Force 10 from Navarone
Encyclopedia
Force 10 from Navarone is a 1978 war film
loosely based on Alistair MacLean
's 1968 novel of the same name Force 10 From Navarone
. It is a sequel to the 1961 film, The Guns of Navarone
. The parts of Mallory and Miller are played by Robert Shaw
and Edward Fox
. It was directed by Guy Hamilton
and also stars Harrison Ford
, Carl Weathers
, Barbara Bach
, Franco Nero
, and Richard Kiel
.
) tells Mallory (Robert Shaw
) and Miller (Edward Fox
) that their next mission is to identify and kill a spy known as "Nicolai", who is now thought to be disguised among the Yugoslav
Partisans
as a Captain Lescovar (Franco Nero
). (In The Guns of Navarone
, the character Nicolai was the laundry boy suspected of listening to Mallory's conversations.)
To get to Yugoslavia
the two men pair with "Force 10", an American sabotage
unit led by Lt. Col. Barnsby (Harrison Ford
) and having with its own mission in Yugoslavia. To maximize security, Force 10 steals a plane from Termoli
rather than requisitioning one. US M.P
s spot the theft and try to prevent it. Weaver (Carl Weathers
), a US Army sergeant under arrest by the MP's, throws his lot in with Force 10 and forces his way onto the plane. Barnsby and crew successfully "escape" Termoli only to be shot down by German
night fighters over Yugoslavia. Only Barnsby, Mallory, Miller, Weaver and Reynolds (Angus MacInnes
) manage to escape the crippled plane.
On the ground, the survivors run across a group they believe to be Communist Yugoslav Partisans. Led by a Capt Drazak (Richard Kiel
), Force 10's rescuers are soon revealed to be collaborationist Chetniks (nationalist Serb guerrillas) under German control. Now in German custody, Mallory and Barnsby attempt to convince the commander, Major Schroeder (Michael Byrne
), that they are criminals fleeing Allied authorities. To keep Schroeder from opening Miller's suitcase, Mallory convinces him that it is filled with a "new" drug called penicillin
, which can only be opened in a laboratory. The next morning, Schroeder reveals that he has opened Miller's case. To everyone's surprise, the German finds only firewood. Mallory and Barnsby improvise, "admitting" they buried the samples. Schroeder sends them to retrieve them, under the guard of his concubine, Maritza (Barbara Bach
), and three of his soldiers, while Miller, Weaver and Reynolds are left in a cell in the camp.
Once far enough from camp, Maritza kills the Germans, revealing herself to be a partisan spy. She directs them towards the partisans under the command of her father, Major Petrovich (Alan Badel
). Mallory and Barnsby escape, ambushing and killing two of Drazak's Chetniks - men bandaged to hide burns from flamethrowers. Eventually, the two meet a patrol of real Yugoslav
Partisans
led by a man Mallory recognizes as his target – Captain Lescovar, AKA Nicolai. While Mallory assumes that Lescovar has recognized him, he and Barnsby are nevertheless taken to the partisans. Blindfolded for much of the journey, Mallory and Barnsby both realize their location when they recognize a wide river and a large hydroelectric dam near the Partisan camp.
Skeptical, Major Petrovich dismisses Mallory's story about Lescovar being Nicolai - assuring Mallory that they had executed the real 'Nicolai' months earlier. He reproves the men for killing the bandaged Chetniks, as the men were partisan infiltrators in the Chetnik camp and his only link to Maritza.
Petrovich's principle worry is an impending assault by the Wehrmacht
. The German's are marshaling their forces nearby, and only a ravine separates them from the outnumbered partisans. Only a single concrete
arch bridge
links each side of the ravine, but the partisans have been unable to destroy it. Convinced that no bridge is impregnable, Barnsby reveals that this bridge is in fact Force 10's target. Knowing Miller's expertise in demolitions, Mallory convinces a reluctant Petrovich to help mount a rescue mission using Lescovar and the Partisan Marko (Petar Buntic).
