The Eagle Has Landed.

Rebecca at Just me... requested that we review some World Wars II movies so here is the review for The Eagle Has Landed.

If you have seen the movie please give it any score from 1 to 10.


Directed by: John Sturges
Genre: War, Suspense, Spy
Release date: December 1976
Running Time: 145 minutes
MMPA rating: PG



The Good: Very original plot, Good acting,

The Bad: Starts slow,





Plot: Inspired by the rescue of Hitler's ally Benito Mussolini by Otto Skorzeny, a similar idea is considered by Hitler, with the support of Himmler (Donald Pleasence). Admiral Canaris (Anthony Quayle), head of the Abwehr (German military intelligence), is ordered to make a feasibility study of the seemingly impossible task of capturing the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and bringing him to Germany.
Canaris considers the idea a joke, but realizes that although Hitler will soon forget the matter, Himmler will not. Fearing Himmler may try to discredit him, Canaris orders one of his officers, Oberst Radl (Robert Duvall) to undertake the study, despite feeling that it is a waste of time.
An Unteroffizier on Radl's staff finds that one of their spies, code named Starling, has provided tantalizing intelligence - Winston Churchill is to visit an airfield near the village of Studley Constable in Norfolk, where Joanna Grey (Jean Marsh), a German sleeper agent lives. Radl comes up with a scheme that could work. Himmler summons Radl and unofficially tells him to proceed, without notifying Canaris. Radl then recruits Liam Devlin (Donald Sutherland), a member of the IRA lecturing at a Berlin university, to the mission.
Radl looks for a suitable officer to lead the mission and chances upon the highly decorated and experienced, but conflicted and anti-Nazi, Fallschirmjäger officer Oberst Kurt Steiner (Michael Caine). While returning from the Eastern Front, Steiner intervened when SS soldiers rounded up Jews at a railway station in Poland, and attempted to save the life of a teenage girl who was shot while trying to escape. For this, he was court-martialled, along with a platoon of his men. Rather than face the firing squad, the men were allowed to transfer to a penal unit on the Channel Island of Alderney, where they made high risk attacks with torpedo boats against British channel convoys.
Radl travels to Alderney and, with the help of Devlin, recruits Steiner and his surviving men. The team will parachute into England from a captured C-47 with Allied markings. The commandos outfit themselves as Polish paratroopers, as few of them speak English. The plan is to infiltrate Studley Constable, complete their mission, rendezvous with an E-boat on the nearby coast and escape.


Plot: 8.5/10- The plot is very original but start slowly.


Action: 7.0/10- The Eagle Has Landed had some good action but would have been better if it had a little more.


Acting: Donald Sutherland and Michael Caine gave very good performances.


Special effects: N/A-


Soundtrack: 7.1/10- It had a good soundtrack but not very memorable.




Comedy: 7.8/10- Some very funny Kelly's Heroes like scenes with Larry Hagman.




Overall: The Eagle Has Landed is a good movie despite its a slow start.




Closing comments: The Eagle Has Landed is good movie that you should see if you have any interest in WWII or Suspense movies.

Recommended for: Suspense movie fans, WWII movie fans, War movie fans,