Where Eagles Dare

Where Eagles Dare (1968)

Timing: 2:35 (155 min)

7.512/10
956

7.123/10
2319

7.6/10
68000

All about film

Video 6

Photo 55

Actors and characters

Release date

1968-12-04

Country

United Kingdom

Production

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Jerry Gershwin Productions, Elliott Kastner Productions, Winkast Film Productions, Gershwin-Kastner

Genre

Action, Adventure, War

Budget

$7 700 000

Revenue

$7 100 435

Website

Director

Brian G. Hutton

Actors

Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood, Mary Ure, Patrick Wymark, Michael Hordern, Donald Houston, Peter Barkworth, William Squire, Robert Beatty, Brook Williams
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Elliott Kastner, Jerry Gershwin

Operator

Arthur Ibbetson

Composer

Ron Goodwin

Artist

Audition

Editing

John Jympson, Ted Lloyd
All team (86)

• The film is set in 1944, six months before the opening of the Second Front. However, a German general arrives at the castle by helicopter. Yet, Germany's first and only helicopter unit (the 40th Transport Squadron) was formed in early 1945.
• The primary filming location for the film was Hohenwerfen Castle, located not in Bavaria, but in Austria, near the town of Werfen, 40 km from Salzburg, at an altitude of 155 m above the Salzach River valley.
• In scenes where the characters of Richard Burton (1925-1984) and Clint Eastwood climb the fortress’s sheer walls, Burton moves with practically no effort, while Eastwood struggles with the ascent, which is noticeable to the viewer. The fact is that Burton (who smoked like a locomotive, abused strong alcoholic beverages, and was generally out of shape) was lifted by a crane, which was removed from the frame during editing, while Eastwood, who took care of his own health, actually climbed the wall himself. And Burton had already been diagnosed with bursitis, likely complicated by improper treatment, arthritis, and dermatitis.
• The role of Lieutenant Sheffer, played by Clint Eastwood, was initially offered to Lee Marvin (1924-2022), but he declined, telling the producers that he should have been approached with such an offer four years earlier. Marvin had already starred in Robert Aldrich’s (1918-1983) war action film 'The Dirty Dozen' (1967), from which he had the most unpleasant memories. This role brought him success, but he vowed never to film in similar movies again.
• It was morally difficult for Ingrid Pitt (1937-2010), who played Heidi, a Holocaust survivor, to film, because many members of the acting ensemble around her wore the uniforms of Wehrmacht soldiers.
• Filming in Austria had to be interrupted due to weather conditions. The filming took place in winter and early spring of 1968, so the film crew and actors had to contend with both blizzards and sub-zero temperatures, as well as the risk of avalanches. In addition, filming was delayed for several days because Richard Burton, never missing an opportunity to have a drink, once disappeared with close friends Peter O’Toole (1932-2013) and Richard Harris (1930-2002).
• The film largely came about thanks to Richard Burton's stepson, who always wanted to see his stepfather in some kind of adventure film. Burton turned to producer Elliott Kastner (1930-2010) with this request, who in turn turned to screenwriter Alistair MacLean (1922-1987). At that time, films had either already been made based on all of MacLean's novels, or films were being made, and Kastner persuaded MacLean to write something new. He provided Kastner with a script for the future film within just 6 weeks.
• Darren Nesbitt insisted on portraying his character as accurately as possible (he played von Hapen), so he demanded that a former Gestapo officer be invited directly to the set to better understand how to play his character and correctly display the decorations on his uniform.
• During the filming of the scene depicting his character's death, Darren Nesbitt nearly went blind when the fireworks attached to his chest fired upwards instead of away from his body. They filmed bullets hitting von Hapen in the head and chest, but after editing, only the shots of bullets hitting the head remained in the film.