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 | Traitor | Nazi | Shot In The Hand | Alps

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:

149 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 | Iceland:12 | Australia:G (TV rating) | 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:

Kenneth Griffith was first intended for the Peter Barkworth role.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Shaffer starts the cable car and runs to it to jump on himself, it doesn't actually start moving until he is nearly aboard.

Quotes:

Major John Smith: They say he knew Hitler quite well.
Lt. Morris Schaffer: Yeah, I THOUGHT he looked a little nuts.

Movie Connections:

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

The ultimate 'men on a mission' movie

Once a year, usually around Christmas time but always in winter, this movie is played somewhere on British TV. Like 'The Great Escape' this movie has become a staple of TV station classic war movies wheeled out once a year to keep the punters happy, and it always delivers.

How can it fail? It has spectacular scenery, great actors, lots of schoolboy WWII style action and even busty wenches in maid uniforms. This film is ingrained in the psyche, you cannot see a mountaintop castle without thinking of Schloss Adler and the cable-car scenes. If I'm trudging through the snow in the woods then I hear myself humming the theme from 'Where Eagles Dare'. If I or anyone from my generation picks up a radio, it's only a matter of time before someone starts sending "Broadsword calling Danny Boy" in an imitation of Richard Burton's plummy tones. It's a given.

I know it's not the most realistic movie ever made, but Richard Burton, Michael Horden, Clint Eastwood and the gang carry it off with great aplomb and we believe every line. The pacing is excellent, leaving similar offerings such as 'Guns of Navarone' feeling like funeral marches. And talk about atmosphere! This movie reeks atmosphere, from the settings in the beautiful mountains to the scenes inside the old caste hallways to the exterior shots of people rapelling down the sides of the viciously cold walls. It's a must see, 8 out of 10 compared to all films, and 10 out of 10 for 'men on a mission' movies.