Attack on the Iron Coast (1968)

During World War II, a commando leader named Major Jamie Wilson leads a group of soldiers on a suicide mission to destroy a Nazi naval stronghold on the French coast.

Director:

Paul Wendkos

Writers:

Herman Hoffman (screenplay), John C. Champion (story)

Stars:

Lloyd Bridges, Andrew Keir, Sue Lloyd

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lloyd Bridges	...	Major Jamie Wilson
Andrew Keir	...	Captain Franklin
Sue Lloyd	...	Sue Wilson
Mark Eden	...	Lieutenant Commander Donald Kimberly
Maurice Denham	...	Rear Admiral Sir Frederick Grafton
Glyn Owen	...	Forrester
Howard Pays	...	Lieutenant Graham
Walter Gotell	...	Van Horst
John Welsh	...	Admiral of the Fleet Lord William Cansley
George Mikell	...	Captain Strasser
Ernest Clark	...	Air Vice Marshall Woodbridge
Dick Haydon	...	Pringle

Storyline

During WW2, Canadian Major Jamie Wilson suggests a commando raid against a German-occupied French port where a large dry-dock is used by the enemy to re-fit battleships. The well-defended French coast has been dubbed the Iron Coast by the Germans. The British command is reluctant to give the green-light to this operation, code-named Operation Mad Dog, mainly because of the high chance of failure. The Canadian officer is known to have botched a few previous operations under his command. The main opponent of the Mad Dog operation is a Royal Navy captain whose son died during a failed commando raid led by Major Jamie Wilson. However, after much debate and haggling, the operation is approved by the R.N. Admiral in charge. The training of the commandos is harsh, under real battle conditions featuring live explosions and machine-gun fire. During the training, several accidents occur, resulting in a few deaths and wounds. The operation's future hangs into balance but it finally receives the ...

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Plot Keywords:

commando raid | english channel | french coast | canadian officer | royal navy | 

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Taglines:

They turned a dead ship into a live bomb and sailed it down the throat of the enemy!

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Genres:

Action | Drama | War

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 July 1968 (France)

Also Known As:

Attaque sur le mur de l'Atlantique

Filming Locations:

Millwall Dock, Millwall, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mirisch Films, Oakmont Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The extra ships were along to transport all those who took part back to England after the operation. All of the 18 addition ships were sank during the attack. Other ships did accompany the attack but remained outside the area of the attack.

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Goofs

In the opening scene Lloyd Bridges is watching newsreel footage of British troops attacking Germans but some of the shots are from the German point of view.

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Connections

Edited from The Dam Busters (1955)

User Reviews

Historical Note

I just wanted to point out, that this movie is indeed based on an actual event, the raid on St. Nazaire. The former flush decked WWI Destroyer "Campbeltown" was converted to look like a german "E-Boat" and was loaded with explosives, and rammed into the "Normandie" dry dock. The operation was code named "Operation Chariot", and commenced on March 28th, 1942.