I’m a HUGE military history enthusiast. I remember watching old re-runs of “Combat!” on TV with my dad. He was also a history buff, and I think I inherited a lot of it from him. It spilled over into the comics I read (i.e. Sgt. Rock,) building plastic models (mostly WWII tanks and figures,) and reading all about the military. To this day, my favorite movies are old war movies.
The mid 1970s were a great time for war movies. The Eagle Has Landed, directed by John Sturges, and based on the novel by Jack Higgins, is a fictional story about a group of German paratroopers, tasked with dropping into England, disguised as Polish soldiers. The cast included Michael Caine as Colonel Kurt Steiner – the leader of the German commandos, Donald Sutherland as Liam Devlin – an IRA spy, providing logistical support to the Germans, and Robert Duvall as Colonel Radl – the German officer tasked with planning the operation.
In addition to the fantastic leads, there are a handful of noteworthy supporting players; in particular, Donald Plesasence has a small, but very convincing role as Heinrich Himmler, and a 25 year old Treat Williams plays a young Army Ranger officer.
As I said earlier, the movie is based on the Jack Higgins novel of the same name. I loved the movie so much that I read the book. Like many 1970s espionage stories (especially those centered around WWII and its aftermath,) the action is fast paced. The story focuses on military accuracy with regard to things like rank, weapons, and historical events. It also is ripe with adventure – adventure that comes at a high cost of plausibility. If, as a viewer, you can suspend that disbelief, it makes for an exciting story. Today’s audiences are considerably more sophisticated, and the movie probably seems dated to most people. As a 9 year old in the mid-70s, I had no such hang-ups. It was COOL!
It is one of those movies I will always go back and re-watch, over and over again. I can just about quote every scene. I first saw the movie on HBO, and once it was available on VHS, I HAD to own it for myself. I’ve long since upgraded to a DVD version, but I hung on to the first edition hardback novel.
Jack Higgins died in 2022, at the age of 92. He remains one of the masters of the spy / thriller genre.
-Toph
