Where Eagles Dare

With his novel The Guns of Navarone (and its film version), author Alistair MacLean deserves an all-time spot in the impossible, suicide, men on a mission genre. Not all of his novels are winners, especially some of his later entries, but as far as success goes, 1968 was a year that was hard to beat for the author. Two of his novels were made into highly successful adventure movies, Ice Station Zebra and Where Eagles Dare.

It's the winter of 1944 and an American general's plane with knowledge of the coming Second Front has crashed in the Bavarian Alps. Captured by German forces, General Carnaby (Robert Beatty) is sent to the Schloss Adler, a mountain fortress home to the SS in the district. A commando team headed by Major John Smith (Richard Burton) is being parachuted into the mountains disguised as German soldiers. Their mission is straightforward if extremely difficult; gain access to the heavily guarded, fortified castle and rescue Carnaby before German interrogators can get the information out of him that they need. On Smith's team are five fellow British commandos and one American Ranger, Lt. Schaffer (Clint Eastwood). Almost the second the team lands, things start to go wrong, and Major Smith isn't letting on everything he knows. Is there something else going on with this mission, more than the others could even guess?

The story of this movie comes from MacLean, who on a request from a producer and Burton wrote a novel that could be made into a fast-paced adventure film. MacLean wrote the novel which became a huge success and was quickly put on the fast track, the film getting its release in 1968. As far as war/adventure films go, there are very few that are more fun than this one. Better ones? Yes, but in terms of pure entertainment value, this one is hard to beat. Director Brian G. Hutton (Kelly's Heroes) does a fine job crafting a twisting, turning story that is almost secondary to the war-time shenanigans. Many reviews that you read are from viewers who were genuinely confused watching this flick. I don't blame them. It took me multiple viewings to pick up everything you need to know. 

The beauty of that statement is that this WWII espionage film can be enjoyed on different levels. We find out quickly that there's far more to the mission than we know. I won't reveal any spoilers here, but there's a-plenty of them! From the second the team parachutes into Bavaria, one of the commandos is killed by one of the team. What's going on? MacLean's script does a fine job parceling out hints here and there about the actual intent of their mission, finally revealing itself in a mind-bending, classic scene in a huge, Medieval-looking dining hall near the halfway point. The build-up is a little slow-moving, but it's worth it. Scenes you thought were pointless end up having key importance later in the movie. We see Smith and Schaffer prepping for their getaway days and hours in advance. We see the inner workings of this suicide mission. Not too many men on a mission movies go into such a detail, therefore setting 'Eagles' one step above so many other like-minded flicks.

Some pairings are just too perfect. Case in point, Burton and Eastwood. Burton as Maj. Smith is the highly capable, brutally effective and nearly brilliant secret agent and commando. He did a lot of acting parts in his career so it's great to see him do a movie that's just fun. It shows. It looks like he had a phenomenal time doing the part, his silky smooth voice, his smartass smirk ever-present on his face. And his radio call sign 'Broadsword calling Danny Boy' sounds almost Shakespearean in its delivery. As his American counterpart, Eastwood is given little to do other than look very cool, and he succeeds on all levels. Burton's Smith calls him a 'second rate punk,' an American Ranger and brutally efficient killing machine. Through all the craziness, it works. This is two pros who look to be having a lot of fun. Also in the team is Donald Houston, Peter Barkworth, William Squire, Brook Williams and Neil McCarthy.

Though Burton and Eastwood are in almost every scene, the supporting cast is solid just the same. Mary Ure plays Mary, a longtime fellow agent of Smith's (and some romance too) secretly along for the mission, with Ingrid Pitt as Heidi, an Allied agent working in the town below the fortress. Patrick Wymark and Michael Horden play Col. Turner and Adm. Rolland, two high-ranking officers back in Britain who knew the true intention of the mission. Rounding out the cast is some familiar faces as the evil German counterparts including Anton Diffring, Ferdy Mayne and Derren Nesbitt.  

