Attack on the Iron Coast
Encyclopedia
Attack on the Iron Coast is a 1967 British-American Oakmont Productions international co-production
war film
directed by Paul Wendkos
in the first of his five picture contract with Mirisch Productions, and starring Lloyd Bridges
, Andrew Keir
, Sue Lloyd
, Mark Eden
and Maurice Denham
. The film depicts an account of Allied Combined Operations Headquarters commandos
executing a daring raid on the German-occupied French coast during the Second World War. The film is based on the commando raid on the French port of St. Nazaire and is reminiscent of the film The Gift Horse.
raid on the Axis held French port of La Plagé; if destroyed the Germans would be stripped of their only dry dock
capable of servicing their large battleships. Wilson's plan code name
d Operation Mad Dog, is to ram a destroyer
packed with tons of explosives into the outer gate of the dock, while his commandos cause havoc to the docks facilities and garrison and then detonate the explosive laden destroyer. Opposed to Wilson is Royal Navy Captain Owen Franklin, whose own son was killed on Wilson's disastrous last raid on the French coast.
Under pressure from Winston Churchill
, Wilson's plan is given the go ahead even though the mission's naval commander Lt. Commander Don Kimberly is blinded in a training accident. With no other option Franklin is ordered to replace Kimberly, and thus put him in direct conflict with Wilson on the journey to France. As they cross the English Channel
Wilson finds himself at odds with Franklin when the supporting air raid seems to be cancelled, but to Wilson's surprise Franklin ignores the order to return and changes his view of both Wilson and the mission.
With a united group heading into the port, the Germans discover the approaching destroyer and its commando carrying escort of motor launch
es. After briefly stalling the Germans the convoy is bombarded by the coastal batteries which line the port entrance, but fail to stop the destroyer from ramming the dock gate. As the commandos storm ashore leaving Wilson on the destroyer's bridge it is hit once again, this time though Wilson is mortally wounded. In the port's facilities a running battle rages between the Germans and the commandos, leading to Franklin being captured and taken to the German HQ.
Brought in front of the garrison commander, Colonel Van Horst, Franklin is mocked for what the Germans see as a fruitless aim. Meanwhile a German party boards the destroyer and heads for the smashed bridge where Wilson barely alive, notices that the detonating circuit is broken. As the German officer enters the bridge Wilson with his last ounce of strength places the two wires together, completing the circuit the explosives detonate destroying the dock gate. In the German HQ, Franklin merely grins at the horror on the Germans faces as the explosion rocks the building before commandos storm the HQ and liberate him. Franklin and the commandos then depart in the waiting motor launches with their mission completed.
, producer Walter Mirisch proposed a series of British made films with a military theme having major American stars in the lead that would comply with the Eady Levy
requirements and cost no more than $1 million US$. This film was the first of the series of John C. Champion
's Oakmont Productions and began shooting in May 1967. The others were Submarine X-1
, Hell Boats
, Mosquito Squadron
, The Thousand Plane Raid
and The Last Escape
. Each of the films were approximately 90 minutes long making them suitable for half of a double feature
.
The film was shot at MGM-British Studios
Borehamwood
, Gaddesden Place
Hertfordshire and Millwall Dock
, St Katharine Docks
and the London Docklands with special effects by the Bowie Organisation.
International co-production
An international co-production is a production where two or more different production companies are working together, for example in a film production...
war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
directed by Paul Wendkos
Paul Wendkos
Paul Wendkos was an American television and film director....
in the first of his five picture contract with Mirisch Productions, and starring Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Vernet Bridges, Jr. was an American actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. Bridges is best known for his role of Mike Nelson in Sea Hunt, the most-popular syndicated American TV series in 1958...
, Andrew Keir
Andrew Keir
Andrew Keir was a Scottish actor, who rose to prominence featuring in a number of films from Hammer Film Productions in the 1960s. He was also active in television, and particularly in the theatre, in a professional career that lasted from the 1940s to the 1990s...
, Sue Lloyd
Sue Lloyd
Sue Lloyd was an English model turned actress with numerous film and television credits.-Biography:...
, Mark Eden
Mark Eden
Mark Eden is a British actor.-Career:Born in London, Eden has appeared in repertory theatre in England and Wales and at the Royal Court Theatre. His many television and film roles include the Doctor Who serial Marco Polo in which he played Marco Polo...
and Maurice Denham
Maurice Denham
Maurice Denham OBE was an English character actor who appeared in over 100 television programmes and films throughout his long career.-Life and career:...
