Where Eagles Dare

Where Eagles Dare is a 1968 British Metrocolor World War II action film directed by Brian G. Hutton and starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood, and Mary Ure. It was distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, filmed in Panavision, and shot on location in Austria and Bavaria. Alistair MacLean wrote the screenplay, his first, at the same time that he wrote the novel of the same name. Both became commercial successes.

The film involved some of the top filmmakers of the day and is now considered a classic. Major contributors included Hollywood stuntman Yakima Canutt, who as second-unit director shot most of the action scenes; British stuntman Alf Joint who doubled for Burton in such sequences as the fight on top of the cable car; award-winning conductor and composer Ron Goodwin, who wrote the film score; and future Oscar-nominee Arthur Ibbetson, who worked on its cinematography. The film is noted for the phrase "Broadsword calling Danny Boy", spoken  by Richard Burton several times throughout. The phrase is frequently used by Richard Burton impressionists.

Plot

In the winter of 1943–44, U.S. Army Brigadier General George Carnaby (Robert Beatty), a chief planner for the Western Front, is captured by the Germans. He is taken for interrogation to the Schloß Adler, a mountaintop fortress accessible only by cable car or helicopter. A team of seven Allied commandos, led by British Major John Smith of the Grenadier Guards (Richard Burton) and U.S. Army Ranger Lieutenant Morris Schaffer (Clint Eastwood), is briefed by Colonel Turner (Patrick Wymark) and Vice Admiral Rolland (Michael Hordern) of MI6. Disguised as German troops, they are to parachute in, enter the castle, and rescue General Carnaby before the Germans can interrogate him. After their Ju 52 transport plane drops them into Germany, Smith secretly meets Mary Ellison (Mary Ure) and Heidi Schmidt (Ingrid Pitt), their presence known only to him; Heidi arranges for Mary to be a secretary at the castle.

Although two of the team are mysteriously killed, Smith continues the operation, keeping Schaffer as a close ally and secretly updating Rolland and Turner by radio. The Germans eventually surround the commandos in a tavern, and they are forced to surrender; Smith and Schaffer (being officers) are separated from the other three operatives, Thomas (William Squire), Berkeley (Peter Barkworth), and Christiansen (Donald Houston). Smith and Schaffer kill their captors, blow up a supply depot, and prepare an escape route for later use. They reach the castle by riding on the roof of a cable car, and climb inside when Mary lowers a rope.

German Generalmajor Rosemeyer (Ferdy Mayne) and Standartenführer Kramer (Anton Diffring) are interrogating Carnaby when the four new prisoners arrive. Smith and Schaffer intrude, weapons drawn, but Smith forces Schaffer to disarm. He identifies himself as Sturmbannführer Johann Schmidt of the SD of the SS intelligence branch, and a spy too. As proof, he discreetly shows the name of Germany's top agent in Britain to Kramer, who silently affirms it. To test them, Schmidt proposes that they write down the names of their fellow agents in Britain, to be compared to his own list in his pocket. After the three finish their lists, Smith reveals that he was bluffing and that the lists were the mission's true objective.

Meanwhile, Mary is visited by Sturmbannführer (Major) von Hapen (Derren Nesbitt), a Gestapo officer attracted to her, but he becomes suspicious of flaws in her cover story. Leaving her, he happens upon the scene of Carnaby's interrogation just as Smith finishes his explanation. Von Hapen puts everyone under arrest but is distracted when Mary arrives. Schaffer seizes the opportunity to kill von Hapen and the other German officers with his silenced pistol. The group then makes its escape, taking the American General (who is actually a corporal named Jones, a trained actor) and three British Captains to the escape route. Schaffer sets explosives to create diversions around the castle, while Smith leads the group to the radio room where he informs Rolland of their success. The group reunites with Heidi on the ground, boarding a bus they had prepared earlier as an escape vehicle. They battle their way on to an airfield and escape via their Ju 52 transport, where Turner has been waiting.

As Turner debriefs Smith about the mission, Smith reveals that the name Kramer confirmed as Germany's top agent in Britain was Turner's own. Rolland had lured Turner and the others into participating so MI6 could expose them; Smith's trusted partner Mary and the American Schaffer (who had no connection to MI6) had been assigned to the mission to ensure its success. Turner aims a gun at Smith, who reveals that Rolland had the gun's firing pin removed. Smith permits Turner to jump out of the airplane to his death rather than face trial for treason, and subsequent hanging.