While all the build-up, background and twists are fun, the movie's most entertaining feature is the finale. The truth of the mission revealed, Smith, Schaffer and Mary (with some friends along for the ride) must basically shoot their way out of the mountaintop fortress, causing as much chaos as they can along the way. Eastwood's Schaffer alone single-handedly dispatches a whole German division on his own. The shootouts in the dark, poorly-lit castle hallways are a highlight, but the coolest sequence has Smith fighting two Germans aboard a cable car hundreds of feet off the ground. Adrenaline-pumping action, it is a doozy. It's ridiculous action throughout, our heroes able to pick off enemy soldiers at will while the hundreds of enemy soldiers can barely manage to nick our intrepid heroes. And how many packs of dynamite can two men manage to carry? Apparently 385 by my count.

This is not meant to be a serious war film. It's meant to be a film you enjoy from beginning to end. The on-location shooting in Austria, including the Hohenwerfen Castle and in and around Werfen, are spot-on choices for accuracy and realism. As a topper, composer Ron Goodwin's score is big and booming and equally perfect, keeping the tension building and driving the action. Listen to the main theme HERE. In the vein of MacLean's The Guns of Navarone, this is a popcorn flick at its best. Sit back and enjoy Burton and Eastwood win WWII with pretty girls, plenty of action, and even more twists and turns in that ridiculously convoluted plot.

Where Eagles Dare (1968): *** 1/2 /****
Updated February 2009 review

Ice Station Zebra

Part Cold War thriller, part submarine movie, 1968's Ice Station Zebra has a lot going for it. Good story, better cast and solid directing. For years, it gained more of a cult status because it wasn't even available on DVD. It's even known as one of Howard Hughes' favorite movies. How's that pointless trivia for you? So what happens to it? Somewhere along the line, 'Zebra' goes off the tracks.

Patrolling in the North Atlantic, Capt. James Ferraday (Rock Hudson) and the U.S.S. Tigerfish, a US nuclear submarine, receives a new set of orders. The Tigerfish is to pick up a new passenger, a British agent named Jones (Patrick McGoohan), and head north to find Ice Station Zebra, a civilian weather station floating on a polar ice cap. Jones can say nothing else about the importance of the mission, only that it must be accomplished. Picking up two other passengers, Boris (Ernest Borgnine), a Russian defector, and Capt. Anders (Jim Brown), a Marine officer, the Tigerfish heads north. Ferraday quickly figures out that there is a traitor among the group and maybe even his crew. Can they find out who it is as they desperately attempt to complete their mission?

'Zebra' is based on a novel by adventure/espionage master Alistair MacLean, author of The Guns of Navarone and Where Eagles Dare. This past summer I read 'Zebra' for the first time only to discover it was a mess. I struggled to go along with it unlike any other MacLean novel I'd read. Directed by John Sturges, the film suffers from some of the same problems. In 1968, a nuclear submarine was big news, especially a portrayal on said sub. Much like Tom Clancy would years later, 'Zebra' gets bogged down in the minutiae of day-to-day life on the submarine; traveling under an ice pack, using radar and advanced technology to locate icebergs and drifts, finding a suitable spot to break through the ice. None of this makes for an exciting visual story.

That's a start though, but not a finish. Leisurely doesn't begin to describe the story here, clocking in at 148 minutes with Overture, Intermission, Entre'Acte, and Exit Music. An epic is one thing -- the 1960s were full of them -- but there is no urgency, NONE, through the first half of the movie. Before the intermission, almost nothing happens. Top that off with an explanation of the mission being held off until 105 minutes into the movie, and yeah, we've got a problem. An espionage guessing game is one thing, but almost two hours of guessing? A little much. The MacLean novel wasn't much better, throwing consistently new twists at the reader out of the blue and as needed.