. The film depicts an account of Allied Combined Operations Headquarters commandos
Commandos
Commandos is a stealth-oriented real-time tactics game series, available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. The game is set in the Second World War and follows the escapades of a fictional British Commandos section. It leans heavily on historical events during WWII to carry the plot...
executing a daring raid on the German-occupied French coast during the Second World War. The film is based on the commando raid on the French port of St. Nazaire and is reminiscent of the film The Gift Horse.
Plot
Canadian Commando Major Jamie Wilson plans an audacious Combined OperationsCombined Operations
Combined Operations Headquarters was a department of the British War Office set up during World War II to harass the Germans on the European continent by means of raids carried out by use of combined naval and army forces...
raid on the Axis held French port of La Plagé; if destroyed the Germans would be stripped of their only dry dock
Dry dock
A drydock is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform...
capable of servicing their large battleships. Wilson's plan code name
Code name
A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage...
d Operation Mad Dog, is to ram a destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
packed with tons of explosives into the outer gate of the dock, while his commandos cause havoc to the docks facilities and garrison and then detonate the explosive laden destroyer. Opposed to Wilson is Royal Navy Captain Owen Franklin, whose own son was killed on Wilson's disastrous last raid on the French coast.
Under pressure from Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, Wilson's plan is given the go ahead even though the mission's naval commander Lt. Commander Don Kimberly is blinded in a training accident. With no other option Franklin is ordered to replace Kimberly, and thus put him in direct conflict with Wilson on the journey to France. As they cross the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
Wilson finds himself at odds with Franklin when the supporting air raid seems to be cancelled, but to Wilson's surprise Franklin ignores the order to return and changes his view of both Wilson and the mission.
With a united group heading into the port, the Germans discover the approaching destroyer and its commando carrying escort of motor launch
Motor Launch
A Motor Launch is a small military vessel in British navy service. It was designed for harbour defence and submarine chasing or for armed high speed air-sea rescue....
es. After briefly stalling the Germans the convoy is bombarded by the coastal batteries which line the port entrance, but fail to stop the destroyer from ramming the dock gate. As the commandos storm ashore leaving Wilson on the destroyer's bridge it is hit once again, this time though Wilson is mortally wounded. In the port's facilities a running battle rages between the Germans and the commandos, leading to Franklin being captured and taken to the German HQ.
Brought in front of the garrison commander, Colonel Van Horst, Franklin is mocked for what the Germans see as a fruitless aim. Meanwhile a German party boards the destroyer and heads for the smashed bridge where Wilson barely alive, notices that the detonating circuit is broken. As the German officer enters the bridge Wilson with his last ounce of strength places the two wires together, completing the circuit the explosives detonate destroying the dock gate. In the German HQ, Franklin merely grins at the horror on the Germans faces as the explosion rocks the building before commandos storm the HQ and liberate him. Franklin and the commandos then depart in the waiting motor launches with their mission completed.
Production
Encouraged by the worldwide success of 633 Squadron633 Squadron
633 Squadron is a 1964 British film which depicts the exploits of a fictional Second World War British fighter-bomber squadron. It was based on a novel of the same name by Frederick E. Smith, published in 1956, which itself drew on several real Royal Air Force missions. The film was directed by...
, producer Walter Mirisch proposed a series of British made films with a military theme having major American stars in the lead that would comply with the Eady Levy
Eady levy
The Eady Levy was a tax on box office receipts in the United Kingdom, intended to support the British film industry and named for Sir Wilfred Eady. It was established in 1957 and terminated in 1985.- Background :...
requirements and cost no more than $1 million US$. This film was the first of the series of John C. Champion
John C. Champion
John C. Champion was an American producer and screenwriter.-Biography:...
's Oakmont Productions and began shooting in May 1967. The others were Submarine X-1
Submarine X-1
Submarine X-1 is a 1969 British World War II war film loosely based on the Operation Source attack on the German battleship Tirpitz in 1943. In the film James Caan stars as Lt...
, Hell Boats
Hell Boats
Hell Boats is a 1970 British war film directed by Paul Wendkos that was filmed in Malta. It stars James Franciscus and Elizabeth Shepherd in a story about British Motor Torpedo Boats in the Mediterranean in World War II.-Cast:...
, Mosquito Squadron
Mosquito Squadron
#Mosquito Squadron is a 1969 British war film made by Oakmont Productions, directed by Boris Sagal and starring David McCallum, with a memorable music score , which was composed and conducted by Frank Cordell.-Plot:During a Second World War Royal Air Force attack against German V-1...
