Where Eagles Dare

All ready here, sir. Crew standing by and awaiting your word. Over.

Right. Over and out.

Our man was brought down at 2 a.m. this morning.

SHAEF, in their all-knowing wisdom, didn't let us know until 10 a.m.

Damned idiots. Damned idiots for not letting us know.

Double damned idiots for ignoring our advice in the first place.

Anyway, here he is...

in a town called Werfen...

at the Schloss Adler, the Castle of the Eagles.

And believe me, it's well-named, because only an eagle can get to it.

Our job is to get inside there and get him out as soon as possible...

before they can get the information from him.

How are you so sure that he's there, sir?

The Mosquito he was in crash-landed only 10 miles away.

The Schloss Adler is the headquarters of the German secret service in southern Bavaria.

Where else would they take him?

- How did the plane crash, sir? - Through the most damnable ill luck.

We carried out a saturation raid on Nuremberg last night.

There shouldn't have been a German fighter within 100 miles of the Austrian border.

A wandering Messerschmitt patrol got him.

Anyway, that's not important.

What is important is that we get him out before he talks.

Or I should say, you get him out.

What about paratroops, sir?

The Schloss Adler is inaccessible and impregnable.

It would require a battalion of paratroops to take it.

We haven't got the time.

Stealth and secrecy are our only hope...

and you gentlemen are, I trust, stealthy and secretive.

We realize of course that you've never worked together before as a team...

but you're familiar with one another, except for Lieutenant Schaffer here.

You probably noticed that Lieutenant Schaffer...

wears the shoulder flashes of the American Ranger division.

I think that speaks for itself.

Major Smith will lead the group in.

Now, you're all expert at survival behind enemy lines.

Smith, Lieutenant Schaffer...

Sergeants Harrod and MacPherson in their military capacities...

the rest of you in other duties.

You all speak fluent German.

You've been trained in different types of combat.

If anybody has a chance of getting him out, you have.

There is, of course, another way, sir.

A way with a 100 percent guarantee of success.

Neither Admiral Rolland or I claim to be omniscient or infallible.

Is there an alternative that we've missed?

Whistle up a pathfinder squadron of Lancasters with 10-ton bombs.

I don't think anybody in that castle would ever talk again.

Nor do I think that you grasp the realities of the situation.

The captured man, General Carnaby, is an American.

If we were to destroy him, then I think General Eisenhower...

might launch his second front against us rather than against the Germans.

There are certain niceties to be observed in our relationship with our allies.

Very well, then, gentlemen. Ten o'clock tonight at the airfield.

- No more questions, I take it? - Yes, sir.

Begging the colonel's pardon, sir. What's all this about?

I mean, why is this man so damned important?

- Why should...? - That'll do, sergeant.

You have all the information you require.

I think if we're sending a man to what may be his death...

he has a right to know why.

It's painfully simple, sergeant.

General Carnaby is one of the overall coordinators...

of planning for the second front.

He set out last night to meet his opposite numbers in the Middle East...

to finalize the plans for the invasion of Europe.

The rendezvous with the Russians was to have been in Crete.

Now, unfortunately, his plane didn't get through.

Now, if the Germans can make him talk...

it could mean no second front this year.

- Do you understand, sergeant? - Yes, sir.

I'm sorry, sir. That's all right, sergeant. Forget it.

Now, if you have any more questions, Major Smith will answer them.

That's all, gentlemen.

Get them ready. We're approaching the drop area.

Stand by!

Green on! Go!

Where's Harrod?

Well, last time I saw him, he was drifting towards those trees over here.

All right. Spread out.

Let's go and find him.

Major!

- His neck's broken. - Damn it.

Well, what do we do now? Do we bury him or do we leave him here?

We leave him here. The snow will cover him in a couple of hours.

Get back and pick up the equipment. I want to see if the radio's still working.

Well...

the radio works all right. There's a barn about a mile down the valley.

We'll use it to check our equipment.

- What about the people who live in it? - There aren't any.

This is a high alpine pasture.

They bring the cattle up in May and take them down in September.

The rest of the time, the place is totally deserted.

Come on. Let's go.

Somehow, you know, this just isn't me.

It's not any of us, Jock. You're the cook. Cook...

some hot food and some hot coffee, and then call London on the radio.

Damn it. I left that code book in Sergeant Harrod's tunic.