Part of the charm though and cult classic status earned by 'Zebra' over the years is the casting. Big names, yes, especially some solid action stars. Some are utilized better than others. Hudson makes the best impression as Ferraday, the quiet, confident sub commander not really interested in cloak and dagger and espionage. McGoohan too is subtle in his mysterious nature, intensity brimming under his cool, even cold exterior. Borgnine gets to ham it up as Boris Vaslov, a Russian defector turned British agent, managing a quasi-Russian accent of sorts. Unfortunately, Jim Brown is wasted, his Capt. Anders almost serving as a red herring to the twists and turns. Not Brown's fault though because he's trying. Also look for Lloyd Nolan as Admiral Garvey and Tony Bill as Lt. Walker, one of Anders' Marines.

Through all the sometimes tedious underwater shots of the sub and the slow-moving story, there is that charm that I mentioned before. Not quite camp value, but something along those lines. Once some twists are actually laid out, the story picks up speed at a lightning pace. The last 45 minutes are both highly enjoyable and incredibly frustrating, keeping the action flowing and the answers revealing themselves, making me wonder why the rest of the story couldn't have had this urgency. All that said, I like this movie...sometimes in spite of its flaws.

Ice Station Zebra <---TCM trailer/clips (1968): ** 1/2 /****

Force 10 from Navarone

Certain war movies rise above the genre, establishing themselves as classics that are more action and adventure romps than hard-hitting war movies. Released in 1961, The Guns of Navarone is definitely one of those, a WWII commando story that is considered to be one of the best WWII movies ever and one that helped liven up the genre heading into the 1960s. Based on a novel by Alistair MacLean, 'Navarone' was very popular, and while it wasn't exactly timely, some 17 years later, a sequel was released, 1978's Force 10 from Navarone.

Sequels are almost always a mixed bag when it comes to any sort of quality or appreciation from the fans. This is the oddest sort of sequel, one released long after the original with no returning cast members.  An aging Gregory Peck and David Niven would have looked quite ridiculous as WWII commandos, wouldn't they? Instead, a whole new cast steps in, taking over parts made famous by other actors.  Is that a bad thing? I never thought so. I read MacLean's Force 10 (the novel) as a kid, pursued the movie, and loved it. It was a favorite of AMC among other channels, and I've lost track of how many times I've watched it. Not as good as the original, but still an underrated WWII flick that doesn't deserve some of the hate it's gotten over the years.

Several months removed from their successful mission in Navarone, Capt. Keith Mallory (Robert Shaw) and Cpl. Dusty Miller (Edward Fox) are called back in to perform another mission. They are to be sent into Yugoslavia to kill an enemy agent, the man who blew their cover in Navarone and is now hiding out as a member of the partisans fighting the Germans. It's believed the man's name is Lescovar (Franco Nero), but Mallory and Miller must make sure. They'll travel with an American commando unit, Force 10, commanded by Lt. Colonel Barnsby (Harrison Ford) who resents having two more men traveling with his own. Almost from the start though, the mission seems doomed to failure, and Barnsby must turn to Mallory and Miller for help. Against impossible odds, they team together to pull off their mission, but also Barnsby's, one that could turn the tide of war in Yugoslavia.

Before the credits even roll, this movie is fighting an uphill battle with any viewer who knows and loves the original Guns of Navarone.  That movie is a classic, and no matter what this one does, it isn't going to live up to expectations. And just to be clear, Force 10 isn't as good as 'Guns.' It's not even close. Viewed as a stand-alone film, I'd like to think this movie would be held in higher regard by viewers and critics alike. It does nothing particularly new for the WWII commando genre, the script is limiting, bouncing around too much, and the production feels like a small budget was used. Call it sentimentality, but I like this movie a lot in spite of its flaws. And like any movie, there are flaws. It is being able to look past them and just enjoy yourself.

