Where Eagles Dare (1968)

Director:

Brian G. Hutton

Writer:

Alistair MacLean (story)
(more)

Release Date:

12 March 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | War

Tagline:

They look like Nazis but . . . The Major is British . . . The Lieutenant is American . . . The Beautiful Frauleins are Allied Agents!

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Gestapo | Parachute Drop | Nazi | Broken Neck | Elite Team

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Richard Burton	...	Maj. Jonathan Smith, MC
Clint Eastwood	...	Lt. Morris Schaffer
Mary Ure	...	Mary Elison
Patrick Wymark	...	Col. Wyatt Turner, DSO MC
Michael Hordern	...	Adm. Rolland
Donald Houston	...	Capt. James Christiansen
Peter Barkworth	...	Edward Berkeley
William Squire	...	Capt. Philip Thomas
Robert Beatty	...	Gen. George Carnaby
Brook Williams	...	Sgt. Harrod
Neil McCarthy	...	Sgt. Jock MacPherson
Vincent Ball	...	Carpenter
Anton Diffring	...	SS-Standartenführer Kramer
Ferdy Mayne	...	Gen. Rosemeyer
Derren Nesbitt	...	SS-Sturmbannführer Von Hapen
Victor Beaumont	...	Col. Weissner
Ingrid Pitt	...	Heidi
John G. Heller	...	German major (at Zum Wilden Hirsch) (as John Heller)
Guy Deghy	...	Maj. Wilhelm Wilner
Olga Lowe	...	Lt. Anne-Marie Kernitser
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Richard Beale	...	Telephone orderly (uncredited)
Ivor Dean	...	German Ooficer #2 (uncredited)
Jim Dowdall	...	Extra (uncredited)
Max Faulkner	...	Sgt. Hartmann (uncredited)
Lyn Kennington	...	German woman (uncredited)
Nigel Lambert	...	Young German soldier (uncredited)
Ian McCulloch	...	German Officer (uncredited)
Anton Rodgers	...	German officer at airfield (uncredited)
Michael Rooney	...	British radio operator (uncredited)
Jack Silk	...	German officer at ammunitions shed (uncredited)
Philip Stone	...	Sky Tram operator (uncredited)
Ernst Walder	...	Airport control officer (uncredited)

Directed by
Brian G. Hutton

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Alistair MacLean		novel (uncredited)
Alistair MacLean		story and screenplay

Produced by
Denis Holt	....	associate producer
Elliott Kastner	....	producer
Jerry Gershwin	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Ron Goodwin

Cinematography by
Arthur Ibbetson		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
John Jympson

Art Direction by
Peter Mullins

Costume Design by
Arthur Newman		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Tony Sforzini	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Ted Lloyd	....	production supervisor
Tom Sachs	....	unit manager: second unit

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Colin M. Brewer	....	assistant director (as Colin Brewer)
Yakima Canutt	....	second unit director
Anthony Waye	....	assistant director: second unit
Chris Kenny	....	second assistant director: second unit (uncredited)

Art Department
Arthur Taksen	....	set dresser
Mickey Lennon	....	assistant property master (uncredited)

Sound Department
Jonathan Bates	....	sound editor
John Bramall	....	sound recordist
J.B. Smith	....	dubbing mixer
Peter Dobson	....	assistant foley artist (uncredited)
Michael Hickey	....	sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Fred Hellenburgh	....	special effects
Tom Howard	....	photographic effects
Richard Parker	....	special effects

