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:

parachute drop | commando | wehrmacht | commando unit | sabotage | 

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Taglines:

They dare to climb a terrifying new peak in suspense... all the way up to hell!

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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:

$21,000,000, 31 December 1968

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

This is the writer's, (Alistair MacLean's), second of three WW2 commando genre films. The others being The Guns of Navarone (1961) and Force 10 from Navarone (1978). However, this is the only one for which he produced the screenplay.

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Goofs

The helicopter seen landing in the castle courtyard is a Bell model 47G, not built until well after the war. While the Germans had a small number of working helicopters during the war (none of which would have been readily available to the filmmakers), the Bell does not make a convincing stand-in for any of them.

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Quotes

Gen. Rosemeyer: This is preposterous!
[when Smith makes the discussion more confusing than it already was]

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Connections

Referenced in Second Time Around: The Troughton Years (2012)

User Reviews

One of the best adaptations among Allistair Maclean's novels

A highly entertaining world war II action film with two of the greatest actors of their time at a high point of their career - Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood. The first hour or so is the setting to the action that will follow: a group of American and British soldiers is sent to a castle where the Natzis are holding an important American General. The plot of course is not that simple and has a lot of spins and surprises that accompanied by a fascinating action scenes (Very impressing for a 1968). With a beautiful filming location at the freezing landscapes of Germany and Austria this movie is truly an amazing to watch. Notable sequences are the cable car sequence and the final escaping sequence. Richard Burton gives his usual strong performance and Clint Eastwood is good as his executor. All in all a well crafted action classic that is highly recommended. 10/10