- I'll go and get it for you. - No, it's all right. It's my own stupid fault.

Sounds as if it's still blowing a blizzard. Yeah.

Well, if I'm not back in an hour...

signal me with a flare pistol four times every five minutes.

That should bring a blind man home.

Might also bring the best part of a German regiment.

There's not a German within five miles.

Nobody leaves here until I come back.

- Jock, save me some coffee. - It'll be cold by then.

They say that's an advantage. You can't taste cold coffee.

Halt.

Turn around.

You took your time getting here, didn't you?

Things to attend to.

- You enjoy your trip? - Lovely.

I nearly froze to death in that damn plane.

Why couldn't you have supplied some hot water bottles or an electrically heated suit?

- I thought you loved me. - I can't help what you think.

You managed to bring your gear.

Is that all the greeting I'm going to get?

I'm afraid so, for the time being. My radio operator was killed in the drop.

What happened?

Something struck him in the back of the neck.

Either the haft of a knife or the butt of a gun.

The skin was unbroken, but badly discolored.

It means someone broke his neck afterwards...

to make it look like an accident.

Now listen, I'm taking the group at dawn over the ridge into the next valley.

We'll stop in the woods until about 7. Now, don't stumble into us.

As soon as it's dark, we'll move into the village of Werfen.

In the village, there's a gasthaus called Zum Wilden Hirsch.

Behind it and to the right, there's a woodshed.

I'll meet you there at exactly 8:00 tomorrow night.

- And after that, what? - I'll let you know when the time comes.

Ah.

- I see you've come fully prepared. - Never mind about that.

How do you know about all these things, Zum Wilden Hirsch and the shed?

I'm entitled to know.

You're entitled to know nothing.

We've worked together for three years. I'm a professional.

So am I.

If I were the marrying kind, which I'm...

- I thought you were in a hurry. - So I am.

Aren't you?

What kept you?

Well, I was very lucky.

I ran into this fabulous blond. She was lying on a snowdrift.

Does she have a friend?

No, I'm afraid you're out of luck.

- Thanks for waiting up for me, anyway. - No problem.

Lieutenant, why don't you go to sleep?

It'll be dawn in a couple of hours. You too, Jock.

Yeah, I'll do that.

Can't get a thing.

Probably the storm, huh?

Yeah.

Yeah, we'll try again in the morning.

Lieutenant, come with me. The rest of you stay here.

Better leave the equipment here.

Somebody's got to be crazy.

How'd your colonel expect anyone to get in there?

He feels if he can penetrate the German High Command...

we shouldn't have difficulty getting up.

He did what?

He spent the years '40 to '43 in Germany, first in the Wehrmacht...

and then finally in General Headquarters in Berlin.

They say he knew Hitler quite well.

- I thought he looked a little nuts. - Yeah, probably is.

Now we've got problems of our own. Get the boys into the trees.

We've brought them too far over. Be sure they go beyond that tree line.

- And what about you? - I'll be along in a minute.

- Be sure they stay behind the trees. - All right.

Broadsword calling Danny Boy. Broadsword calling Danny Boy. Over.

Danny Boy calling Broadsword. Father Machree is waiting.

This is Father Machree, Broadsword.

What is your present position, please? Over.

Woods due west of castle. Descending at dusk. Harrod dead.

Over.

Was Harrod killed accidentally? Over.

No. Over.

By the Germans? Over.

No.

Time of next broadcast uncertain. Will you stand by?

Over.

Colonel Turner and I will remain at headquarters till operation completed.

Good luck. Out.

It looks as though you're right, sir.

Yes, I'm afraid so.

Who's next, I wonder?

Smith himself, perhaps.

I doubt that. Some people have a sixth sense.

He has a sixth, a seventh and an eighth.

- He's our best agent. - Except yourself.

Still and all, even if he is the best, this whole operation looks impossible now.

Take a look down there, at the foot of the castle.

Dobermans.

Yeah. Dobermans, a guard tower and a wire fence.

Fences can be cut or climbed, lieutenant.

I doubt if that one can be climbed. It's got around 3,000 volts running through it.

If I'm not mistaken, major, that's an army barracks over there.

No mistake. This is the headquarters of the Wehrmacht Alpenkorps.

Swell. If you got any other surprises, I think I ought to know about them.