Stoßtrupp Gold (1970)

A group of U.S. soldiers sneaks across enemy lines to get their hands on a secret stash of Nazi treasure.

Director:

Brian G. Hutton

Writer:

Troy Kennedy-Martin (as Troy Kennedy Martin)

Stars:

Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clint Eastwood	...	Kelly
Telly Savalas	...	Big Joe
Don Rickles	...	Crapgame
Carroll O'Connor	...	General Colt
Donald Sutherland	...	Oddball
Gavin MacLeod	...	Moriarty
Hal Buckley	...	Maitland
Stuart Margolin	...	Little Joe
Jeff Morris	...	Cowboy
Richard Davalos	...	Gutowski
Perry Lopez	...	Petuko
Tom Troupe	...	Job
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Willard (as Dean Stanton)
Dick Balduzzi	...	Fisher
Gene Collins	...	Babra

Storyline

During World War II a German Colonel is captured by the Americans but before he can be interrogated an artillery barrage hits the camp. However, Ex-Lieutenant Kelly manages to reach the Colonel, get him drunk and learn that he is on a secret mission to ship $16,000,000 of gold to a base in France. Kelly is determined to get the gold and plans for himself and a few of his fellow soldiers to slip into enemy territory and steal the bullion.

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Plot Keywords:

gold | colonel | gold bar | hippie | lieutenant | 

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Taglines:

Never have so few taken so many for so much.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | War

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Certificate:

GP

Details

Country:

Yugoslavia USA

Language:

English French German

Release Date:

23 June 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kelly's Warriors

Filming Locations:

The coast South of Trieste, Yugoslavia

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Katzka-Loeb, Avala Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

144 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Stereo (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Clint Eastwood signed to do the film mainly because his friend and favorite director, Don Siegel, was set to direct it. However, Siegel ran into post-production problems while finishing up Ein Fressen für die Geier (1970) and had to withdraw from the project. Brian G. Hutton was then signed to direct. Eastwood, who had already signed a contract to do the film, couldn't pull out.

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Goofs

When Telly Savalas tells the German tank commander the gold is worth 50 million marks, Telly's hand is on top of the muzzle then on the bottom of the muzzle with his fingers inside.

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Quotes

Crapgame: [Muttering in the minefield] Coulda been in the States playing ping-pong; volleyball... Plenty of broads... Who the hell needs all this? Gonna get my knife & get the hell outta here. Eaaa, lousy equipment! Now I gotta lift up this CANNON; carry it all the way to the front line someplace. Damned thing is heavier that Kelsey's burgers!

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Connections

Referenced in Post Mortem with Mick Garris: John Landis (2010)

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Soundtracks

Burning Bridges
Sung by Mike Curb Congregation (as The Mike Curb Congregation)
Lyrics by Mike Curb
Music by Lalo Schifrin

User Reviews

Great Fun!

Interesting enough, reading through the comments on this film, I noted only one detractor, some sorehead from Canada who completely missed the point of the film. No, Sr. Canadiense. This is not a serious film about WW2. Read some of the excellent commentaries here about the social and temporal context of this film, i.e., the height of the Vietnamese war. Yes, Sutherland, your fellow countryman, was an active anti-war protester and fully embraced the anachronistic hippie role. The mad-cap story which tweaks the nose of the "establishment," in this case, the military establishment, is plausible when you let go of the blood, guts and glory of the war film genre. And, it is a damn funny film. Eastwood is at his clenched jaw, cynical best; Savalas is great as the Sergeant big-guy; Carrol O'Conner is riotious as the general; Rickles is, well, Rickles. But, Sutherland steals the show. The scenes where they tanks come out blasting the Germans to the tune of twangy Country-Western music is hilarious. Sutherland's out-of-time-sync "...no negative vibes... hey, man...yeah, baby..." is side-splitting. The final confrontation scene between the three striding up to the German tank commander, with Sutherland loosening his side arm, ala Clint Eastwood in Fist full of Dollars is a riot. This film is full of funny stuff. And, you can see it again and again and find new business to laugh about. Buffs will delight at seeing Harry Dean Stanton in a pre-Repo Man role and Richard Davalos who played James Dean's doomed brother Aron in East of Eden. This is a great piece of satire that was overlooked, cast aside and has still survived to the delight of those of us who enjoy it again and again. But, hey, don't just take my word for it. Of the 30 or so commentaries here-- and do read them, as there are some excellent ones-- only one was a detractor.