Cast

 Richard Burton as Maj. John Smith / Maj. Johann Schmidt
 Clint Eastwood as Lt. Morris Schaffer
 Mary Ure as Mary Ellison
 Patrick Wymark as Col. Wyatt Turner
 Michael Hordern as Vice Admiral Rolland
 Donald Houston as Capt. Olaf Christiansen
 Peter Barkworth as Capt. Ted Berkeley
 William Squire as Capt. Lee Thomas
 Robert Beatty as Brig. Gen. George Carnaby / Cpl. Cartwright Jones
 Ingrid Pitt as Heidi Schmidt 
 Brook Williams as Sgt. Harrod
 Neil McCarthy as Sgt. Jock MacPherson
 Vincent Ball as Wg Cdr. Cecil Carpenter
 Anton Diffring as Col. Paul Kramer
 Ferdy Mayne as Maj. Gen. Julius Rosemeyer
 Derren Nesbitt as Maj. von Hapen
 Victor Beaumont as Lt. Col. Weissner
 Guy Deghy as Maj. Wilhelm Wilner (uncredited)
 Derek Newark as SS Officer (uncredited)

Production

Development
Burton later said, "I decided to do the picture because Elizabeth's two sons said they were fed up with me making films they weren't allowed to see, or in which I get killed. They wanted me to kill a few people instead." 

Burton approached producer Elliott Kastner "and asked him if he had some super-hero stuff for me where I don't get killed in the end." 

The producer consulted MacLean and requested an adventure film filled with mystery, suspense, and action. Most of MacLean's novels had been made into films or were being filmed. Kastner persuaded MacLean to write a new story; six weeks later, he delivered the script, at that time entitled Castle of Eagles. Kastner hated the title, and chose Where Eagles Dare instead. The title is from Act I, Scene III in William Shakespeare's Richard III: "The world is grown so bad, that wrens make prey where eagles dare not perch". Like virtually all of MacLean's works, Where Eagles Dare features his trademark "secret traitor", who must be unmasked by the end.

Kastner and co-producer Jerry Gershwin announced in July 1966 that they had purchased five MacLean scripts, starting with Where Eagles Dare and When Eight Bells Toll.

Brian Hutton had just made Sol Madrid for the producers and was signed to direct.

Filming
Eastwood and Burton reportedly dubbed the film 'Where Doubles Dare' due to the amount of screen time in which stand-ins doubled for the cast during action sequences. Filming began on 2 January 1968 in Austria and concluded in July 1968. Eastwood received a salary of $800,000 while Burton received $1,200,000. This is one of the first films to have used front projection effect. This technology enabled filming of the scenes where the actors are on top of the cable car.

Eastwood initially thought the script written by MacLean was "terrible" and was "all exposition and complications." According to Derren Nesbitt, Eastwood requested that he be given less dialogue. Most of Schaffer's lines were given to Burton, whilst Eastwood handled most of the action scenes. Director Hutton played to his actors' strengths, allowing for Burton's theatrical background to help the character of Smith and Eastwood's quiet demeanour to establish Schaffer. Eastwood took the part on the advice of his agent, who felt it would be interesting to see his client appear with someone with seniority. Eastwood and Burton got on well on set.

Derren Nesbitt was keen to be as authentic as possible with his character Von Hapen. Whilst on location, he requested to meet a former member of the Gestapo to better understand how to play the character and to get the military regalia correct. He was injured on set whilst filming the scene in which Schaffer kills Von Hapen. The blood squib attached to Nesbitt exploded with such force that he was temporarily blinded, though he made a quick recovery.

The production was delayed while filming due to the weather in Austria. Shooting took place in winter and early spring of 1968 and the crew had to contend with blizzards, sub-zero temperatures and potential avalanches. Further delays were incurred when Richard Burton, well known for his drinking habits, disappeared for several days, with his friends Peter O'Toole, Trevor Howard and Richard Harris. As part of his deal with MGM, Clint Eastwood took delivery of a Norton P11 motorcycle, which he 'tested' at Brands Hatch racetrack, accompanied by Ingrid Pitt, something that he had been forbidden from doing by Kastner for insurance purposes in case of injury or worse.

Famed stuntman Alf Joint, who had played Capungo–the man who 007 electrocuted in the bathtub in Goldfinger–doubled and was stand-in for Richard Burton, and performed the famous cable car jump sequence, during which he lost three teeth. Joint stated that at one point during production, Burton was so under the influence that he knocked himself out while filming and Joint had to quickly fill in for him. Derren Nesbitt observed that Burton was drinking up to four bottles of vodka per day.

Visitors to the set included Elizabeth Taylor, who was married to Burton, at the time, and Robert Shaw, who was then the husband of Mary Ure.

At one point during filming, Burton was threatened at gunpoint by an overzealous fan, but fortunately danger was averted.

The Junkers Ju 52 used to fly Smith and Schaffer's team into Austria and then make their escape at the end of the film was a Swiss Air Force Ju 52/3m, registration A-702. It was destroyed in an accident on 4 August 2018, killing all 20 people on board.

