The Eagle Has Landed (1976)

A German plot to kidnap Winston Churchill unfolds at the height of World War II.

Director:

John Sturges

Writers:

Tom Mankiewicz (screenplay), Jack Higgins (novel)

Stars:

Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland, Robert Duvall

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Caine	...	Colonel Steiner
Donald Sutherland	...	Liam Devlin
Robert Duvall	...	Colonel Radl
Jenny Agutter	...	Molly
Donald Pleasence	...	Himmler
Anthony Quayle	...	Admiral Canaris
Jean Marsh	...	Joanna Grey
Sven-Bertil Taube	...	Captain von Neustadt
John Standing	...	Father Verecker
Judy Geeson	...	Pamela
Treat Williams	...	Captain Clark
Larry Hagman	...	Colonel Pitts
Alexei Jawdokimov	...	Corporal Kuniski
Richard Wren
Michael Byrne	...	Karl

Storyline

Oberst Steiner, a German parachute unit commander, is sent to England on a covert mission to kidnap Prime Minister Winston Churchill and bring him to Berlin. The seemingly impossible assignment becomes more and more feasible as the mission grows nearer with Steiner and his men arriving in England to a very real possibility of success.

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Plot Keywords:

parachute | winston churchill | magnifying glass | nazi | insubordination | 

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Taglines:

The daring World War II plot that changed the course of history.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Thriller | War

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English German Polish

Release Date:

25 December 1976 (Finland)

Also Known As:

L'aigle s'est envolé

Filming Locations:

Berkshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Associated General Films, ITC Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min 125 min (TV) 145 min (extended) 131 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) 4-Track Stereo (some 35 mm prints) (London premiere print)

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Devlin's (Donald Sutherland) motorcycle is a 125cc Royal Enfield Flying Flea. Two Flying Fleas were on set but neither being very reliable, a 125cc Yamaha engine was fitted into the Royal Enfield frame and was used in some shots with the Flying Flea engine noise superimposed. For the viewer to tell them apart, when Sutherland uses the hand gear change, it's the Flying Flea engine; when he uses his foot to change gear, it's the Yamaha engine.

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Goofs

When Capt. Clark - after having stormed the church - reports back to his commander, there is a fifty-star (instead of a 48-star) USA-flag standing behind his superior.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: [WWII News Story] September 12, 1943, German paratroopers snatched Mussolini from his mountaintop prison in Italy.

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Connections

Referenced in Playboy: The Story of X (1998)

User Reviews

Not a Bad Effort

OK, to respond to the "review" from Richard WA.

The movie is of course based on Jack Higgins' bestseller of the same name and like many debut books, is by far the best book he wrote - being written over a period of years as Higgins worked as a schoolteacher. It is meticulously researched and a fine read.

Now the film.

First, Of course an historically illiterate US teen would barely comprehend that history existed pre World War II or understand that the USA doesn't have a monopoly of the eagle as a national symbol. I read the book back in the mid-70's and never even thought about moon landings. For war movies/books, "eagles" are forever associated with Germany & that the USA also uses an eagle as a national symbol is purely coincidental.

Richard WA can relax in the knowledge that few outside his peer group experienced his confusion.

Second, By telling the story from the German perspective, we get a new appreciation of the German fighting man's view. Just as "Das Boot" gave us an insight into the German mind, so too does this. A similar experience can be had watching the WWII POW camp movie "The McKenzie Break" where German POW's try to escape from a British camp - quite interesting really. But I guess if you're only interested in rooting for the Red, White and Blue, this is not your thing.

Third, The accents are brilliantly done. It was decided for the movie that the comical Hollywood "German" accent would not be used. The "Ve haff vays of making you tork you schweinhund" is nowhere to be seen, instead the German characters use perfect accentless English to great effect.

Fourth, Sutherland's Irish character, Devlin, is not a Nazi sympathiser. He agrees to support the operation because the Germans offer to pay him a fortune to do so. Money for the cause etc.

Fifth, The pre-operation phase of the movie is actually too short - as the producers wanted more of an action flick than the book delivers. In the book, the planning of the operation is analysed to infinite detail, down to the uniform details and relative attributes of allied versus German parachutes. I guess if your experience is computer games, then exposure to any kind of pre-operation detail is not something you're used to.

Sixth, A newcomer in WWII Britain would certainly raise suspicion and Sutherland's character certainly does do that - not really a flaw of the book/movie but an operational problem that the Germans just had to accept given the timeframes involved.

Seventh, Jenny Agutter's character is completely unbelievable. Try to ignore that part of the movie - thankfully she's there for purely aesthetic purposes.

Eighth, The 5th columnist who already lives in the English village is actually a South African survivor of the British concentration camps - as explained in the movie. Perhaps Richard WA thought they were a German invention or more likely he's never heard of the Boer War and sleepwalked through that part of the movie.

Ninth, The "battle" scene is deliberately short to emphasise the gulf in class between German paratroops and National Guards. When the Germans are confronted by real soldiers, they're defeated in short order. Larry Hagman's character is a poor caricature and serves only to supply a comic element that's not needed - something the movie suffers from as if the producer was scared to make the movie too gritty. Richard WA's last point is most revealing. Why should Germans fight for Germany when everyone knew that they were going to lose and were on the wrong side anyway. Who ever heard of a brave German soldier fighting to the end anyway? Despite what many think, Americans don't have an monopoly on patriotism either - I doubt if he ever wonders why Steve McQueen never settled for a comfortable life in a German POW camp!

Tenth, Yeah, the tunnel is something of a contrived device...it's not in the book BTW.

Eleventh, The reason for not spiriting "Churchill" away after the attempt to kidnap him was precisely because the British wanted Germany to think he was there and not in Tehran! The whole point of a decoy is that it's visible and attracts the attention while the real principal is concealed.

In summery, the Eagle has Landed is a solid attempt to film a great book. I doubt, given the plot, that a universally appealing movie could've been made but the greatest movies ever are not universally appealing. Movies you love as children are not regarded in the same way in adulthood.

The Eagle has Landed is in many ways like "The Day of the Jackal". Most of the action goes on inside the principals' heads. Deception, mental thought processes and subterfuge don't make good cinema. However the movie has some very good points:

Great locations. Great actors doing good jobs (Jenny Agutter excepted)

• especially Donald Pleasance doing the best ever spine-chilling

portrayal of Himmler. Good twist at the end. Challenging portrayal of "the enemy".

I recommend it - it's not "A Bridge Too far" but it's pretty good.