The men-on-a-mission movie, where ensemble casts go to thrive. Without the Hollywood legend name recognition of 'Guns,' director Guy Hamilton (of James Bond fame) does not disappoint assembling his cast. One of my all-time favorite actors, Robert Shaw steps in for Gregory Peck as Capt. Mallory, commando extraordinaire, if a little aged. A year removed from the giant success that was the original Star Wars, Harrison Ford looks ridiculously young as Lt. Colonel Barnsby, the commander placed in an impossible situation. Fox is a scene-stealer as Miller, putting his own personal spin on the part Niven played. Joining the team is Carl Weathers as Sgt. Weaver, an accidental tag-along on the mission. Also, watch for Bond alums Richard Kiel as Drazak, an immense Chetnik fighter hunting Mallory and Barnsby's team, and Barbara Bach as Maritza, a tough partisan playing both sides seemingly.

Complain about anything you want, but that assembling of talent is impressive no matter how you cut it. The tone here -- thanks to the cast changes -- is lighter, especially between Shaw's Mallory and Fox's Miller. They bicker like an old married couple, but never pushing the humor too much. It's subtle, some great one-liners thrown about if you're paying attention. This was also Shaw's last completed movie before his death later in 1978. With so many characters, it can't be helped that not everyone is given much to do. Characters drift in and out as needed. It barely resembles MacLean's novel to begin with. Here's what it comes down to though. We've got Quint (Shaw), Han Solo/Indiana Jones (Ford), Django (Nero), Apollo Creed (Weathers), a Bond villain in Jaws (Kiel), the Jackal (Fox), and a Bond girl (Bach). Talk about a great group. Can you name a more eclectic cast than that one?

Different versions of the movie exists (odd for a movie from the late 1970s), but they all clock in at around two hours. The widescreen version on the DVD is the longest at 126 minutes. The story certainly takes its time moving along, an almost episodic pacing keeping things going. There really isn't a pointed, one-way plot, just a series of adventures and misadventures. Some parts just work better than others, but once the missions are established, the movie picks up steam. The ending especially is impressive, Mallory, Barnsby and Co. working together to prevent three divisions of German armor and infantry from wiping out the last remaining partisan brigade. It's typical men on a mission fare, an impossible mission against impossible odds. There's no way they get the job done....unless...oh, wait. This is a movie. Of course they get the job done.

Force 10 from Navarone is a solid if unspectacular (and highly entertaining) WWII commando movie. I've always thought it would be more popular if it wasn't attached in anyway to the original Guns of Navarone, but it is what it is.  Great cast, fun story, whistle-worthy score from Ron Goodwin (listen to a sample HERE), good action, a gratuitous nude scene of Barbara Bach, and a few laughs here and there. Can you ask for much more? It's fun from start to finish.  

Force 10 from Navarone <---trailer (1978): ***/****

The Satan Bug

Because guns, grenades and bombs weren't good enough at killing people, a new type of weapon started to be developed in the 20th century. It started as early as WWI with mustard and poison gas being used during trench warfare. It escalated and became more sophisticated, more efficient over the years. As part of the Cold War mutual destruction strategy, world powers turned to scientists to give them an edge in fighting...a different sort of fighting. Germ and chemical warfare became a topic of conversation, little strands of diseases that could destroy the world in minutes, days, and weeks without a weapon fired. That's the background for 1965's The Satan Bug.

This is one of those hidden gems that you're glad you stumbled upon, in this case, because of the director of the film, John Sturges. I knew his other movies like The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape so reading through his list of films, I happened upon this one, a well-made and exciting if at times confusing espionage thriller centered around germ and chemical warfare. It is based on a novel by Alistair MacLean of Guns of Navarone and Where Eagles Dare fame, originally published under his pseudonym Ian Stuart. In a different setting from his usual WWII adventures, some changes were made to MacLean's book for the movie version, transplanting the story from dreary old England to the arid, dry American southwest. It is the rare novel that makes it to film completely the same as it was written, but as far as novel-to-film transformations go, this is a good one.