Stunts
Gillian Aldam	....	stunt double: Mary Ure (uncredited)
Peter Brace	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tim Condren	....	stunts (uncredited)
George Lane Cooper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack Cooper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Max Faulkner	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tex Fuller	....	stunts (uncredited)
Romo Gorrara	....	stunts (uncredited)
Richard Graydon	....	stunts (uncredited)
Alf Joint	....	stunt arranger (uncredited)
Alf Joint	....	stunt double: Richard Burton (uncredited)
Alf Joint	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jimmy Lodge	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dave Newman	....	stunts (uncredited)
Terence Plummer	....	stunts (uncredited)
Eddie Powell	....	stunt double: Clint Eastwood (uncredited)
Eddie Powell	....	stunts (uncredited)
Joe Powell	....	stunt arranger (uncredited)
Joe Powell	....	stunts (uncredited)
Nosher Powell	....	stunts (uncredited)
Terry Richards	....	stunts (uncredited)
Doug Robinson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bill Sawyer	....	stunt double: Clint Eastwood (uncredited)
Bill Sawyer	....	stunts (uncredited)
Paul Stader	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)
Paul Stader	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jimmy Thong	....	stunts (uncredited)
Les White	....	stunts (uncredited)
David Wilding	....	stunts (uncredited)
Terry Yorke	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
H.A.R. Thomson	....	camera operator: second unit
Paul Wilson	....	camera operator
Bob Bremner	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Dennis Fraser	....	grip (uncredited)
Ginger Gemmel	....	camera operator: second unit (uncredited)
John Jay	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Kelvin Pike	....	camera operator: second unit (uncredited)
Graham Scaife	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
David Wynn-Jones	....	clapper loader (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Alan Strachan	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Ron Goodwin	....	conductor

Other crew
Penny Daniels	....	continuity
Al Lettieri	....	dialogue coach (as Alfredo Lettieri)
Marion Rosenberg	....	assistant to producer
Raymond Becket	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Brian L. Davis	....	military advisor (uncredited)
Steve Pickard	....	process projectionist trainee (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
• Winkast Film Productions

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1968) (UK) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1969) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1969) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1972) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1973) (USA) (theatrical) (reissue)
• MGM/UA Home Video (1988) (UK) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1994) (UK) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (USA) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA (19??) (West Germany) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (????) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (19??) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Lee Lighting  grip and lighting equipment

Runtime:

158 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | German

Colour:

Colour (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Mono (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Australia:G (TV rating) | Iceland:12 | Spain:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1969) | Sweden:15 | UK:A (cut) (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1988) | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG | West Germany:16 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Aigen im Ennstal, Steiermark, Austria

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Despite Eastwood's reputation for violence in other films, his character kills more people in this film than any other Eastwood character.

Goofs:

Continuity: When escaping the castle, Smith helps Mary down from the roof of the cable car and then follows her into it. Between shots the chain blocking the entrance to the cable car disappears.

Quotes:

Colonel Wyatt Turner: Public trial would be embarrassing, painful, not only for myself, also for British intelligence and Admiral Rolland.
Major John Smith: Perhaps, but not as painful as that long drop to the end of the rope.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005) (TV)

Fantastic stuff!

This is one of the first real action movies as we know it today, ever made. The movie has lots of explosions and gun- and fist fights. The story is told in a fast pace with lots of cuts, even though the movie itself isn't short at all (158 minutes.).

Even though it is still a war movie, this movie isn't as heavy and or serious as many other WW II movies made in the same period. It is kind of in the same style as "The Guns of Navarone" (Also written by Alistair MacLean.). It's more is adventurous and fun to watch than heavy or realistic. Director Brian G. Hutton later also made the other 'fun'/adventurous/WW II movie "Kelly's Heroes".

Another element that distinct this movie from other movies from the same genre is the story. The story by famous writer Alistair MacLean is just brilliant! It begins as an average WW II rescue-mission movie but as the movie progresses the story takes several twists, until at a certain point you don't even know who to thrust anymore. The ending is really action-movie-like spectacular and features a tense fight an a moving cable-car followed by the perhaps even better car chase, which really reminded of the chase were Indy and his father are escaping the Nazi's on the motorcycle, in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" Even the music sounded kind of similar! I wouldn't be surprised if Spielberg and Williams were inspired by this movie. The same goes for many other movie directors and other persons in the movie business by the way. I see similarities between this movie with 'modern' work quite often, both in story and characters as well as the action, editing and many other elements from this movie. This really is an inspirational movie, that as an action movie, just like as for instance "North by Northwest", was far ahead of its time.

It was a bit strange to see Clint Eastwood in the sidekick role. The main character of the movie is played by the legendary Richard Burton. Both actors really push this movie to an higher level with their profession and expertise and both are very believable in their roles.

An entertaining, action packed adventurous war movie with a splendid story and two wonderful performances from the two main actors.

10/10