Where Eagles Dare (1968)
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A World War II British Special Operations Executive team must infiltrate a mountain fortress to rescue a captured American General.
The story
During World War II, MI6 officers Colonel Turner and Admiral Rolland assemble a commando team to rescue American Brigadier General George Carnaby, a chief planner for the Western Front, who is a prisoner at Schloß Adler, an alpine mountaintop fortress in Bavaria, accessible only by cable car. The team, consisting of various officers and a US Army Ranger, parachutes into the area disguised as German soldiers. Upon landing, the team faces immediate danger as they must navigate the complexities of their mission while dealing with the realization that some members of their unit may not be who they seem to be.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
During World War II, a commando team is sent to rescue American Brigadier General George Carnaby from the alpine fortress Schloß Adler. The team includes Major John Smith and Lieutenant Morris Schaffer. After a series of deaths and a tense encounter in a nearby village, the team infiltrates the castle via cable car. Inside, they encounter other soldiers and eventually discover that several of their own men are actually German double agents. Smith, who is secretly working for the British but posing as a German officer to protect his team, manages to outmaneuver the German officers and identify the true traitors. Following a violent confrontation where several German officers are killed, the team escapes the castle. They travel to a nearby airfield and fly to safety. It is revealed that the mission was a complex ruse to identify spies within the British ranks, and the high-ranking officers involved were aware of the double-agent scenario. The film ends with the survivors escaping while the compromised officers are left behind or forced to flee.
- First release year
- 1968
- Runtime (minutes)
- 155
- Production countries
- United States; United Kingdom
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Brian G. Hutton
- Writers
- Alistair MacLean · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Richard Burton · Major John Smith; Clint Eastwood · Lieutenant Morris Schaffer; Mary Ure · Mary Ellison; Patrick Wymark · Colonel Wyatt Turner; Michael Hordern · Vice Admiral Rolland; Donald Houston · Captain Olaf Christiansen; Peter Barkworth · Captain Ted Berkeley; William Squire · Captain Lee Thomas
- Genres
- action; adventure; war
- Themes
- espionage; sacrifice; deception
- Tone and mood
- tense; heroic
- Premise and plot tags
- war; spy; action
- Source material / true-story basis
- novel by Alistair MacLean
- Reception
- The film was a success, received mostly positive critical reviews for its action, score, and performances, and is considered a classic.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 84% · scale: percentage · review count: 25
- Production trivia
- The title is from a line in William Shakespeare's play Richard III.; The film was shot on location in Austria.; The film was one of the first sound films to use front projection.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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