The Eagle Has Landed

Rating:
Summary: The Eagle Has Landed (1977)
Review: Title: The Eagle Has Landed
Released: 1977
Rated: PG
Runtime: 2 hours 11 minutes
Directed by: John Sturges
Starring: Michael Caine as Col. Kurt Steiner
Donald Sutherland as Liam Devlin
Robert Duvall as Col. Max Radl
Jenny Agutter as Molly Prior
Donald Pleasence as Heinrich Himmler
Anthony Quayle as Admiral Canaris
Treat Williams as Capt. Clark
Larry Hagman as Col. Pitts

Great cast in durable war movie based on the 1975 best seller of the same name by Jack Higgins. The movie details the fictional attempt by the Germans to capture British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during World War II. The story takes place in 1943 shortly after the daring rescue of Italian leader Benito Mussolini from a mountaintop fortress by German paratroopers. This gives the German high command the idea of seizing Churchill and transporting him to Germany, in the hopes of leading Britain to seek peace. Admiral Canaris (Quayle) assigns Col. Radl (Duvall) to come up with a plan to appease the command staff. To his suprise, Radl finds that although farfetched, the plan is possible. Churchill is scheduled to visit a chateau near a small coastal village (that just happens to be imbedded with a German spy) and Radl sees this as an opportunity to snatch him away. He chooses Col. Steiner (Caine) and his small detachment of elite paratroopers to carry out the mission and assigns Devlin (Sutherland), a German employed Irish Nationalist, to parachute into England posing as a gamewarden and pave the way for the arrival of Steiner's force. Canaris wants to shelve the plan, realizing that the war is turning against Germany and it would all be for naught. However Heinrich Himmler (Pleasence in a solid performance), the head of the dreaded SS, orders the plan to be initiated.
Steiner and his men must first be bailed out of trouble with the SS for coming to the aid of a Jewish girl who was being shipped off to a concentration camp. Sutherland arrives and quickly falls into his roll as the village's gamewarden. He soon falls in love with the pretty Molly Prior (Agutter) who is also lusted after by the village bully. Steiner's men soon arrive and begin trouncing about the English countryside posing as an in-training Polish unit (which were not at all uncommon in wartime England). Things are compounded for Steiner and his loyal band of troops when they soon discover that an American Ranger unit is stationed near the village. This unit is commanded by the inept former desk jockey Col. Pitts (played by Hagman) who lusts for combat experience.
The German plan soon unravels when one of Steiner's men is identified as being a German soldier. The Rangers are notified of the German presence and an exciting and climatic battle soon begins for the control of the village. Will the German's succeed in their quest to capture or kill Churchill? Will any of Steiner's men survive the onslaught of Rangers? Will the reckless Col. Pitts be able to lead his troops to victory over the invaders or will the cooler head of Ranger Captain Clark (Williams) come into play? What will become of Devlin's love for Prior?
The movie, which was filmed in England and Finland, is very well done and manages to keep the interest of the audience while delivering a good amount of action and suspense. The only setback to the movie is the fact that most of the Germans talk in English without accents, but if you aren't able to stretch your imagination somewhat then you probably aren't much of a movie fan. The great John Sturgis has given us a worthy entry into the big-cast 1960-1970's war movie genre. The DVD (widescreen version) has no notable extras.




Rating:
Summary: As usual, a movie that pales in comparison to the book.
Review: Unfortunately, the movie does not do Jack Higgins' best work justice. The cast is excellent and, at times, seemingly too realistic; however, the screenplay is a poor adaption from the book. The story is not developed well--which is disappointing because the movie's unexpected and thrilling plot is left out to dry. And most importantly, the finale is a HUGE disappointment--almost to the point of being anticlimatic. Let's just hope that Higgings' other espionage novels are not headed to the big screen.