The four re-enter the camp at night, Mallory and Barnsby posing as captives and the partisans disguised as the bandaged men. Before they complete their mission, Drazak arrives with the bodies of the real bandaged men and, since Maritza had always been seen with them, concludes she was a partisan as well. A gun battle breaks out in the cell block. Schroeder and Reynolds are killed, but Mallory, Barnsby, Miller, Weaver, Lescovar and Marko escape in a truck with a badly beaten Maritza and the recovered explosives.
Having made it to the Partisans, Miller gives Barnsby and Mallory bad news – the bridge really is impregnable to explosives. Mallory hits upon the idea of destroying the upstream dam they saw earlier, with the sudden onrush of several millions of gallons of water being enough to tear down the structure. A night time air drop is arranged to replace Force 10's lost supplies, but Lescovar sabotages the air drop by calling in German planes. Maritza spots Lescovar betraying the partisans, but is killed by the turncoat before she can warn the others. German planes bomb the illuminated drop zone.
For Petrovich, the botched air drop is the last straw, and he orders the men to be sent to Marshall Tito's headquarters for transport back to Italy
. The team decides to go instead to the German marshaling yards at Mostar
, where they can get the explosives they need. With stolen German uniforms and Lescovar and Marko in their company, the men infiltrate the supply area. Lescovar again betrays them alerting a German sergeant to their presence, identifying himself as Col. Von Ingorsleben, Abwehr
Special Field Intelligence Group. Marko overhears the plan and guns down the platoon as they move in, at the cost of his own life. The others escape with Lescovar aboard a train leaving for Sarajevo
. Lescovar's hasty cover story doesn't fool Mallory or Barnsby; Mallory had noticed a map showing that their train passes within a half-mile of the dam - a fact Lescovar "neglected" to bring up; Barnsby had observed Lescovar's interactions with the German sergeant who, fatally, salutes the other man even though Lescovar's uniform only made him out to be a corporal. Mallory confronts Lescovar with his knowledge, and Barnsby shoots and kills the traitor.
Jumping the train near the dam, the team splits up: Miller and Weaver set off diversionary explosives while Mallory and Barnsby sneak into the dam. Weaver runs into Drazak, who is leading a Chetnik patrol, in the woods. The two have a knife fight and, though wounded, Weaver kills the Chetnik.
Mallory and Barnsby sneak into the dam to set the charges. With the German assault beginning at dawn - now only minutes away - they are forced to set a short fuse, leaving them no time to escape. Mallory and Barnsby are caught in the explosion, yet nevertheless survive. The dam appears undamaged. Soon, however, the dam begins to disintegrate; with its barely maintained structural integrity disrupted, the dam wall collapses, millions of tons of water cascading from it. At the bridge, the Germans starting to cross when the gigantic wall of water comes down the ravine and topples the bridge. The German assault is thwarted, saving the Partisans. Mallory and Barnsby rejoin Miller and Weaver, but the jubilation is short-lived. Mallory reminds the men that they're now trapped on the wrong side of the river, with no supplies and no way of contacting or reaching the partisans. As the credits roll, the men begin a strenuous journey back to friendly lines.
The Guns of Navarone
.
claims he wrote the screenplay.
scored the film to the 126-minute version during the summer of 1978. Before the film was released it was shortened to 118 minutes by American International Pictures
, who held the US distribution rights. Additional music cues were created by recycling music from other parts of the film - typically reusing suspense passages in scenes for which they were not written. The CD release of the soundtrack by Film Score Monthly
chronicles these changes, and presents the score as Goodwin wrote and recorded it for the 126-minute version.
. Scale models of the dam, the valley and the bridge were constructed at the Mediterranean Film Studios in Malta
.
