Freaktana
A Major Disappointment
Odelecol
Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.
SanEat
A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."
Marlburian
I've just watched this courtesy of Youtube. Not a bad copy, though the last third or so had poor lip sync.The main problem was that Harry Martineau was meant to be 44 (give or take a year) and George Peppard was 62 in 1990, flabby, showing the signs of heavy drinking and soon to be diagnosed with lung cancer.(He was a sixty-a-day smoker and is seen smoking a lot during NOTF.) So hardly an action man, and he had trouble scrambling over a low wall. (It must have been a stunt double shinning up the drainpipe.) Even in the role of a poule de luxe, Sara appeared flamboyantly over-dressed, and I wondered where her several elaborate outfits had come from after the boat on which she was travelling to Jersey sunk; surely not from shops on the island itself, which in 1944 was suffering acute austerity.The supporting cast all performed well and there was good period atmosphere.
chad-508
I sat, tortured, through a movie with forced acting and historical inaccuracies that became laughable. A trip from England to France in a Cessna 182? Automobiles in use produced after WW2. The beginning scenes (with the practice amphibious landings being attacked) looked like kids playing "army" in the back yard. I think (when they were hit)somebody threw a bucket of water over the side of the "landing craft".(Some)tanks used that were neither English nor American. In the end,York's character is shot under Mill's character's instructions, but this isn't even explained! Mills is passable, but weak. Peppard looked like he was trying to get his scenes over to go eat a cheeseburger. This stunk, sorry. Save your time and watch "The Eagle has Landed" for something believable.
shultz6
A most remarkable film. Made for TV and even though it is no longer available to buy, you can find it at your video store to rent. Here we have one of Peppards' finest performances. He may not have been the best actor of his day, but this role is perfect for Peppard. I have watched this film every few months since finding it a few years ago. Each viewing is as enjoyable as the first. Michael York puts in an average performance as Rommel, and Debra Raffin does okay. Peppard however carries the day. He plays an American Colonel working for the British OSE. (Operations Special Executive) I imagine this was the forerunner or wartime version of MI6 where James Bond works. Most of the film is set on the Channel Islands, occupied by the Germans for most of WW2. Our hero must extract or kill an American washed up there, who knows all the details of the D-Day landings, before the Germans interigate him. The movie doesn't even seem like three hours at all. The time goes fast and I can hardly wait to watch it again. Do yourself a favour and watch this most entertaining war drama.
melandy
This was a film that really keeps a person on the edge of his seat. It followed the novel by Jack Higgins completely. Again, I am probably a little prejudicial as I am a big George Peppard film, I thought this was one of his best perfomances.
