A World War II adventure, involving a group of Allied P.O.W.s, Nazis, black market priceless art treasures, Greek resistance, a Greek monastery, and a secret German rocket base.
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Title: Escape to Athena (1979)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Roger Moore | ... | Major Otto Hecht | |
| Telly Savalas | ... | Zeno | |
| David Niven | ... | Professor Blake | |
| Stefanie Powers | ... | Dottie Del Mar | |
| Claudia Cardinale | ... | Eleana | |
| Richard Roundtree | ... | Nat Judson | |
| Sonny Bono | ... | Bruno Rotelli | |
| Elliott Gould | ... | Charlie / Charlie Dane | |
| Anthony Valentine | ... | SS Major Volkmann | |
| Siegfried Rauch | ... | Braun | |
| Michael Sheard | ... | Sergeant Mann | |
 |
Richard Wren | ... | Reistoffer |
| Philip Locke | ... | Vogel | |
|
|
Steve Ubels | ... | Lantz |
| Paul Picerni | ... | Zeno's Man | |
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Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Storyline
During World War II, the prisoners of a German camp on a Greek island are trying to escape. They don't want only their freedom, but they also seek for an ineffable treasure hidden in a monastery at the top of the island's mountain. Written by Chris Makrozahopoulos <makzax@hotmail.com>
Taglines:
An exciting World War II prison camp drama with an all star cast. See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
UKLanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
6 June 1979 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Escape a Atenas See more »Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Color (Eastmancolor) (uncredited)Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
Edit
(uncredited)
Lyrics by Julia Ward Howe and music by William Steffe
Heard as a theme
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
The action largely takes place in Stalag Luft VII Z, "somewhere in the Greek Islands 1944" (named in dialogue as Kariai). The monastery is found on Mount Athena. See more »Goofs
A control room could not survive with an open window immediately behind a launching rocket. See more »Crazy Credits
Opening credits: Somewhere in the Greek Islands 1944 See more »Alternate Versions
When originally released theatrically in the UK, the BBFC made cuts to secure a 'A' rating. All cuts were waived in 1986 when the film was granted a 'PG' certificate for home video. See more »Soundtracks
Battler Hymn of the Republic(uncredited)
Lyrics by Julia Ward Howe and music by William Steffe
Heard as a theme
See more »
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How's this for a dazzling international cast: Roger Moore, David Niven, Stephanie Powers, Elliot Gould, Telly Savalas, Claudia Cardinale, Richard Rountree and Soony Bono? All in one film! There's also the briefest of cameos by the great William Holden. Surely to assemble such talent suggests that this film started out with a promising script. It's a shame, then, that in the final analysis Escape to Athena is such dismal, amateurish junk.
The story takes place on a Greek island during WWII. Various Allied POWs survive under the fairly relaxed custody of German officer Roger Moore, but they begin to form ideas above their station when they hear of a Nazi-occupied monastery nearby which is full of priceless art treasures. A small group of escapees scale the island mountains and attempt to steal the loot from the German forces.
Everyone looks like they're on vacation in this one. Certainly no-one seems to give two hoots about the story. The action highlights are few and far between, and much of the comedy banter - intended to breathe life into the characters - falls horribly flat. Moore gets top billing but has terribly little to do with the story; Gould probably lands the juiciest role, but he overplays it to the point of irritation.