, which had released The Guns of Navarone
. While Columbia held on to international rights, the U.S. rights would pass to Orion Pictures
in 1982 after buying Filmways
and American International Pictures
. Orion was in turn sold to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
in 1998. MGM itself was sold to a consortium led by Columbia's parent Sony
in 2005, and so Columbia holds some ancillary rights in the U.S. today, including theatrical rights.
, Sidney Cohn and Oliver Unger were deceased, their estates and surviving producer, Peter Gettinger, took Columbia Pictures
to court over unpaid money from distribution rights. Following a trial that began in May 2008 at the N.Y. Supreme Court, a judgement found the producers were entitled to funds withheld by Columbia Pictures for more than 30 years.
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...
loosely based on Alistair MacLean
Alistair MacLean
Alistair Stuart MacLean was a Scottish novelist who wrote popular thrillers or adventure stories, the best known of which are perhaps The Guns of Navarone, Ice Station Zebra and Where Eagles Dare, all three having been made into successful films...
's 1968 novel of the same name Force 10 From Navarone
Force 10 From Navarone (novel)
Force 10 from Navarone is a World War II novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean published in 1968. It is a sequel to MacLean's very popular 1957 The Guns of Navarone, but in terms of plot continuity chooses to follow the also popular 1961 film adaptation, such as including characters who were in...
. It is a sequel to the 1961 film, The Guns of Navarone
The Guns of Navarone (film)
The Guns of Navarone is a 1961 British-American Action/Adventure war film based on the 1957 novel of the same name about the Dodecanese Campaign of World War II by Scottish thriller writer Alistair MacLean. It stars Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn, along with Anthony Quayle and Stanley...
. The parts of Mallory and Miller are played by Robert Shaw
Robert Shaw (actor)
Robert Archibald Shaw was an English actor and novelist, remembered for his performances in The Sting , From Russia with Love , A Man for All Seasons , the original The Taking of Pelham One Two Three , Black Sunday , The Deep and Jaws , where he played the shark hunter Quint.-Early life...
and Edward Fox
Edward Fox (actor)
Edward Charles Morice Fox, OBE is an English stage, film and television actor.He is generally associated with portraying the role of the upper-class Englishman, such as the title character in the film The Day of the Jackal and King Edward VIII in the serial Edward & Mrs...
. It was directed by Guy Hamilton
Guy Hamilton
Guy Hamilton is an English film director.Hamilton was born in Paris, France where his English parents were living. Remaining in France during the Nazi occupation, he was active in the French Resistance...
and also stars Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in...
, Carl Weathers
Carl Weathers
Carl Weathers is an American actor, as well as former professional football player in the United States and Canada. He is best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky series of films...
, Barbara Bach
Barbara Bach
Barbara Bach is an American actress and model known as the Bond girl from the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me . She is married to former Beatle Ringo Starr.-Early life:...
, Franco Nero
Franco Nero
Franco Nero is an Italian actor.-Early life:Nero was born Francesco Sparanero in San Prospero Parmense , the son of a sergeant in the...
, and Richard Kiel
Richard Kiel
Richard Dawson Kiel is an American actor best known for his role as the steel-toothed Jaws in the James Bond movies The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker as well as the video game Everything or Nothing, and Mr. Larson in Happy Gilmore...
.
Plot
After the successful Navarone mission, Commander Jensen (Philip LathamPhilip Latham
Philip Latham is a British actor. He was educated at Felsted School.In the late 1960s/early 1970s he was well known to British TV viewers for his portrayal of chief accountant Willy Izard, the "conscience" to hard-nosed oil company industrialist Brian Stead in the BBC series The Troubleshooters...
) tells Mallory (Robert Shaw
Robert Shaw (actor)
Robert Archibald Shaw was an English actor and novelist, remembered for his performances in The Sting , From Russia with Love , A Man for All Seasons , the original The Taking of Pelham One Two Three , Black Sunday , The Deep and Jaws , where he played the shark hunter Quint.-Early life...