, The Thousand Plane Raid
The Thousand Plane Raid
The Thousand Plane Raid is a 1969 film directed by Boris Sagal. It stars Christopher George and Laraine Stephens...
and The Last Escape
The Last Escape
The Last Escape also known as O.S.S. is a 1970 American/German international co-production war film directed by Walter Grauman and starring Stuart Whitman, John Collin and Martin Jarvis...
. Each of the films were approximately 90 minutes long making them suitable for half of a double feature
Double feature
The double feature, also known as a double bill, was a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatre managers would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown.The double feature, also known as...
.
The film was shot at MGM-British Studios
MGM-British Studios
MGM-British was a subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer initially established at Denham Film Studios in 1936. The films produced there were A Yank at Oxford , The Citadel , Goodbye, Mr...
Borehamwood
Borehamwood
-Film industry:Since the 1920s, the town has been home to several film studios and many shots of its streets are included in final cuts of 20th century British films. This earned it the nickname of the "British Hollywood"...
, Gaddesden Place
Gaddesden Place
Gaddesden Place, near Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, England, was designed by architect James Wyatt and built between 1768 and 1773, and was the home of the noted Hertfordshire Halsey family....
Hertfordshire and Millwall Dock
Millwall Dock
Millwall Dock is a dock at Millwall, south of Canary Wharf on the Isle of Dogs, in London.-History:The Millwall Dock was constructed by John Aird & Co. to a design by Sir John Fowler and opened in 1868....
, St Katharine Docks
St Katharine Docks
St Katharine Docks, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, were one of the commercial docks serving London, on the north side of the river Thames just east of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge...
and the London Docklands with special effects by the Bowie Organisation.
Soundtrack
Composer Gerard Schurmann used his score as the basis of a 1971 concert work called Attack and Celebration.Cast
- Lloyd BridgesLloyd BridgesLloyd Vernet Bridges, Jr. was an American actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. Bridges is best known for his role of Mike Nelson in Sea Hunt, the most-popular syndicated American TV series in 1958...
as Major James Wilson - Andrew KeirAndrew KeirAndrew Keir was a Scottish actor, who rose to prominence featuring in a number of films from Hammer Film Productions in the 1960s. He was also active in television, and particularly in the theatre, in a professional career that lasted from the 1940s to the 1990s...
as Captain Owen Franklin - Sue LloydSue LloydSue Lloyd was an English model turned actress with numerous film and television credits.-Biography:...
as Sue Wilson - Mark EdenMark EdenMark Eden is a British actor.-Career:Born in London, Eden has appeared in repertory theatre in England and Wales and at the Royal Court Theatre. His many television and film roles include the Doctor Who serial Marco Polo in which he played Marco Polo...
as Lieutenant Commander Donald Kimberly - Maurice DenhamMaurice DenhamMaurice Denham OBE was an English character actor who appeared in over 100 television programmes and films throughout his long career.-Life and career:...
as Rear Admiral Sir Frederick Grafton - Glyn OwenGlyn OwenGlyn Griffith Owen was a British stage, television and film actor, probably best known to British TV viewers for two roles: that of Dr...
as Forrester - Howard Pays as Lieutenant Graham
- Walter GotellWalter GotellWalter Gotell was a German actor, known for his role as General Gogol, head of the KGB, in the James Bond film series.Gotell was born in Bonn, Germany; his family emigrated to the United Kingdom after the Nazis came to power...
as Van Horst - John WelshJohn Welsh (actor)John Welsh was an Irish actor.After an early stage career in Dublin, Welsh moved into British film and television in the 1950s. His roles included James Forsyte in the 1967 BBC dramatisation of John Galsworthy's The Forsyte Saga, as well as the butler Merriman in The Duchess of Duke Street, Sgt...
as Admiral of the Fleet Lord William Cansley - George MikellGeorge MikellGeorge Mikell is an actor and writer most well known for his performances in The Guns of Navarone and The Great Escape...
as Captain Strasser - Ernest ClarkErnest ClarkErnest Clark was a British actor of stage, television and film.-Early life:Clark was the son of a master builder in Maida Vale, and was educated nearby at St Marylebone Grammar School. After leaving school he became a reporter on a local newspaper in Croydon...
as Air Vice Marshall Woodbridge
External links
- Original film trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxyyDKCgULs