Castle Keep (1969)

During the Battle of the Bulge, an anachronistic count shelters a ragtag squad of Americans in his isolated castle hoping they will defend it against the advancing Germans.

Director:

Sydney Pollack

Writers:

William Eastlake (based on the novel by), Daniel Taradash (screenplay)

Stars:

Burt Lancaster, Patrick O'Neal, Jean-Pierre Aumont

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Burt Lancaster	...	Maj. Abraham Falconer
Patrick O'Neal	...	Capt. Lionel Beckman
Jean-Pierre Aumont	...	Henri Tixier, Count of Maldorais
Peter Falk	...	Sgt. Rossi
Astrid Heeren	...	Therese
Scott Wilson	...	Cpl. Clearboy
Tony Bill	...	Lt. Amberjack
Al Freeman Jr.	...	Pvt. Allistair Piersall Benjamin
James Patterson	...	Elk
Bruce Dern	...	Lt. Billy Byron Bix
Michael Conrad	...	Sgt. DeVaca
Caterina Boratto	...	Red Queen
Olga Bisera	...	Baker's Wife (as Bisera)
Elizabeth Teissier	...	Red Queen Girl
Anne Marie Moskovenko	...	Red Queen Girl

Storyline

Toward the end of World War II, a small company of American GI's occupy an ancient castle. Their commander has an affair with the countess in resident. One guy falls in love with a Volkswagon. A baker among them moves in with another baker's wife. A group of shell shocked holy rollers wander the bombed out streets. A GI art historian tries vainly to protect the castle and its masterpieces.

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Plot Keywords:

u.s. soldier | castle | battle of the bulge | german army | belgian | 

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Taglines:

The major took the castle and then he took its mistress!

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Drama | Romance | War

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 September 1969 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Das Schloß in den Ardennen

Filming Locations:

Novi Sad, Serbia

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmways Pictures,Avala Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sidney Pollack confessed that the shooting took too long to complete, which meant that warm weather began to melt the snow. The crew also became very erratic because of this shooting where actors had to act in hot summer as if it were in deep winter.

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Goofs

During the retreat sequence through the town, many of the GIs are not in standard American uniforms. As the film was shot in Serbia, many of them apparently have on Yugoslavian camouflage uniforms.

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Quotes

Pvt. Allistair Piersall Benjamin: Napoleon before Venice said, 'If my cannon destroy but one statue, I would rather not take Venice.
Capt. Lionel Beckman: Did Napoleon say that? Doesn't sound like Napoleon.
Pvt. Allistair Piersall Benjamin: Oh, well, no he didn't, but I thought it would cheer you up.
Capt. Lionel Beckman: I appreciate that, but Napoleon was a louse.

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Connections

Referenced in The Directors: The Films of Sydney Pollack (2000)

User Reviews

A history teacher's nightmare!

If you love surrealistic and existential films, you may enjoy "Castle Keep". There is lots of strange dialog and bizarre plot elements--such that it will probably confuse the average viewer--but the artsy may enjoy it. As for me, I am a retired history teacher and it just made me irritated, as the terminally stupid might just think this film is a documentary and people really talked and acted like this! The film is nominally about a group of American soldiers who are making a stand at a Belgian castle--waiting for the inevitable attack from the Germans around the time of the Battle of the Bulge (December, 1944). However, as they are waiting for this throughout most of the film, you see LOTS of little scenarios that seem very random--and have little, if anything, to do with the WWII era. There's the wife of the castle who sleeps with various men because her husband is impotent and he wants a son, there's an art historian(!) who gives lectures to men who have zero interest--but who LOVE to hang out at a brothel filled with 1960s-style prostitutes, a guy who is in love with a VW and predicts it's the car of the future, a guy who wants to do nothing but bake--so he hangs out in town and bakes bread, a group of religious freaks who are pretty much guaranteed to offend and folks talking about the meaning of life. It's all a lot of stupid nonsense if you ask me--especially since folks often dress and act like folks from the hippie 1960s (especially the ladies) and the music is very appropriate for a counter-culture 1960s film--thought this is supposed to be 1945! Some folks might think this is all clever--I think it's just dumb--and rather boring. The film only heats up near the end when the fighting starts, but that isn't enough and the film seems like a waste of some talented actors. Well worth skipping.