Introduction

Allied Agents stage a daring raid on a castle where the Nazis are holding American Brigadier General George Carnaby (Robert Beatty) prisoner, but that is not all that is really going on.

Outline

In the winter of 1943–44, US 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 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 General Rosemeyer (Ferdy Mayne) and Standartenführer Kramer (Anton Diffring) are interrogating Carnaby when the three new prisoners arrive; all three identify themselves as German double agents. 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. As proof, he discreetly shows the name of Germany’s top agent in Britain to Kramer, who silently affirms it. He then reveals that “General Carnaby” is an impostor, a lookalike U.S. corporal named Cartwright Jones, further claiming that the other prisoners are British impostors. To test them, he 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 three agents as prisoners. 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. From there they head to the cable car station, sacrificing Thomas as a decoy. Berkeley and Christiansen break free and attempt their own escape in a cable car; both are thwarted and killed by Smith. 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 attempts to kill Smith with a Sten gun, but Rolland anticipated such a move and had removed its firing pin. To avoid a court martial and execution, Turner is permitted to jump from the aircraft without a parachute.

Trivia & Goofs

• 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 and Richard Harris.
• The driving force behind this movie was Richard Burton’s stepson, who wanted to see his stepfather in a good old-fashioned adventure movie. Burton approached Producer Elliott Kastner for ideas, who asked Alistair MacLean. At that time, most of MacLean’s novels had either been made into movies, or were in the process of being filmed. Kastner persuaded MacLean to write a new story. Six weeks later, MacLean delivered the script.
• This is one of the first movies to use front projection effect. Specifically, this technology enabled filming of the scenes where the actors are on top of the cable car.
• This is Writer Alistair MacLean’s second of three World War II commando genre movies. The others being The Guns of Navarone (1961) and Force 10 from Navarone (1978). However, this is the only one for which he produced the screenplay.
• The “Schloss Adler” is actually the “Schloss Hohenwerfen” in Austria. At the time of filming, the castle was being used as a police training camp. There are no cable cars near Schloss Hohenwerfen. Hence, the cable car shooting was done somewhere else.

Production & Filming Details

• Director: Brian G. Hutton.
• Producers: Elliot Kastner and Jerry Gershwin.
• Writer: Alistair MacLean (screenplay).
• Music: Ron Goodwin.
• Cinematography: Arthur Ibbetson.
• Editor: John Jympson.
• Production: Winkast Film Productions.
• Distributor: MGM.
• Release Date: 04 December 1968 (UK), 12 March 1969 (US).
• Running time: 155 minutes.
• Country: UK.
• Language: English.

YouTube Link