The Challenge is a 1970 made-for-television movie starring Darren McGavin

Darren McGavin

Darren McGavin was an American actor best known for playing the title role in the television horror series Kolchak: The Night Stalker and his portrayal in the film A Christmas Story of the grumpy father given to bursts of profanity that he never realizes his son overhears...

 and Mako

Mako (actor)

, born , was an Oscar- and Tony-nominated Japanese actor. Many of his acting roles credited him simply as Mako, omitting his surname. -Early life:...

. Director George McGowan

George McGowan

George McGowan was an American-born football player for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League where he played for eight seasons from 1971–1978. During his career with the Eskimos, he set CFL league records for most catches in a game and most catches in a season and won two Grey...

 chose to hide his involvement by using the pseudonym Alan Smithee

Alan Smithee

Alan Smithee was an official pseudonym used by film directors who wish to disown a project, coined in 1968. Until its use was formally discontinued in 2000, it was the sole pseudonym used by members of the Directors Guild of America when a director dissatisfied with the final product proved to...

.

Plot

An American space satellite lands in an uninhabited area of the Pacific. To resolve a dispute that threatens to escalate into all-out war, the United States and an unnamed Asian country agree to settle the matter with a duel to the death between two champions on a deserted tropical island. As Vietnam veteran Jacob Gallery (Darren McGavin) (armed with two Madsen M-50

Madsen M-50

The Madsen M-50 or M/50 is a submachine gun introduced in 1950. It was produced by the Danish company Dansk Industri Syndikat of Copenhagen, Denmark. The company was otherwise known as Madsen after its founder Vilhelm Herman Oluf Madsen-Overview:...

 submachine guns placed side by side) and Yuro (Mako) stalk each other, a bond of respect forms between them.

However, both countries cheat, each covertly sending a second man. Outraged, Gallery and Yuro eliminate their backups and continue with their deadly contest. In the end, Gallery emerges victorious, but before he can signal the outcome, he succumbs to his wounds.

Cast

• Darren McGavin as Jacob Gallery
• Broderick Crawford
  Broderick Crawford
  Broderick Crawford was an Academy Award-winning American stage, film, radio and TV actor, often cast in tough-guy roles and best known for his starring role in the television series "Highway Patrol."-Early life:...
  
   as Gen. Lewis Meyers
• Mako as Yuro
• James Whitmore
  James Whitmore
  James Allen Whitmore, Jr. was an American film and stage actor.-Early life:Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School in...
  
   as Overman
• Skip Homeier
  Skip Homeier
  -Career:Homeier began acting as Skippy Homeier at the age of six, on the radio show Portia Faces Life. From 1943 until 1944 he played the role of Emil in the Broadway play, Tomorrow the World. Cast as a child indoctrinated into Nazism, who is brought to the United States from Germany following the...
  
   as Lyman George
• Paul Lukas
  Paul Lukas
  Paul Lukas was an Austrian-Hungarian-born actor.-Biography:Born Pál Lukács in Budapest, he arrived in Hollywood in 1927 after a successful stage and film career in Hungary, Germany and Austria where he worked with Max Reinhardt. He made his stage debut in Budapest in 1916 and his film debut in 1917...
  
   as Dr. Nagy
• Sam Elliott
  Sam Elliott
  Samuel Pack "Sam" Elliott is an American actor. His rangy physique, thick horseshoe moustache, and deep, resonant voice match the iconic image of a cowboy or rancher, and he has often been cast in such roles.-Early life:Sam Elliott was born in Sacramento, California, to a physical training...
  
   as Bryant, Gallery's unwanted help
• Adolph Caesar
  Adolph Caesar
  Adolph Caesar was an American actor.-Biography:Born in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, he is best remembered for his role in director Norman Jewison's film, A Soldier's Story for which he received a nomination for "Best Actor in a Supporting Role" from both the Academy Awards and the...
  
  as Clarence Opano
• Andre Philippe as Swiss official
• Arianne Ulmer as Sarah (as Arianhe Ulmer)