Where Eagles Dare

“This is Broadsword calling Danny Boy, Broadsword calling Danny Boy.” I just wanted to get that out of the way.

Another nostalgia trip to the 1960's view of the 1940's. Just like The Battle of Britain, this is a favourite film from childhood. I wonder if this film, and BoB were remade today scene for scene with modern actors and modern production values, whether the film would still be as enjoyable? I think not. Is it nostalgia getting in the way again? Unashamedly so. The teaming of Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood is really delightful, if a bit wooden. Well the woodenness adds to the charm of course. Watching these actors I know that there will never be the likes of these again. Richard Burton's character in particular is completely beyond realism, yet I can sympathise with him in a way it is impossible with a James Bond. This guy is tired and weary, he shows fallibility under fire, yet still unmasks all the moles in MI6 by the last reel. Still there is nothing about his life, apart from his wife who he covertly brings along for the mission. The twists and turns are all beyond belief and the script is pretty bad. But Burton hams his way thorough the frequently glorious Austrian Alps scenery and all is forgiven.

What can't be forgiven is how many German troops Clint Eastwood wastes in this film without even an over quaffed hair out of place. The hair is as un-1940's as Mary Ure's shoulder length mascara... The same apples to Mary Ure's shooting skills, but again all is forgiven as her character is obviously a very capable and deadly woman. Even by today's standards she is remarkably un-weak, never mustering anything close to a scream and doing all the derring-do that the men do too.

The minor characters are a bit of a waste of acting talent – Peter Barkworth, Donald Houston and William Squire (Khachaturian in Palmer's wonderful Testimony) do nothing after they are unmasked except looking scared and remorseful. The cable-car-top fight with Burton vs Barkworth and Houston is fantastically memorable though... Derren Nesbitt makes a memorable Gestapo officer. A big contrast to his other role I have seen him in Room at the Top. What a shock it was to see this ueber-mensch as a jealous Yorkshireman! Ingrid Pitt was a joy to see again – the only other film I can think of with her in it is The Wicker Man.

The final star is the Alpine landscape. It really is joyful to behold, and chilling to imagine this part of the world in the early 1940's. For Alpine atmosphere this one is up there with On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Why can't people make wonderful Alpine films anymore?