) and Miller (Edward Fox
Edward Fox (actor)
Edward Charles Morice Fox, OBE is an English stage, film and television actor.He is generally associated with portraying the role of the upper-class Englishman, such as the title character in the film The Day of the Jackal and King Edward VIII in the serial Edward & Mrs...
) that their next mission is to identify and kill a spy known as "Nicolai", who is now thought to be disguised among the Yugoslav
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
Partisans
Partisan (military)
A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...
as a Captain Lescovar (Franco Nero
Franco Nero
Franco Nero is an Italian actor.-Early life:Nero was born Francesco Sparanero in San Prospero Parmense , the son of a sergeant in the...
). (In The Guns of Navarone
The Guns of Navarone (film)
The Guns of Navarone is a 1961 British-American Action/Adventure war film based on the 1957 novel of the same name about the Dodecanese Campaign of World War II by Scottish thriller writer Alistair MacLean. It stars Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn, along with Anthony Quayle and Stanley...
, the character Nicolai was the laundry boy suspected of listening to Mallory's conversations.)
To get to Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
the two men pair with "Force 10", an American sabotage
Sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
unit led by Lt. Col. Barnsby (Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in...
) and having with its own mission in Yugoslavia. To maximize security, Force 10 steals a plane from Termoli
Termoli
Termoli is a town and comune on the Adriatic coast of Italy, in the province of Campobasso, region of Molise. It has a population of around 32,000, having expanded quickly after World War II, and it is a local resort town known for its beaches and old fortifications...
rather than requisitioning one. US M.P
Military police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
s spot the theft and try to prevent it. Weaver (Carl Weathers
Carl Weathers
Carl Weathers is an American actor, as well as former professional football player in the United States and Canada. He is best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky series of films...
), a US Army sergeant under arrest by the MP's, throws his lot in with Force 10 and forces his way onto the plane. Barnsby and crew successfully "escape" Termoli only to be shot down by German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
night fighters over Yugoslavia. Only Barnsby, Mallory, Miller, Weaver and Reynolds (Angus MacInnes
Angus MacInnes
Angus MacInnes is a Canadian actor. He is most famous for his role as Gold Leader in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and as former hockey great Jean "Rosey" LaRose in the comedy Strange Brew...
) manage to escape the crippled plane.
On the ground, the survivors run across a group they believe to be Communist Yugoslav Partisans. Led by a Capt Drazak (Richard Kiel
Richard Kiel
Richard Dawson Kiel is an American actor best known for his role as the steel-toothed Jaws in the James Bond movies The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker as well as the video game Everything or Nothing, and Mr. Larson in Happy Gilmore...
), Force 10's rescuers are soon revealed to be collaborationist Chetniks (nationalist Serb guerrillas) under German control. Now in German custody, Mallory and Barnsby attempt to convince the commander, Major Schroeder (Michael Byrne
Michael Byrne (actor)
Michael Byrne is an English actor noted for his roles on film and television. He has often been cast in Nazi military roles such as Colonel Vogel in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Obergruppenführer Odilo Globocnik in the BBC radio dramatisation of the novel Fatherland by Robert Harris...
), that they are criminals fleeing Allied authorities. To keep Schroeder from opening Miller's suitcase, Mallory convinces him that it is filled with a "new" drug called penicillin
Penicillin
Penicillin is a group of antibiotics derived from Penicillium fungi. They include penicillin G, procaine penicillin, benzathine penicillin, and penicillin V....
, which can only be opened in a laboratory. The next morning, Schroeder reveals that he has opened Miller's case. To everyone's surprise, the German finds only firewood. Mallory and Barnsby improvise, "admitting" they buried the samples. Schroeder sends them to retrieve them, under the guard of his concubine, Maritza (Barbara Bach
Barbara Bach
Barbara Bach is an American actress and model known as the Bond girl from the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me . She is married to former Beatle Ringo Starr.-Early life:...
), and three of his soldiers, while Miller, Weaver and Reynolds are left in a cell in the camp.
