Operation: Daybreak (1975)

In 1942 Czechoslovakia, SS-General Reinhard Heydrich is appointed to become the Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia. The terror and oppression that follow cause Allied authorities in ... See full summary »

Director:

Lewis Gilbert

Writers:

Alan Burgess (novel), Ronald Harwood (screenplay)

Stars:

Timothy Bottoms, Martin Shaw, Joss Ackland

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Timothy Bottoms	...	Jan Kubis
Martin Shaw	...	Karel Curda
Joss Ackland	...	Janák
Nicola Pagett	...	Anna
Anthony Andrews	...	Jozef Gabcík
Anton Diffring	...	Reinhard Heydrich
Carl Duering	...	Karl Frank
Cyril Shaps	...	Father Petrek
Diana Coupland	...	Aunt Marie
Ronald Radd	...	Aunt Marie's Husband
Kim Fortune	...	Atá
Pavla Matéjuvská	...	Jindriska (as Pavla Matejovská)
Ray Smith	...	Hájek
George Sewell	...	Heinz Panwitz, Chief Investigator
Reinhard Kolldehoff	...	Fleischer, Gestapo (as Rene Kolldehoff)

Storyline

In 1942 Czechoslovakia, SS-General Reinhard Heydrich is appointed to become the Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia. The terror and oppression that follow cause Allied authorities in London to authorize a secret mission to kill the man who has come to be known as "The Butcher of Prague". The film explores shows the operation leading up to Heydrich's death as well as the massive German reprisals that followed it.

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Plot Keywords:

czechoslovakia | czech | world war two | sergeant | assassination | 

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Taglines:

A hit-and-run operation with no place to run.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | War

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA Czechoslovakia Yugoslavia

Language:

English German

Release Date:

29 February 1976 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Price of Freedom

Filming Locations:

Old Town, Prague, Czech Republic

Company Credits

Production Co:

Howard R. Schuster, American Allied Pictures, Ceskoslovenský Filmexport

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

George Sewell plays two parts in this movie; he is a German officer, seen at the film's climax and also, briefly he plays Hitler.

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Goofs

Heydrich was assassinated in June, but the filming took place (in Prague) at a time when there was no leaves on the trees, visibly cold and wet.

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Quotes

[The last time they meet]
Anna: I never did get that red dress.
Jan Kubis: And I never saw that football match.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits show what happen to the real people portrayed in the film.

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Connections

Referenced in In the Shadow of Memory (1999)

User Reviews

Very good classic movie

I first saw this movie back in 1976 when HBO, I believe, was making a run of it. It was a riveting movie I never forgot; I taped it from network TV about 12 years ago, and I recently started watching it again. Next I ordered the VHS tape, which arrived today and it is excellent, including quite a few scenes that the network version omits. The only problem is, as one viewer points out, is that in this version there is no subtitles, so you miss some of the dialog in the parts that are spoken in German. (The network version includes the subtitles, but is missing some scenes). The sound quality on the prerecorded VHS version is quite good if played back on a VHS hi-fi deck with a good sound system. I wish this movie were available on DVD! If anyone hears of it becoming available on DVD, please let me know! Hopefully a future DVD release will address the subtitle problem. It is indeed surprising how little attention this movie got. I even ordered a couple of books on Heydrich from Amazon, as well as the novel "Seven men at Daybreak" on which the movie is based. I find that the movie is nearly completely accurate. An excellent movie that anyone interested in history should see at least once.