilles Morris-Dumoulin		(screenplay) (as Gilles Dumoulin) &
Enzo G. Castellari		(screenplay)

Produced by
Edmondo Amati	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Francesco De Masi

Cinematography by
Alejandro Ulloa

Film Editing by
Vincenzo Tomassi		(as Vincent Thomas)

Production Design by
Alberto Boccianti
Adolfo Cofiño

Set Decoration by
Gianfranco Ramacci		(as Gianfrancesco Ramacci)

Makeup Department
Giancarlo De Leonardis	....	key hair stylist
Carlos Nin	....	makeup artist
Josefa Pérez	....	hair stylist (as Josefina Pérez)
Carlo Sindici	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Maurizio Amati	....	production supervisor
Francesco Campitelli	....	production manager
Francisco Enriquez	....	production supervisor
Luis Méndez	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mariano Canales	....	assistant director (as Mario Canales)
Giorgio Ubaldi	....	assistant director: aerial unit

Art Department
Adolfo Cofiño	....	architect

Sound Department
Gianni D'Amico	....	sound mixer
Antonio Moretti	....	boom operator
Pablo Pérez	....	sound effects
Pietro Vesperini	....	sound engineer

Special Effects by
Eugenio Ascani	....	special effects
Emilio Ruiz del Río	....	special effects aerial unit

Camera and Electrical Department
Giovanni Bergamini	....	camera operator (as Gianni Bergamini)

Editorial Department
Gianfranco Amicucci	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Francesco De Masi	....	musical director

Other crew
Isabel Mulá	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Fida Cinematografica
• Atlántida Films
• Les Productions Jacques Roitfeld

Distributors

• Atlántida Films (1970) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Cineglobe (1973) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Constantin Film (1970) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• International Film Distributors (1973) (Canada) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1977) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Severin Films (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• UAP Video GmbH (2005) (Germany) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"La battaglia d'Inghilterra" - Italy (original title)
"Battle Command" - USA (reissue title)

Runtime:

Italy:110 min | Spain:115 min | USA:100 min | France:110 min | West Germany:116 min

Country:

Italy | France | Spain

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | Iceland:16 | Norway:16 | West Germany:16 (nf) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Holland Park, London, England, UK

Company:

Fida Cinematografica

Trivia:

When getting the directing job, Enzo and a writing partner took a week to rewrite the overlong script to make it more action orientated and less of a "soap opera."

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When the conspirators are on the terrace of the pub, the Telecom Tower can clearly be seen in the distance to the left of Tower Bridge. Construction on the tower didn't begin until 1961.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Train Kept A-Rollin' (2008) (V)

EAGLES OVER London (Enzo G. Castellari, 1969) **1/2

This is a surprisingly elaborate war film which tackles the same events as the big-budgeted BATTLE OF Britain (1969), but from an entirely different perspective - the infiltration of German spies into London prior to the Luftwaffe's aerial attack in order to destroy the RAF's infallible radar system, and British Captain Frederick Stafford's efforts to root them out in time.

While the generally slick presentation belies the modest funds that were obviously available, the overall achievement is still hurt by too much concession to elements particular to lowbrow film-making and especially some grating comic relief (culminating in a brawl between British and French soldiers) provided by Renzo Palmer - but there's also a baffling over-emphasis on the heroics of a French air ace (who's not even a major character!), as well as obviously choreographed stuntwork...not to mention the fact that every revelation in unmasking the Nazi plot is left to the ingenuity of one man, which makes one wonder just what would have become of Great Britain if Stafford hadn't been there!! Besides, even if I was watching the film in Italian, the fact that none of the cast is British or German is inescapable - which certainly doesn't award it any marks for authenticity!

Castellari's often flashy direction doesn't work either: shooting from odd angles (through a bullet hole in a helmet, through a pair of clasped hands or through a loudspeaker!) and utilizing distracting editorial techniques, such as his playful use of the split-screen - which is partially lost anyway, given that the aspect ratio on the print I watched has been changed from the original 2.35:1 to 1.85:1! The action-packed film (with a couple of romances thrown in for good measure) is enjoyable in itself but, even if flawed, BATTLE OF Britain is clearly superior (the familiar Euro-Cult faces here are no match for the roster of Britsh stars which populate that film!) - though they did engage the services of Bunuel regular Francisco Rabal (as a conscientious German) and American Van Johnson(!) as the British RAF officer in charge of the country's defense (who, in the final decisive action, takes to the skies himself to repel the invading Nazi forces).