Once far enough from camp, Maritza kills the Germans, revealing herself to be a partisan spy. She directs them towards the partisans under the command of her father, Major Petrovich (Alan Badel
Alan Badel
Alan Fernand Badel was a distinguished English stage actor who also appeared frequently in the cinema, radio and television and was noted for his richly textured voice which was once described as "the sound of tears".-Early life:...
). Mallory and Barnsby escape, ambushing and killing two of Drazak's Chetniks - men bandaged to hide burns from flamethrowers. Eventually, the two meet a patrol of real Yugoslav
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
Partisans
Partisan (military)
A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...
led by a man Mallory recognizes as his target – Captain Lescovar, AKA Nicolai. While Mallory assumes that Lescovar has recognized him, he and Barnsby are nevertheless taken to the partisans. Blindfolded for much of the journey, Mallory and Barnsby both realize their location when they recognize a wide river and a large hydroelectric dam near the Partisan camp.
Skeptical, Major Petrovich dismisses Mallory's story about Lescovar being Nicolai - assuring Mallory that they had executed the real 'Nicolai' months earlier. He reproves the men for killing the bandaged Chetniks, as the men were partisan infiltrators in the Chetnik camp and his only link to Maritza.
Petrovich's principle worry is an impending assault by the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
. The German's are marshaling their forces nearby, and only a ravine separates them from the outnumbered partisans. Only a single concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
arch bridge
Arch bridge
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side...
links each side of the ravine, but the partisans have been unable to destroy it. Convinced that no bridge is impregnable, Barnsby reveals that this bridge is in fact Force 10's target. Knowing Miller's expertise in demolitions, Mallory convinces a reluctant Petrovich to help mount a rescue mission using Lescovar and the Partisan Marko (Petar Buntic).
The four re-enter the camp at night, Mallory and Barnsby posing as captives and the partisans disguised as the bandaged men. Before they complete their mission, Drazak arrives with the bodies of the real bandaged men and, since Maritza had always been seen with them, concludes she was a partisan as well. A gun battle breaks out in the cell block. Schroeder and Reynolds are killed, but Mallory, Barnsby, Miller, Weaver, Lescovar and Marko escape in a truck with a badly beaten Maritza and the recovered explosives.
Having made it to the Partisans, Miller gives Barnsby and Mallory bad news – the bridge really is impregnable to explosives. Mallory hits upon the idea of destroying the upstream dam they saw earlier, with the sudden onrush of several millions of gallons of water being enough to tear down the structure. A night time air drop is arranged to replace Force 10's lost supplies, but Lescovar sabotages the air drop by calling in German planes. Maritza spots Lescovar betraying the partisans, but is killed by the turncoat before she can warn the others. German planes bomb the illuminated drop zone.
For Petrovich, the botched air drop is the last straw, and he orders the men to be sent to Marshall Tito's headquarters for transport back to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. The team decides to go instead to the German marshaling yards at Mostar
Mostar
Mostar is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the largest and one of the most important cities in the Herzegovina region and the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. Mostar is situated on the Neretva river and is the fifth-largest city in the country...
, where they can get the explosives they need. With stolen German uniforms and Lescovar and Marko in their company, the men infiltrate the supply area. Lescovar again betrays them alerting a German sergeant to their presence, identifying himself as Col. Von Ingorsleben, Abwehr
Abwehr
The Abwehr was a German military intelligence organisation from 1921 to 1944. The term Abwehr was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only...
Special Field Intelligence Group. Marko overhears the plan and guns down the platoon as they move in, at the cost of his own life. The others escape with Lescovar aboard a train leaving for Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
. Lescovar's hasty cover story doesn't fool Mallory or Barnsby; Mallory had noticed a map showing that their train passes within a half-mile of the dam - a fact Lescovar "neglected" to bring up; Barnsby had observed Lescovar's interactions with the German sergeant who, fatally, salutes the other man even though Lescovar's uniform only made him out to be a corporal. Mallory confronts Lescovar with his knowledge, and Barnsby shoots and kills the traitor.