 The castle – Hohenwerfen Castle, Werfen, Austria; filmed in January 1968.
 Cable car – Feuerkogel Seilbahn at Ebensee, Austria; filmed in January 1968.
 Airport scenes – Flugplatz at Aigen im Ennstal, Austria; filmed in early 1968. The exact place of filming is the "Fiala-Fernbrugg" garrison, still used by HS Geschwader 2 and FlAR2/3rd Bat. of the Austrian Army. The big rocky mountain in the background of the airfield is the Grimming mountains, about 40 km east of the "Hoher Dachstein", or about 80 km east and 10 km south from Werfen.
 The village – Lofer, Austria; filmed in January 1968.
 Other scenes – MGM-British Studios, Borehamwood, England; filmed in spring 1968.

Reception
Where Eagles Dare received a Royal premiere at the Empire, Leicester Square cinema on 22 January 1969 with Princess Alexandra in attendance. Of the stars of the film, only Clint Eastwood was not present as he was filming Two Mules for Sister Sara in Mexico. 

The film earned $6,560,000 at the North American box office during its first year of release. It was the 7th-most popular film at the UK box office in 1969, and 13th in the US. The film became a commercial success.

Though many critics found the plot somewhat confusing, reviews of the film were generally positive.
Vincent Canby of the New York Times gave a positive review, praising the action scenes and cinematography. Likewise, Variety praised the film, describing it as 'thrilling.' The film was particularly lucrative for Richard Burton, who earned a considerable sum in royalties through television repeats and video sales. Where Eagles Dare had its first showing on British television on 26 December 1979 on BBC1. 

Mad Magazine published a satire of the film in its October 1969 issue under the title "Where Vultures Fare." In 2009 Cinema Retro released a special issue dedicated to Where Eagles Dare which detailed the production and filming of the film. 

Years after its debut, Where Eagles Dare enjoys a reputation as a classic and is considered by many as one of the best war films of all time.

Soundtrack

The score was composed by Ron Goodwin. A soundtrack was released on Compact Disc in 2005 by Film Score Monthly, of the Silver Age Classics series, in association with Turner Entertainment. It was a two-disc release, the first CD being the film music, the second the film music for Operation Crossbow and source music for Where Eagles Dare. The release has been limited to 3,000 pressings.

Novel

The principal difference is that the novel by Alistair MacLean is less violent. One scene during the escape from the castle where Smith saves a German guard from burning to death presaged the non-lethal thriller vein that MacLean would explore in his later career. In the novel the characters are more clearly defined and slightly more humorous than their depictions in the film, which is fast-paced and has sombre performances from Burton and Eastwood at its centre. Three characters are differently named in the novel: Ted Berkeley is called Edward Carraciola, Jock MacPherson is called Torrance-Smythe, and Major von Hapen is instead Captain von Brauchitsch. A budding love story between Schaffer and Heidi was also cut.

In the book the group are flown into Germany on board an RAF Avro Lancaster, whereas in the film they are transported in a Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 52. While in the film Kramer, Rosemeyer, and Von Hapen are shot dead by Schaffer and Smith, in the novel they are just given high doses of nembutal. In the book Thomas, Carraciola, and Christiansen attempt to escape in the cable car with Smith on the roof. Carraciola is crushed by the steel suspension arm of the cable car while struggling with Smith on the roof; Thomas and Christiansen fall to their deaths after Smith blows the cable car up with plastic explosive. In the film Christiansen and Berkeley (Carraciola in the novel) are killed by Smith on the cablecar, and Thomas is shot and killed by a German soldier while climbing down a rope.

In popular culture
The British heavy metal band Iron Maiden recorded a song called "Where Eagles Dare" on their 1983 album Piece of Mind. The live performance features the singer in snow camouflage and Richard Burton's "Broadsword calling Danny Boy" message as an intro.

References
Notes

Bibliography
 
 
Dyer, Geoff (2018). Broadsword Calling Danny Boy. London: Penguin Books. .

External links 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Film review at AlistairMacLean.com
 Where Eagles Dare Website
 Film Locations used in Where Eagles Dare
 Film Production for Where Eagles Dare

Category:1968 films
Category:English-language films
Category:1960s war films
Category:Action war films
Category:British films
Category:British war films
Category:British adventure films
Category:Films based on British novels
Category:Films based on military novels
Category:Films based on works by Alistair MacLean
Category:War adventure films
Category:World War II novels
Category:World War II spy films
Category:Films directed by Brian G. Hutton
Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
Category:Films set in 1943
Category:Films set in 1944
Category:Films set in Austria
Category:Films set in Germany
Category:Films set in the Alps
Category:Films shot in Austria
Category:1967 British novels
Category:Novels by Alistair MacLean
Category:William Collins, Sons books
Category:Films scored by Ron Goodwin