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A Colonel with the Luftwaffe, imprisoned for striking a fellow officer, is offered a lifeline when Nazi Colonel Radl (Robert Duvall) asks him to lead a daring suicide mission to kidnap Winston Churchill. Radl has received direct orders from Heinrich Himmler (Donald Pleasance), who in turn, has been instructed by Hitler himself. The PM is known to be holidaying in Norfolk, so recently released prisoner Karl Steiner (Michael Caine) and his men parachute into Sudley Constable, a small village nearby, camouflaged as Polish allies. The sixteen man team comprises of a motley crew of stereotypes, including a honey voiced IRA man Liam Devlin (Donald Sutherland), who dupes a young girl on horseback (Jenny Agutter) - one of the few women in the film. After an incident in which one of his men saves the life of a local boy, their mission is jeopardised when the rescuer is killed and his Nazi identity revealed beneath the Polish garb. Steiner and his men take refuge in a Church as they await the arrival of Churchill to complete the Fuhrer’s orders. Based on the Jack Higgins novel, this was the last film John Sturges (The Great escape, The Magnificent seven) directed before his death in 1992. Cast also includes Anthony Quayle, Jean Marsh, Treat Williams and Larry Hagman. Screenplay by Tom Mankiewicz.
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How to watch
Stream, rent or buy via
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
317741
Language
English
Audience classification
PG
Subject categories
Armed Forces, Military, War & Weapons → World War, 1939-1945
Crime, Espionage, Justice, Police & Prisons → Espionage
Crime, Espionage, Justice, Police & Prisons → Kidnapping
Feature films → Feature films - Great Britain
Literature → American literature - Film and video adaptations
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)