Jumping the train near the dam, the team splits up: Miller and Weaver set off diversionary explosives while Mallory and Barnsby sneak into the dam. Weaver runs into Drazak, who is leading a Chetnik patrol, in the woods. The two have a knife fight and, though wounded, Weaver kills the Chetnik.
Mallory and Barnsby sneak into the dam to set the charges. With the German assault beginning at dawn - now only minutes away - they are forced to set a short fuse, leaving them no time to escape. Mallory and Barnsby are caught in the explosion, yet nevertheless survive. The dam appears undamaged. Soon, however, the dam begins to disintegrate; with its barely maintained structural integrity disrupted, the dam wall collapses, millions of tons of water cascading from it. At the bridge, the Germans starting to cross when the gigantic wall of water comes down the ravine and topples the bridge. The German assault is thwarted, saving the Partisans. Mallory and Barnsby rejoin Miller and Weaver, but the jubilation is short-lived. Mallory reminds the men that they're now trapped on the wrong side of the river, with no supplies and no way of contacting or reaching the partisans. As the credits roll, the men begin a strenuous journey back to friendly lines.
Cast
- Robert ShawRobert Shaw (actor)Robert Archibald Shaw was an English actor and novelist, remembered for his performances in The Sting , From Russia with Love , A Man for All Seasons , the original The Taking of Pelham One Two Three , Black Sunday , The Deep and Jaws , where he played the shark hunter Quint.-Early life...
as Major Keith Mallory - Harrison FordHarrison FordHarrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in...
as Lieutenant Colonel Mike Barnsby - Barbara BachBarbara BachBarbara Bach is an American actress and model known as the Bond girl from the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me . She is married to former Beatle Ringo Starr.-Early life:...
as Maritza Petrovich - Edward FoxEdward Fox (actor)Edward Charles Morice Fox, OBE is an English stage, film and television actor.He is generally associated with portraying the role of the upper-class Englishman, such as the title character in the film The Day of the Jackal and King Edward VIII in the serial Edward & Mrs...
as Staff Sergeant John Miller - Franco NeroFranco NeroFranco Nero is an Italian actor.-Early life:Nero was born Francesco Sparanero in San Prospero Parmense , the son of a sergeant in the...
as Captain Nikolai Lescovar/ColonelOberstOberst is a military rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. The Swedish rank överste is a direct translation, as are the Finnish rank eversti...
von Ingorslebon - Carl WeathersCarl WeathersCarl Weathers is an American actor, as well as former professional football player in the United States and Canada. He is best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky series of films...
as Sergeant Weaver - Richard KielRichard KielRichard Dawson Kiel is an American actor best known for his role as the steel-toothed Jaws in the James Bond movies The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker as well as the video game Everything or Nothing, and Mr. Larson in Happy Gilmore...
as Captain Drazak - Alan BadelAlan BadelAlan Fernand Badel was a distinguished English stage actor who also appeared frequently in the cinema, radio and television and was noted for his richly textured voice which was once described as "the sound of tears".-Early life:...
as Major Petrovich - Michael ByrneMichael Byrne (actor)Michael Byrne is an English actor noted for his roles on film and television. He has often been cast in Nazi military roles such as Colonel Vogel in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Obergruppenführer Odilo Globocnik in the BBC radio dramatisation of the novel Fatherland by Robert Harris...
as Major Schroeder - Philip LathamPhilip LathamPhilip Latham is a British actor. He was educated at Felsted School.In the late 1960s/early 1970s he was well known to British TV viewers for his portrayal of chief accountant Willy Izard, the "conscience" to hard-nosed oil company industrialist Brian Stead in the BBC series The Troubleshooters...
as Cmdr. James Jensen - Angus MacInnesAngus MacInnesAngus MacInnes is a Canadian actor. He is most famous for his role as Gold Leader in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and as former hockey great Jean "Rosey" LaRose in the comedy Strange Brew...
