Illogical, convoluted, nonsense...but fun

Rating: 6/10 (16 April 2014)

I was impressed with this film in 1968 when I saw it at the theater, but then again I was only 19 years old and not a very critical moviegoer. In finally watching it again when I am 64, I am decidedly unimpressed.
First off, the plot is too convoluted. Such a scenario would have never taken place during World War II (or any other time). But, I guess it must have been fun for Alistair MacLean to dream up such nonsense. Second, there are too many mistakes in the film to take it very seriously. Perhaps you didn't notice it, but in the background of a number of shots there were buildings that were clearly not WWII era. When planting explosives to blow up the castle, why would they place them to be so totally obvious, when a slightly different setup would have made them very unlikely to be discovered. And of course, then there's the question of who really is the traitor; a plot device that is as old -- and tired -- as the hills.
In terms of acting, let's start with Richard Burton. In 1968 he was only 43, but he looked too out of shape for some of the more rugged aspects of the mission. So, he seems rather out of place here, although it's always interesting to hear him speak. The choice of Clint Eastwood was more realistic, and although he was only 5 years younger than Burton, he looked physically fit enough to make some of the action scenes seem realistic. Mary Ure? The problem is not her acting, but rather the viability of such a role in the story at all.
The rather long climax of the film -- the escape -- has lots of fun shoot-em-up. But it's also illogical that a literal handful of Allied people could ward of hundreds of Germans.
A decent war film with lots of issues. This is a film where you have to suspend a lot of logic to see it as believable.