Where Eagles Dare (1968)

Allied agents stage a daring raid on a castle where the Nazis are holding American brigadier general George Carnaby 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 World War II, a British aircraft is shot down and crashes in Nazi held territory. The Germans capture the only survivor, American Brigadier General George Carnaby (Robert Beatty), and take him to the nearest S.S. 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 costs, and order Major Jonathan Smith (Richard Burton) to lead a crack commando team to rescue him. Amongst the team is an American Ranger, Lieutenant Morris Schaffer (Clint Eastwood), 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:

One weekend Major Smith, Lieutenant Schaffer and a beautiful blonde named Mary decided to win World War II.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | War

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Certificate:

M/PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sir Michael Caine claimed to have turned down the role of Major Jonathan Smith.

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Goofs

Near the end of the corridor firefight, Schaffer retreats into the room and a German soldier throws a grenade through the door. In the widescreen version you can see the grenade strike the door frame and bounce back at the actor's feet, yet there is an explosion inside the room where the grenade would have landed. And grenades do not explode in a fireball as shown in this, (and other) movies.

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Quotes

Lt. Morris Schaffer: [to Smith, seeing him with Mary] You seem to have a lot of women stashed around this country, Major.

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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 Medal of Honor: Underground (2000)

User Reviews

A great wartime thriller

Where Eagles Dare is simply wonderful. Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood are in terrific form as leaders of a mission deep behind enemy lines. Their job: to infiltrate a mountain top castle and rescue an imprisoned American colonel. There's actually more to the mission than that, but to give away the twists would be to rob anyone who hasn't seen the movie of some wonderful surprises.

The snowy backdrop is perfectly captured. The action sequences (of which there are many) are brilliantly staged, especially the fight atop the cable car, and the bus chase at the end. Each character is well cast, with Burton, Eastwood, Ure and Hordern giving commanding performances. Best of all is the little-known Derren Nesbitt who oozes menace and charm as a nasty Nazi soldier.

I've seen this film countless times and it never tires me. It has so many twists and turns and well-execute sequences that it is gripping every time you watch it. There's really no other way to say it - you need to see this film and see it soon!

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English German

Release Date:

12 March 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

Where Eagles Dare

Filming Locations:

Feuerkogel Mountain lift, Ebensee, 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