The Guns Of Navarone (1961)

A team of allied saboteurs are assigned an impossible mission: infiltrate an impregnable Nazi-held island and destroy the two enormous long-range field guns that prevent the rescue of 2,000 trapped British soldiers.

Director:

J. Lee Thompson

Writers:

Alistair MacLean (novel) (as Alistair Maclean), Carl Foreman (written for the screen by)

Stars:

David Niven, Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn

Won 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gregory Peck	...	Capt. Keith Mallory
David Niven	...	Cpl. John Anthony Miller
Anthony Quinn	...	Col. Andrea Stavros
Stanley Baker	...	CPO 'Butcher' Brown
Anthony Quayle	...	Maj. Roy Franklin
James Darren	...	Spyros Pappadimos
Irene Papas	...	Maria Pappadimos
Gia Scala	...	Anna
James Robertson Justice	...	Jensen / Prologue Narrator
Richard Harris	...	Squadron Leader Barnsby
Bryan Forbes	...	Cohn
Allan Cuthbertson	...	Maj. Baker
Michael Trubshawe	...	Weaver
Percy Herbert	...	Sgt. Grogan
George Mikell	...	Sessler

Storyline

In 1943, the British Navy is not able to rescue 2,000 soldiers trapped in the Island of Kheros since two powerful German cannons on the top of the Navarone Island are sinking the Allied vessels. After a failed aerial attack, the Allied command decide to send a six-man team disguised as fishermen to Navarone to blow-up the guns. The squad is commanded by Maj. Roy Franklin and composed by Capt. Keith Mallory, who is an experienced mountain climber, and his former partner Col. Andrea Stavros; the explosive expert Cpl. John Anthony Miller; the engineer CPO 'Butcher' Brown; and the Greek assassin Spyros Pappadimos, who was born in Navarone. They sail during the night and after an encounter with a German patrol boat and a storm in the sea, they arrive to Navarone and Capt. Mallory needs to climb a cliff face during a heavy rainy night to proceed their mission. Will they succeed?

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Plot Keywords:

firearm | artillery | man tied up | tied to chair | bound and gagged | 

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Taglines:

Still! The Greatest High Adventure Ever Filmed! [re-issue]

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | War

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the only time that David Niven ever smoked cigarettes on-screen. Niven was a life-long non-smoker.

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Goofs

During the boarding of the sail ship by a German patrol boat, you get a close view of the Ensign (flag) of the German ship. The flag is incorrectly designed; The position of the Swastika and the absence of the right number of lines.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Prologue Narrator: Greece and the islands of the Aegean Sea have given birth to many myths and legends of war and adventure. And these once-proud stones, these ruined and shattered temples bear witness to the civilization that flourished and then died here and to the demigods and heroes who inspired those legends on this sea and these islands. But, though the stage is the same, ours is a legend of our own times, and its heroes are not demigods, but ordinary people. In 1943, so the story goes, 2000 ...

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: The first day 02.00 Hours An Allied Airfield somewhere in the Middle East

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Alternate Versions

Copies with different colour credits exists. The most common ones proclaiming "Eastmancolor by Pathé" while others says "Technicolor".

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Connections

Referenced in A Message from Carl Foreman (1962)

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Soundtracks

Treu Sein
(uncredited)
Music by Dimitri Tiomkin
Lyrics by Alfred Perry

User Reviews

Solid, Man's WWII Movie

For a long (157 minutes) classic movie, this is paced well with a decent amount of action to keep things going. There are lulls, but just a few, and the cast is always worth watching with Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, David Niven, Richard Attenborough, Stanley Baker and Anthony Quale all quality actors. There are no irritating, annoying people, either, which is very refreshing. Everyone in this group is pretty much on the same page.

It's just a straight World War II adventure, with no sappy romance subplots to take away from the story, either. In other words, this is man's movie, pure and simple, and a good one that still holds up today.

Despite the good cast, the story takes center stage. The visuals or sound aren't anything to write home about, even with the latest super-duper DVD edition. I found this surprisingly interesting even on multiple viewings when I knew what was going to happen, so that's a testimony to how well this story was told on screen.

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Greek German Latin

Release Date:

28 April 1961 (UK)

Also Known As:

Carl Foreman's Production The Guns of Navarone

Filming Locations:

Ile de Gorée, Dakar, Senegal

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Highroad Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

158 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System) (35 mm magnetic prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Japan theatrical release) Mono (35 mm optical prints) Dolby (Restored version)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) Black and White (archive footage)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1