At remote, isolated and heavily guarded Station 3 somewhere in the Southwestern desert, two men are killed and several flasks of a recently developed germ/disease strand have been stolen. The robbery and murder seem too perfect considering the heavy security at the facility, but former security head and all-around rebel Lee Barrett (George Maharis) is called in to investigate. He's given some sobering news early on in his investigation. One strand of botulinus that's been stolen has the potential to wipe out hundreds and thousands of lives but has a short life once its oxidizes. The other strand is far more dangerous, a world killer that if unleashed will destroy every living thing on Earth. What mastermind orchestrated the job, and more importantly, what do they intend to do with the new formula, dubbed simply the Satan Bug. Up against the clock, Barrett has to figure out who did it, why, and where exactly the flasks are. Can he do it in time though?

If I had to pick a decade as my favorite in terms of movies, it would be the 1960s, and the decision isn't a tough one. I love the epic quality, the stars, the character actors, and especially the style. In one of the great descriptions I've ever read of an era, one reviewer pointed out that The Satan Bug is one of the last hurrahs of the suit and hat. This movie has style. All the characters wear a suit and tie and stylish hats as they race all over the Southwest looking for these disease-filled flasks. These aren't rogue agents who look like bums off the street. These are the good guys, and they're going to look good catching the bad guys. The sets scream 1960s leisurely style, and composer Jerry Goldsmith turns in an eerie, unsettling score that keeps things moving at a brisk pace. It  will also ring in your head for a couple days so beware of that too. Sometimes all a movie needs to work is that style, and The Satan Bug is a very cool movie to watch.

As a director over four decades with more than 40 movies to his name, Sturges made a career out of tough guy movies with typically male-dominated casts (Great Escape, Mag7, Bad Day at Black Rock), and while the big star name recognition doesn't qualify here, the cast is still impressive. Maharis is a good lead, the super intelligent investigator who pieces things together quicker than any man should be able to do. He's also worried about ex-wife Mary (Anne Francis), but that's understandable. Dana Andrews is General Andrews, a former military man who still holds a mysterious position in the government who also happens to be Barrett's father-in-law. Richard Basehart is Dr. Hoffman, one of Station 3's top doctors who include John Larkin and Simon Oakland. John Anderson plays Reagan, the security officer in charge of Station 3, albeit briefly. Richard Bull is Cavanaugh, a police investigator working with Barrett to catch Ed Asner and Frank Sutton, two of the murdering thieves. Yes, Lou Grant and Sgt Carter as bad guys. It takes some getting used to. The star quality might not be there, but the cast makes up for it, working smoothly together from the start.

Now I like this movie, but I can admit I have no idea what's going on half the time. My first viewing? I must have watched it in a daze, only to review it a couple days later. I understood more if not everything.  MacLean's novel The Satan Bug is a mystery thriller, throwing lots of characters and suspects at you. It's just hard to keep up. In the movie, characters are introduced, killed off, and then we find out they were important much later. Nothing is spelled out at all, forcing the viewer to jump to or make their own conclusions. Not always the best idea when it comes to movies.  Maharis' Barrett makes some ridiculous jumps in logic too, piecing together pieces of evidence so effortlessly that it is almost laughable. By the end, I feel I've got some sort of grip on what was happening, but it is all relative. Explanations, reasoning, development, not really present at any point.

Just like MacLean's novel, the movie takes some liberties with these mankind-killing diseases, but I won't spoil them here. They're supposedly able to wipe out men everywhere...except...well, it doesn't matter. But if Barrett needs to survive, he comes up with some off-the-wall plan to postpone death, mostly because the story requires his presence. These characters are also surprisingly lax with an easily breakable flask carrying the disease that will literally wipe out the Earth. This isn't a great movie, and it might not even be a good movie, but the 1960s style and ensemble cast make up for the lack of logic in the rest of the movie. It is available to watch at Youtube, starting HERE with Part 1 of 11.

The Satan Bug <---trailer (1965): ***/****

The Guns of Navarone

Author Alistair MacLean was a master of thrillers, suspense and adventure in his long career. Of all his books though, two have become classics unto themselves thanks to the movies that resulted from their stories, 1969's Where Eagles Dare and 1961's The Guns of Navarone. Both movies share similarities, but when comparing them 'Navarone' is the better movie and has helped serve as a blueprint for adventure movies ever since.