as 1st Lieutenant Doug Reynolds - Michael SheardMichael SheardMichael Sheard was a Scottish actor who featured in a large number of films and television programmes.-Early life:...
as Sergeant Bauer - Petar Buntic as Marko
Reception
The film was moderately successful. It however failed to be a major success unlike the earlierThe Guns of Navarone
The Guns of Navarone
The Guns of Navarone can refer to:*The Guns of Navarone - 1957 novel set during World War II by writer Alistair MacLean*The Guns of Navarone - a 1961 film starring Gregory Peck, David Niven, and Anthony Quinn, based on the novel...
.
Screenplay
In The Light's on at Signpost, George MacDonald FraserGeorge MacDonald Fraser
George MacDonald Fraser, OBE was an English-born author of Scottish descent, who wrote both historical novels and non-fiction books, as well as several screenplays.-Early life and military career:...
claims he wrote the screenplay.
Musical score
Composer Ron GoodwinRon Goodwin
Ronald Alfred Goodwin was a British composer and conductor known for his film music. He scored over 70 films in a career lasting over fifty years....
scored the film to the 126-minute version during the summer of 1978. Before the film was released it was shortened to 118 minutes by American International Pictures
American International Pictures
American International Pictures was a film production company formed in April 1956 from American Releasing Corporation by James H. Nicholson, former Sales Manager of Realart Pictures, and Samuel Z. Arkoff, an entertainment lawyer...
, who held the US distribution rights. Additional music cues were created by recycling music from other parts of the film - typically reusing suspense passages in scenes for which they were not written. The CD release of the soundtrack by Film Score Monthly
Film Score Monthly
Film Score Monthly is an online magazine founded by editor-in-chief and executive producer Lukas Kendall in June 1990 as The Soundtrack Correspondence List...
chronicles these changes, and presents the score as Goodwin wrote and recorded it for the 126-minute version.
Locations
Filming was completed at the Đurđevića Tara Bridge, MontenegroMontenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
. Scale models of the dam, the valley and the bridge were constructed at the Mediterranean Film Studios in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
.
Versions
The 118-minute cut was released worldwide theatrically by Columbia PicturesColumbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
, which had released The Guns of Navarone
The Guns of Navarone (film)
The Guns of Navarone is a 1961 British-American Action/Adventure war film based on the 1957 novel of the same name about the Dodecanese Campaign of World War II by Scottish thriller writer Alistair MacLean. It stars Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn, along with Anthony Quayle and Stanley...
. While Columbia held on to international rights, the U.S. rights would pass to Orion Pictures
Orion Pictures
Orion Pictures Corporation was an American independent production company that produced movies from 1978 until 1998. It was formed in 1978 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and three former top-level executives of United Artists. Although it was never a large motion picture producer, Orion...
in 1982 after buying Filmways
Filmways
Filmways, Inc. was a television and film production company founded by American film executive Martin Ransohoff in 1958...
and American International Pictures
American International Pictures
American International Pictures was a film production company formed in April 1956 from American Releasing Corporation by James H. Nicholson, former Sales Manager of Realart Pictures, and Samuel Z. Arkoff, an entertainment lawyer...
. Orion was in turn sold to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
in 1998. MGM itself was sold to a consortium led by Columbia's parent Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
in 2005, and so Columbia holds some ancillary rights in the U.S. today, including theatrical rights.
Legal action
Although three producers of the film Carl ForemanCarl Foreman
Carl Foreman, CBE was an American screenwriter and film producer who wrote the notable film High Noon. He was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses in the 1950s.-Biography:...
, Sidney Cohn and Oliver Unger were deceased, their estates and surviving producer, Peter Gettinger, took Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
to court over unpaid money from distribution rights. Following a trial that began in May 2008 at the N.Y. Supreme Court, a judgement found the producers were entitled to funds withheld by Columbia Pictures for more than 30 years.