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:

$21,000,000

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

In the scenes where Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood climb the steep fortress walls, Burton moves with ease, while Eastwood is clearly working hard physically. This was due to the fact that Burton, who was a hard-drinker, a chain smoker and out-of-shape by that point, chose to ride a crane (made invisible by special effects) up the wall, whereas the health-conscious Eastwood was actually climbing the wall. Burton had already been diagnosed with bursitis - possibly aggravated by faulty treatment - arthritis and dermatitis.

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Goofs

When Smith and Schaeffer first sight the Schloss Adler, through binoculars, they also look at a German military training camp nearby. During this shot the matted image moves noticeably within the still frame image; a poorly-executed special effect..

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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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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 Palace Hill: Where Carol-Singers Dare (1988)

User Reviews

Action-packed and thrills in a risked mission during second world war

The movie centers upon a bunch of commandos led by Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood with the mission to free an American General (Robert Beatty) from a Nazi castle . They will take on an evil SS chief (Darren Nesbitt) and Nazi officers (Ferdy Mayne and Anton Driffing) and confronting deal of dangers and adventures . They are helped by two beautiful girls (Mary Ure and Ingrid Pitt) .

Film runtime is overlong , two hours and some but isn't boring and gets lots of amusement for the fast-movement . From the beginning until ending , the action movie is unstoppable. This is one of the best of several movies from novels by Alistair McLean about WW2 . The film gets a certain likeness to ¨Dirty Dozen¨ and ¨Kelly's heroes¨ and group of films that were made regarding to warlike adventures during the 1960-1970 years about special forces in dangerous missions . In the motion picture there are suspense , frenetic action , shootouts , thriller , rip-roaring and a little bit of violence . The final confrontation between the starring and enemies on the air cable funicular is breathtaking . The picture obtained too much success at the box office . Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood are top notch . Ron Goodwin musical score is gorgeous and Arthur Ibbetson cinematography is excellent .

Direction by Brian G Hutton is magnificent , he began with little and prestigious films as ¨Wild seed¨ and ¨The Pad¨. Thereafter, he veered off into big budgeted pictures with all star-cast , proving which he could handle big scale action , such as ¨Kelly's heroes¨ , ¨High road to China¨ and this one . The movie will appeal to second world war buffs and emotions lovers.

Rating: 7,5/10 . Better than average. Well worth watching