In both MacLean novels, the setting is WWII with an almost suicidal men on a mission story. Everything points against an expert team getting the job done, but somehow they pull through in the end. No real spoilers there. In Navarone, it's 1943 and the war is still up for grabs. In the Mediterranean on the Greek island of Kheros, 2,000 British soldiers are trapped with no way of escaping. Allied Intelligence learns the Germans are planning an assault on the island with only a week to prepare. The Allies plan to rescue the men on Kheros, but there's a problem. The only way to get ships through is a channel near the island of Navarone where two huge radar-controlled guns will sink anything in range.

With time running out, Commodore Jensen (James Robertson Justice in a great cameo appearance) assembles a crack team of operators to get to the German-held island of Navarone and destroy the guns. First up, Captain Keith Mallory (Gregory Peck), a guerilla fighter in Crete who's survived 18 months behind enemy lines and who has a special talent that will come into play. Joining Mallory is his partner in Crete, Andrea Stavros (Anthony Quinn), a Greek officer extremely capable with his hands, a knife or a sniper rifle who also has an ax to grind with Mallory. The duo will lead the team of British commandos that include Maj. Roy Franklin (Anthony Quayle), Cpl. Miller (David Niven), the explosives expert, Pvt. Butcher Brown (Stanley Baker), a specialist with machines and knives, and Pvt. Spyro Pappadimos (James Darren), a young soldier adept at killing.

The commando team must sail to Navarone and get onto the island by scaling a 400-ft cliff. They will receive help from 2 Greek resistance fighters, Maria (Irene Papas) and Anna (Gia Scala), but even with that help, they must deal with horrific weather conditions, German patrols getting ever closer, and the mounting evidence that a traitor is among the group.

In the trailer (link later), Peck somewhat arrogantly states that this may be the most exciting adventure movie you will ever see. I'd normally have an issue with someone telling me that, but I find it hard to disagree with the statement. At a somewhat leisurely 156 minutes, the movie flies by with director J. Lee Thompson letting the tension and momentum build as the team tries to overcome the odds to blow up the guns and save the men on Kheros. The movie puts together a series of great set pieces, including the team arriving at Navarone in a heavy storm and then having to scale a supposedly unguarded 400-ft cliff. Thompson doesn't rush these scenes and lets them develop.

For an adventure movie, there isn't a ton of action. It's more of a build-up with anticipation of what could happen if something goes wrong. You're constantly on edge that at any moment the Germans could close in and capture the team. So with an average amount of action, it's the actors who benefit the most. Peck is an ideal choice for the unlikely leader who must step into a command position, and Niven would seemingly be out of place in a WWII adventure movie, but he's perfect. Early on, Niven's Miller is a mood-lightener with his almost constant one-liners. It's as the movie progresses, that Niven becomes the conscience, debating about the futility of what they're doing. Great parts for both actors.


And while Peck and Niven are very good lead, Anthony Quinn makes this movie special. His Andrea Stavros is a man of few words who lets his actions speak for themselves. He lost his wife and children early in the war and seeks revenge on the Germans and also Peck's Mallory who he holds responsible. One of the coolest scenes has Stavros holding off a German patrol with only a sniper rifle on a mountainside. He later meets the team, arriving at the predestined location before them, greeting Mallory and Miller with a calm 'Good evening, gentlemen' while he smokes a pipe. In a long line of great characters, this is one of Quinn's best.

Watching this movie every year or so, it never gets old. Aided by one of Dimitri Tiomkin's best scores and a great script from producer Carl Foreman, it truly is one of the best action/adventure movies ever. Also look for a young Richard Harris early as an exhausted 'bloody' pilot. Exciting from beginning to end with a chaotic final act, The Guns of Navarone is one of the best men-on-a-mission movies you'll ever watch. If you haven't seen it, the DVD is a cheap one and worth a blind buy. If you don't want to buy it, check out Youtube where you can see it part-by-part.

The Guns of Navarone <-----trailer (1961): ****/****