The Eagle Has Landed, is based on a novel by Jack Higgins that was based on the short story by Graham Greene that was made into the movie Went the Day Well? While it is interesting and perhaps instructive to examine the intersections and divergences of these four works, I want to start by encouraging you to watch The Eagle Has Landed because it is an engaging and entertaining film.
The movie has a lot to offer. It’s directed by John Sturges (Never so Few, The Great Escape). It has a creepy, scheming Heinrich Himmler played with glee by Donald Pleasence (The Great Escape), a wounded, war-weary, chain smoking German Colonel played by Robert Duvall, Donald Sutherland (Kelly’s Heroes, The Dirty Dozen) as an IRA soldier working with the Germans and Micheal Caine (The Battle of Britain, Play DIrty) as, of course, the brave, principled and compassionate Oberst Kurt Steiner, who leads a gallant group of elite paratroopers on a mission to capture or kill Winston Churchill.
Herr Oberst Radl’s credentials are “hopelessly impeccable.”
If something seems off about the last paragraph let me reiterate part: Michael Caine (A Bridge too Far, Too Late the Hero) plays a German trying to kidnap Churchill (or kill; kill is fine), and we spend most of the film rooting for both him and Duvall’s character.
This is the great trick of the movie–to make us root for the Germans. It isn’t really much of a trick though, just have Caine, Sutherland and Duvall play the Germans and have Larry Hagman (In Harm’s Way) as an American Colonel give an as annoying as possible performance. I certainly hope Hagman was instructed to make his performance as big as possible because it is cartoonish.
And this works, at least to some extent. When I saw this in a theater (rather a long time ago) there were cheers for some American successes, but I’m pretty sure there were cheers for some Germans (or their allies) when they killed Americans. For at least a part of the final battle, I’m rooting for the Germans–or at least feel bad when they die.
German paratroopers disguised as Polish paratroopers ambush American troops trying to protect Winston Churchill. Who are we rooting for again?
This sets it apart from most other World War II films–and very much apart from Went the Day Well? where dirty, arrogant Nazis are mercilessly killed to our sustained cheers. You can talk about Stalingrad, Das Boot and The Bridge, where you may to some extent be rooting for the Germans, but those are all German-made anti-war films; you’re rooting for peace.
The Eagle Has Landed is an action movie set in World War II and the Germans are the protagonists, forced into attacking by a mixture of honor and the threats from their cruel masters. No one—except Himmler (and by extension Hitler), a group of SS soldiers and maybe a local town bully (Terence Plummer)—is bad.
The traitor Joanna Gray (Jean Marsh) is clearly motivated and reasonably sympathetic here, two things the traitor in Went the Day Well? notably isn’t. In the review of that film, I wrote: “There are no tricky moral questions—the Germans are cruel and the aggressors, so they deserve to die. The traitor in their midst never tries to justify his actions, and we have no idea why he is a traitor; he is, so he deserves his fate.”
Donald Sutherland, Michael Caine, John Standing (The Sea Wolves) and Jean Marsh.
This is the most interesting divergence of these four works–only Went the Day Well? hates the Germans; even Greene’s 1941 story depicts the invading Germans as human beings–a character finds a picture of a baby among the effects of a dead German and feels bad. Greene makes the Germans human, though not heroic.
Michael Caine’s Oberst Steiner is a hero. Caine’s a great and charming actor, and he’s very good and occasionally charming here. His character is honorable, ethical and heroic—and has a good sense of humor; Caine has a great ease—his character knows who he is and acts with a measured assurance. And I should praise screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz here because a great deal of the dialogue is strong. Though some lines fall flat, I think even writing the preceding clause is a little picky.
I’m trying to decide if it’s fair to say Duvall steals the movie from Caine, and it probably isn’t, but they’re both excellent actors doing strong work. Duvall is both committed and resigned as Oberst Radl—a pawn in a political game who tries to accomplish a great and daring task. Again I find myself praising the Germans trying to kill or kidnap Churchill.
Watching Duvall work through the logistical challenges of the mission is more entertaining than it has a right to be. When Admiral Canaris (Anthony Quayle, Ice Cold in Alex, The Guns of Navaronne) orders him to stop planning the mission, Duvall plays with the files on his desk with a mixture of exasperation and indecision—you can see him struggling, and you feel bad for him. You like Duvall; you like Caine.
This movie is entertaining–even before the action starts. It moves at a good pace; even though I don’t love the embedded romance between Sutherland and Jenny Agutter, it isn’t too intrusive, and it leads to interesting complications. Agutter’s character may be under motivated, but she’s young, and it’s a love subplot, so I should probably get over it. The ending is sort of grim because (spoiler alert!) Churchill is not captured or killed; like Went the Day Well? the question isn’t “will the Germans lose” but “how will they lose.” And how they go about being defeated is the fun of the film.
And the film is fun; it is entertaining; there are a bunch of entertaining set pieces and some of the combat is well staged, though the Americans have the M-2 carbine months before it was adopted into service. I am a bit of a fan of not letting that kind of thing get to you, but if you do care, you’ve been warned.
The movie is also interesting to discuss in terms of changing attitudes towards the depiction of Germans in World War II movies, but let’s not do that right now. Let’s just enjoy the ride of really strong actors working through pretty strong material.
Recommendation
The Eagle Has Landed is an entertaining movie with a great story and many strong performances; the Blu-ray has some special features, but they aren’t stellar. Jack Higgins’ book is more like Went the Day Well? even though the movie is a close adaptation–I read Higgins a lot when I was young; he can write.
You should also watch Went the Day Well?; it’s an interesting and entertaining film. You can probably watch it for free on more than one streaming service (Tubi is a new favorite of mine).
It’s also part of this five-movie set, Their Finest Hour: 5 British WWII Classics, that I wholeheartedly recommend. Ice Cold in Alex is my favorite of the set and many people who are not me think The Dam Busters is a classic. The Colditz Story and Dunkirk are at least okay. All of the movies in the set are beautifully restored.
Greene’s short story, which is short and strong, is reprinted in The Last Word, and Other Stories.