Where Eagles Dare (1968)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Brian G. Hutton

Writer:

Alistair MacLean (story)
(more)

Release Date:

12 March 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | 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:

Mission | Nazi | SS | Castle | Parachute Drop

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 Officer #2 (uncredited)
Jim Dowdall	...	Extra (uncredited)
Max Faulkner	...	Sgt. Hartmann (uncredited)
Harry Fielder	...	German soldier (uncredited)
Lyn Kennington	...	German woman (uncredited)
Nigel Lambert	...	Young German soldier (uncredited)
Ian McCulloch	...	German Officer (uncredited)
Anton Rodgers	...	German officer at airfield (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
Richard Parker	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Tom Howard	....	photographic 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)
Tom Dittman	....	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

• 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)
• EuroVideo (198?) (West Germany) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (USA) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA (19??) (West Germany) (VHS)
• Sandrews (2003) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1992) (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

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

Spain:13 | Australia:G (TV rating) | Iceland:12 | New Zealand:PG | 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:

Winkast Film Productions

Trivia:

This film contains roughly 1472 edits during 151 minutes of action, this equates to an average shot length of about 6 seconds.

Goofs:

Continuity: Smith radios HQ and tells them he is...”effecting entry within the hour." At HQ, Smith's transmission of "Broadsword calling Danny boy" is heard at a significantly faster rate than Smith spoke it into his radio.

Quotes:

Lt. Morris Schaffer: You seem to have a lot of women stashed around this country, Major.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Top Gear: (2008-07-27)" (2008)

The fortress - impenetrable. The army guarding it - invincible. Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton - UNSTOPPABLE!

A team of elite covert agents working for the British Government is sent to infiltrate a huge Nazi fortress. Their mission: evacuate an Allied General who has detailed knowledge of the Normandy invasion. Parachuting down into the Alps the team soon discovers that one of them is dead and that there is a Nazi traitor in their midst. And that is not all what's going on...

From opening scene to final scene Alistair MacLean's screenplay is a masterpiece of the action genre with a detailed and involving plot that unfolds in a very interesting manner. There are plenty of hairpin turns along the way that build up the suspense to a truly explosive TNT packed climax. That is all thanks to Brian Hutton's direction, which is, well, a blueprint for contemporary studio-budget action film-making. The film is long, but the real-time development of many scenes makes for terrific suspense even in slow moments and utterly breakneck action scenes. The best example is the final 45 minutes - an escape scene in real-time as our heroes breakout of the Schloss Adler. Consisting of shootouts, fights, chases, explosions, and car crashing it is probably one of the best action sequences ever made. For reasons beyond me Brian Hutton's career never fully took off into action adventure film-making, but had it, he would be the Hitchcock of action film-making. This film does to shootouts what Hitchcock did for showers! Well, almost.

Next are the stars - Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton. They are the leaders of the covert operation and they are a terrific, fearless, sub-machine gun totting duo who give the Nazis what they deserve most - pure hell. The classic corridor shootout as Eastwood fends of soldiers from the castle radio room is brilliant and ridiculous at the same time - he takes 'em all out! With a submachine gun in each hand! Make no mistake, this movie is ridiculous and wholly improbable, but if you find an action film that is more entertaining, involving, and suspenseful, along with being pure fun to watch, I'll be damned.

If that's the cake, then the icing must be Ron Goodwin's amazing score of epic proportions. First appearing in the opening credits (or the DVD main menu) it is the type of stuff that makes contemporary master film composer Hans Zimmer proud.

Action film fans, this is one of the ultimate movies for you. Take note - Watch it! 10/10

Rated PG, quite generously, for pretty extensive violence and action