Eagles Over London (1969)

In World war 2, a German undercover unit infiltrates British lines during the evacuation of Dunkirk, 1939. The film revolves around their successes and failures in disrupting R.A.F. operations during the Battle of Britain.

Director:

Enzo G. Castellari

Writers:

Tito Carpi (story), Vincenzo Mannino (story) (as Vincenzo Flamini)

Stars:

Frederick Stafford, Van Johnson, Francisco Rabal

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview:
Frederick Stafford	...	Captain Paul Stevens
Van Johnson	...	Air Marshal George Taylor
Francisco Rabal	...	Martin Donovan
Evelyn Stewart	...	Meg
Luigi Pistilli	...	Maj. Krueger
Renzo Palmer	...	Sgt. Donald Mulligan
Luis Dávila	...	Jacques
Christian Hay	...	Gaston
Jacques Berthier	...	Colonel Smith
Teresa Gimpera	...	Sheila
George Rigaud	...	British general
Eduardo Fajardo	...	German officer
Ugo Adinolfi
Umberto Di Grazia
Ricardo Valle

Storyline

During the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940, a team of German saboteurs assume the identities of dead British soldiers and are transported to England. Their first objective is to cripple British air defences by destroying radar stations. Though the identities and whereabouts of the saboteurs are unknown, a team of British soldiers is set up to track them down and abort their mission. While the Battle of Britain rages overhead, the final confrontation takes place as the German team are about to blow up the RAF Fighter Command control centre.

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Plot Keywords:

saboteur | evacuation | british soldier | britain | battle of britain | 

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Taglines:

From Dunkirk to the battle of London.

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Posters for "Battle Command" were entirely in black and white.

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Goofs

A London bus wouldn't show LONDON on the roll sign for the route's endpoint, but rather a specific place within London.

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Quotes

Air Marshal George Taylor: Allow me to insist once again upon my request again for more radar positions. I ask that top priority be given to furnishing us with new stations.

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Connections

Featured in From Hell to Victory (1979)

User Reviews

The Battle of Britain as envisioned by Italians?

The story starts off at the Battle of Dunkerque as a German Unit infiltrates British lines and joins the evacuation to England for the purpose of conducting covert operations. As the Battle of Britain commences the Germans focus on disabling the new British Radar stations.

As an old Italian movie it was filmed without sound and voice-overs were added later just like a Spaghetti Western. Filmed as a wide-screen movie the pan and scan job to fit a TV screen is poorly done. But that is not the worst of it. There are several split screen periods in the movie with up to four different pictures at once and to refit for a 4:3 aspect ratio the editors just cut out the edges of the film, essentially cutting some of the multiple views in half. Very sloppy.

The acting and directing is dull if serviceable but the script and editing (not just the editing for TV) is weak. The casting deserves special mention as laughable. I like Van Johnson, but a British Air Marshall? And the very Mediterranean looking Germans are a hoot!

For World War Two history buffs you may enjoy the scenes of the beaches of Dunkerque as I can't recall ever seeing it represented in a movie before. Unfortunately, the scenes of the air battles later in the movie will make you cringe.

This movie may have some curiosity value for those of us who love war movies but others will probably be disappointed. I gave it 4 out of 10.

Bob

Details

Country:

Italy France Spain

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

January 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Battle Command

Filming Locations:

Holland Park, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fida Cinematografica, Atlántida Films, Les Productions Jacques Roitfeld

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1