A Final Desperate Attempt

 One Mistake And The Whole Thing Fails (In Real Life)

The Eagle Has Landed (1976) – As WWII grinds to a conclusion, a desperate plan is made to parachute German soldiers into England to kidnap Churchill.

Directed by John Sturges

Starring – Donald Sutherland, Robert Duvall, Michael Caine, Jenny Agutter, Jean Marsh, Donald

Pleasence, Larry Hagman

Why I Liked It – Great cast working with an excellent story.

Here’s a classic example of great potential let down by one member of the creative team. Director Sturges was at the end of a successful career and was far more interested in his retirement than in this movie. The result is an effort that’s ok, but well short of what should have been. It was John Sturges’ final movie.

Based on the 1976 best seeking novel by Jack Higgins, there is plenty of adventure and snappy dialogue available. Good knows, there’s more than enough talent in the cast, and all at the height of their powers. And yet, the result is lukewarm. It’s hard to pinpoint the specific issues with the movie. It’s all just meh. The movie gets more exciting during the combat scenes, but even with Larry Hagman as a gung-ho National Guard colonel, it falls short.

I’m a huge fan of Jack Higgins, and have read this novel several times. No one will confuse his writing with Shakespeare or Hemingway. But he knew how to tell a story, and excelled in creating fascinating characters, like Steiner and Devlin here.

Sadly, solid material and an A-list cast are let down by a director more interested in fishing than making the movie.

Grade A cast and script results in a C+ movie

Rating *** Worth A Look