The Eagle Has Landed

• Directed by John Sturges
• December 25, 1976 (Finland and Sweden) / March 31, 1977 (UK)
• Based on the 1975 novel The Eagle Has Landed by Jack Higgins

A plot is enacted by Nazi Germany to kidnap Winston Churchill in the middle of World War II.

A war adventure movie with Nazis as the main characters with a cast containing Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland and Robert Duvall? That is what you get in The Eagle Has Landed directed by the great John Sturges. Perhaps not the finest example of Sturges’ work but a worthwhile film.

Colonel (Oberst) Kurt Steiner (Michael Caine) is probably the least evil Nazis of the cast of characters. When we first meet him he is a paratrooper tired of battle and war and attempts to let a young Jewish woman escape because she is no threat to anyone. This particular action blows up in his face when she is not only shot but it causes he along with his very loyal men to be court martialed.

Steiner is a complicated character. He is a man of honor that cares about his men. He’s tough with a clearly defined sense of right and wrong and how to act. His loyalty is to his men and their well-being and they return it. His actions in the film may seem contradictory to his code of conduct but in light of his sense of duty not so much. That seeming contradiction needed better explanation. I can make head canon on why he continues to the bitter end but there is little in the film to make it canonical.

Accents in film are a bit of a sticking point for me. If the actors sport one it needs to be good and all the actors of whatever nationality need to use it. Consistency aids in the suspension of disbelief. I don’t think Michael Caine ever uses even a bad German accent. Robert Duvall as Colonel (Oberst) Max Radl uses one that is somewhat clunky. Donald Pleasence as one of the most visually accurate Heinrich Himmlers ever on film (YIKERS!) gives just enough for authenticity and no more. Donald Sutherland as Liam Devlin was a talented actor who could not do a plausible Irish accent to save his life. Either his character should’ve either been rewritten to be an American in contrast to the book or producers should have hired one of many talented Irish actors that were working at the time.

The Eagle Has Landed mixes fact and fiction deftly to make the most schooled in WWII minds believe this could have happened. Using the Grand Sasso raid for inspiration, this tells the story of a fictitious German operation to kill Winston Churchill as he recuperates in a small British village.

I do think there is a little bit too much narrative padding here. With establishing travel shots showing characters moving from Point A to Point B could’ve been trimmed down if not cut completely. Getting out of a car or stepping off a bike or even coming through the front door is more than enough to demonstrate that a character travelled from somewhere. Some have said Sturges gave up a bit here with editing ultimately saving the movie. I see validity in the argument based on what I just mentioned.

Subplots can give a film meat (and runtime) but if they add little to nothing to the main plot they should be cut to reduce narrative lag. The Liam/Molly (Jenny Agutter) romance really went nowhere. Molly is essentially the town trollop and he’s a scumbag. No real growth for either or importance to the main story. All it does is allow for more Brits to be on the screen. Some dialogue feels unnecessary.

Even if there is unnecessary stuff the actors show up to tell whatever part of the story they need to tell, but don’t seem to get any extended moments. Treat Williams as Captain Harry Clark and Larry Hagman as Colonel Clarence E. Pitts show up with Pitts becoming almost a cartoonish depiction of a glory hungry American. His actions border on cartoonish. Yet they do not overstay their welcome.

I enjoyed myself. It was exciting with an ending that proved shocking and surprising while also fitting into what really happened. There is a distinct level of plausibility through this movie that pulls you in and gets you past the issues. The dialogue is excellent and characters distinct.

Though flawed and a bit padded, The Eagle Has Landed is an enjoyable bit of historical fiction. Not a Sturges great but a fine film.