Operation: Daybreak (1975)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Lewis Gilbert

Writers:

Alan Burgess (novel)
Ronald Harwood (writer)

Release Date:

5 March 1976 (Sweden)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | War

Tagline:

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

Plot:

In 1942 Czechoslovakia, SS-General Reinhard Heydrich is appointed to become the Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia...

Plot Keywords:

WWII | SS | Czechoslovakian History | Sergeant | Based On True Story

Cast

Timothy Bottoms	...	Sgt. Jan Kubis
Martin Shaw	...	Sgt. Karel Curda
Joss Ackland	...	Janák
Nicola Pagett	...	Anna
Anthony Andrews	...	Sgt. Jozef Gabcík
Anton Diffring	...	Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich
Carl Duering	...	Karl Frank, Gestapo Chief
Cyril Shaps	...	Father Petrek
Diana Coupland	...	Aunt Marie Moravcová
Ronald Radd	...	Karel Moravec
Kim Fortune	...	Ata Moravec
Pavla Matéjuvská	...	Jindri^Úka Moravcová
Ray Smith	...	Hájek
George Sewell	...	Heinz Panwitz, Chief Investigator
Reinhard Kolldehoff	...	Fleischer, Gestapo

Also Known As:

Seven Met at Daybreak
The Price of Freedom (USA) (reissue title)

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA | Czechoslovakia | Yugoslavia

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:16 (video release) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:18 (1976) | Sweden:15 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

American Allied Pictures

Trivia:

Since the film was set in the Czech republic, the filmmakers made use of Czech army equipment such as OT81 half tracks which are very similar to their war time predecessor, the German Sdkfz 251/1.

Goofs:

Factual errors: 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. A dramatic effect no doubt, but a factual error just the same.

Quotes:

Jan Kubis: If it was peacetime, suddenly, now...what would you do?
Anna: I'd go out and buy a dress. A bright, red dress made of silk.
Jan Kubis: I'd see a good football match. Maybe get drunk afterwards.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in In the Shadow of Memory (1999)

One not to be missed

Yes the music does date the film (were ARP synthesisers ever a good thing) but does that matter? No!!

Some poetic licence is taken with the facts (how Jan Kubis really died or the romance with Anna) but the portrayal of the occupiers, particularly Reichsprotektor Heydrich in no way understated how heinous these people were.

The depiction of siege at St Cyril's conveys a whole range of emotions as tension builds. The motivation of the resistance was unquestionably heroic at this part of the episode.

This is so much more than an action story. However the issues tend to be portrayed in a very polar black / white manner. Even Karel Chudra's motivation is shown in very clear terms (he is treated far less sympathetically in Czech history). It is unfortunate that the film did not have time to develop the political tension between London and the local resistance. How aware was London of the probability of reprisals following the assassination? Was it their intention that reprisals would do more to stir local opposition to the occupation than the assassination itself? Why did Karel Moravec later take his own life?

Overall, however, this is a film to see and for the most part it is very realistic. Visit Prague and leave the tourist traps to see St Cyril's - it looks just like the movie and is almost guaranteed to make you cry for all the victims of the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia.