When Eight Bells Toll (1971)

In a vein similar to Bond movies, a British agent Philip Calvert is on a mission to determine the whereabouts of a ship that disappeared near the coast of Scotland.

Director:

Etienne Périer

Writer:

Alistair MacLean (screenplay)

Stars:

Anthony Hopkins, Robert Morley, Nathalie Delon

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Hopkins	...	Philip Calvert
Robert Morley	...	Uncle Arthur
Nathalie Delon	...	Charlotte
Jack Hawkins	...	Skouras
Corin Redgrave	...	Hunslett
Derek Bond	...	Lord Charnley
Ferdy Mayne	...	Lavorski
Maurice Roëves	...	Helicopter Pilot
Leon Collins	...	Tim Hutchinson
Wendy Allnutt	...	Sue Kirkside
Peter Arne	...	Imrie
Oliver MacGreevy	...	Quinn (as Oliver Macgreevy)
Jon Croft	...	Durran
Tom Chatto	...	Lord Kirkside
Charlie Stewart	...	Sgt. Macdonald

Storyline

In a vein similar to Bond movies, a British agent Philip Calvert is on a mission to determine the whereabouts of a ship that disappeared near the coast of Scotland.

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Plot Keywords:

agent | scotland | secret service agent | thief | robbery | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Mystery

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Certificate:

GP

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 August 1971 (Norway)

Also Known As:

A Noite das Oito Badaladas

Filming Locations:

Brown's ironmongers shop, Tobermory, Mull, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, UK

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 2,201,563 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Winkast Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Producer Elliott Kastner has said of this film: "Proportionately, it made more than Where Eagles Dare, so I cannot say it disappointed me. But the distribution deals weren't as efficient as they could have been. I sold it to Rank for distribution in the UK, and that was all right. In the US, it went to one of the distribution companies owned by our financier, and that may not have been the wisest route in terms of market saturation".

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Goofs

When gunmen shoot at a helicopter which is supposedly crashing, the smoke disappears into their guns. This shows the film was run backwards and the helicopter was taking off. In the film's trailer (available with the DVD) the shot is run correctly.

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Quotes

Uncle Arthur: Boats are wonderful... if only one didn't have to go to sea in them.

User Reviews

Unpretentious and entertaining

I saw this at the cinema when it was first released. I was nine at the time and I notice the DVD has now been released with a '15' certificate. Oh, well. I suppose there are some scenes (helpless men shot from a boat as 'payback' for a dead colleague, a very graphic harpooning) that are best not seen by children. In 1971 it just seemed very exciting (and had an 'A' certificate).

I enjoyed the film when I first saw it and while it seems rather dated now, I think it's still worth viewing. It sets out to provide escapist entertainment and on that level it succeeds. My memories of seeing the film 34 years ago (help!) was of the waves crashing against huge black cliffs and *feeling* the cold dampness of North-West Scotland on the edge of the Atlantic. The locations are very well used indeed, the viewer gets a real sense of place.

The cast perform their roles well, Anthony Hopkins and Robert Morley particularly playing mutual antagonism with some nice comic touches.

One reviewer mentioned that Charles Gray's dubbing of Jack Hawkins's voice seemed a bit slapdash. When Charles Gray was interviewed about dubbing Hawkins (which he did quite regularly after the mid-60's) he said that Hawkins insisted on *speaking* his lines even after his voice was gone. The result was to make his delivery very erratic and therefore difficult to voice-over. Jack Hawkins was one of the best actors we've had (Cruel Sea, Bridge on the River Kwai, Ben-Hur, Lawrence of Arabia, etc., etc.) and these supporting roles made a rather sad postscript to his career.