Where Eagles Dare (1968)

Allied agents stage a daring raid on a castle where the Nazis are holding an American General prisoner... but that's not all that's really going on.

Director:

Brian G. Hutton

Writers:

Alistair MacLean (story), Alistair MacLean (screenplay)

Stars:

Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood, Mary Ure

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Burton	...	Maj. Smith
Clint Eastwood	...	Schaffer
Mary Ure	...	Mary Ellison
Patrick Wymark	...	Col. Turner
Michael Hordern	...	Adm. Rolland
Donald Houston	...	Christiansen
Peter Barkworth	...	Berkeley
William Squire	...	Thomas
Robert Beatty	...	Carnaby
Brook Williams	...	Sgt. Harrod
Neil McCarthy	...	Sgt. Jock MacPherson
Vincent Ball	...	Carpenter
Anton Diffring	...	Col. Kramer
Ferdy Mayne	...	Rosemeyer
Derren Nesbitt	...	Von Hapen

Storyline

During WW2 a British aircraft is shot down and crashes in Nazi held territory. The Germans capture the only survivor, an American General, and take him to the nearest SS headquarters. Unknown to the Germans the General has full knowledge of the D-Day operation. The British decide that the General must not be allowed to divulge any details of the Normandy landing at all cost and order Major John Smith to lead a crack commando team to rescue him. Amongst the team is an American Ranger, Lieutenant Schaffer, who is puzzled by his inclusion in an all British operation. When one of the team dies after the parachute drop, Schaffer suspects that Smith's mission has a much more secret objective.

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Plot Keywords:

british intelligence | commando unit | sabotage | infiltrator | mi6 | 

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Taglines:

They are going to win World War II this weekend...or die trying!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | War

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

12 March 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

Agenten sterben einsam

Filming Locations:

Festung Hohenwerfen, Salzburg, Austria

Box Office

Budget:

$7,700,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$7,100,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,100,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gershwin-Kastner Productions, Winkast Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

158 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

For the Castilian Spanish language dub version, Clint Eastwood's voice was dubbed by Ernesto Aura.

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Goofs

Apart from wearing a black Waffen-SS parade uniform, von Hapen's outfit has several other discrepancies, most notably a standard Nazi party armband (the one worn with the Waffen-SS parade uniform sported black stripes along the upper and lower edges), and a close combat clasp in gold above the left breast pocket, an award worn by soldiers with extensive front line experience, not the Gestapo.

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Quotes

Colonel Wyatt Turner: [referring to Smith] Some people have a sixth sense. He has a sixth, a seventh and an eighth.

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Alternate Versions

In the French-language dubbing of the film, all the German spoken parts are taken from the German dubbed version. This includes parts of Burton's and Eastwood's characters speaking German, fixing some plot holes. All the other parts are in French.

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Connections

Referenced in Doctor Who: Victory of the Daleks (2010)

User Reviews

Terrific Action Movie

I couldn't help notice one of the postings about this movie, calling it a snoozer. I hardly agree with that assessment. In fact, I would categorize the film as one of the best action films ever made, whether WWII or other. If the action isn't enough to hold one's attention, the movie has a number of twists and turns to hold your attention until the perhaps not-so-obvious ending.

Some postings have also been critical of the length of the movie, somewhat more than 2+ hours. Again, everything about the film keeps it moving very well.

Most of the postings rate this film on a 1-10 basis. I give it a 10 for sure.