Cracking War Espionage Thriller

Rating: 9/10 (21 December 2019)

This is a 2 star movie with a 9 star rating, the 2 stars being Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood, not too shabby then, it is rare that you get 2 big stars such as these in one film, fortunately they did not clash.
Directed by Brian G. Hutton, who did not direct many but the ones he did were very good including another Clint special Kelly's Heroes, this is his best.
The acting is brilliant, with a very large supporting cast with some class actors in there also, Michael Hordern, Patrick Wymark, Donald Houston, Ferdy Mayne, Derren Nesbitt, Anton Diffring, Victor Beaumont and Peter Barkworth, with a brief glimpse of Anton Rodgers. Nesbitt despite being English does a superb Gestapo officer, the beauty is supplied by Mary Ure and Ingrid Pitt, Ingrid being the most Beautiful was actually a Polish intern in a Nazi Concentration camp for 3 years, so this role in undermining the Germans was possibly a bit of payback. Mary Ure despite her beauty does quite a lot of action scenes, so proving that women do not have to be there for the sex and romance, and can do action just as good as men, a bit of a breakthrough for the day, but it is not mentioned.
The photography is great, mostly filmed in the Austrian Alps, Switzerland and Bavaria (the fictitious Schloss Adler is supposed to be in Bavaria), and is an actual Castle - Hohenwerfen Schloss in Austria. The movie is paced well with great scenes and stirring music, including a Classic theme tune. The story by Alistair MacLean is what makes it great though, with screenplay to match.
Despite what a few idiotic reveiwer's say, it is not too long, in fact I believe they could fit more of the original story in and still keep it exciting all the way through, Classic