Brass Target (1978)

In 1945, General Patton sends Germany's confiscated gold reserves to Frankfurt, but the Army train is robbed by plotters who also hire a Swiss hitman to kill the General.

Director:

John Hough

Writers:

Frederick Nolan (novel), Alvin Boretz

Stars:

Sophia Loren, John Cassavetes, Max von Sydow

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sophia Loren	...	Mara
John Cassavetes	...	Maj. Joe De Lucca
George Kennedy	...	Gen. George S. Patton
Robert Vaughn	...	Col. Donald Rogers
Patrick McGoohan	...	Col. Mike McCauley
Bruce Davison	...	Col. Robert Dawson
Edward Herrmann	...	Col. Walter Gilchrist
Max von Sydow	...	Shelley Martin Webber
Ed Bishop	...	Col. Stewart
Lee Montague	...	Lucky Luciano
Alan Tilvern	...	Frank Ferraro
Hal Galili	...	Capt. Levy
Bernard Horsfall	...	Shelley
John Junkin	...	Carberry
Sigfrit Steiner	...	Herr Schroeder

Storyline

General Patton tries to transfer the German gold stock to Frankfurt. But someone foils his plan. The military police begin to find the guilty.

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Plot Keywords:

gold | assassin | u.s. army | homosexuality | u.s. government mafia co operation | 

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Taglines:

...suspense that reaches the highest rank.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Mystery | Thriller | War

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA West Germany Switzerland

Language:

English German Russian

Release Date:

2 March 1979 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Colonels

Filming Locations:

Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$354,797, 25 December 1978, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$5,011,158

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film cast includes two Oscar winners: Sophia Loren and George Kennedy; and four Oscar nominees: Max von Sydow, John Cassavetes, Robert Vaughn, and Bruce Davison.

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Goofs

When Major De Lucca drives into the castle, he parks his jeep parallel to the stairs. Later, when he emerges and sees Mara, the jeep is almost perpendicular to the stairs.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Col. Donald Rogers: Relax! We're inches away.

User Reviews

Good head start

Brass Target has as its plot premise the fact that George S. Patton's automobile accident which left him paralyzed with a broken neck that eventually killed him was really an assassination. For the more traditional view I suggest you see Patton: The Last Days which starred the most famous Patton of all George C. Scott.

250 million dollars in gold bullion from the Third Reich is robbed and the perpetrators are a group of OSS men headed by Robert Vaughn. These guys were doing this sort of stuff during the war and apparently saw no reason that they shouldn't pull one last job with a heist that would certainly insure them a comfortable old age. The problem is that a whole train load of GIs are killed in a tunnel during the heist.

Which brings in John Cassavetes late of the OSS who was the author of a heist plan that was a dead ringer for what the robbers used. Which gives Cassavetes a good head start in an investigation, but not exactly a smoking gun.

After George S. Patton played here by George Kennedy is called out by the Russians for his laxity, that's something no one can accuse Patton of. He takes personal charge of the investigation and puts himself in an assassin's cross hairs.

I think a lot of good players got wasted here in a film that didn't make sense many times. You have to fill in a lot of gaps. Sophia Loren is in the film, top billed in a supporting role that doesn't make any sense. Max Von Sydow is the professional hit man that Vaughn and company hire sight unseen though on strong recommendation. Von Sydow was interesting and clever and is the best one in the film.

This is one urban legend that truly is a legend. As a film Brass Target is hardly legendary.