AN IMPREGNABLE FORTRESS… AN INVINCIBLE ARMY… AND THE UNSTOPPABLE COMMANDO TEAM.

I loved this movie when I was a kid. I had good taste. Some of the cherished childhood memories one chooses to revisit turn out to be a disappointment, but never this film. It was part of a contemporary trend of expensive, colorful war movies in the late 1950s and early ’60s, and it’s easy to see why it’s such a classic. It sparks your imagination, has great thrills and is packed with stars. The use of locations on Rhodes provides a lot of flavor. The Guns of Navarone is your dad’s favorite movie and you should take the chance to share it with him.

A cliff that cannot be climbed
The story takes place in 1943. On the Greek island of Kheros, 2,000 British soldiers are waiting for evacuation, but it won’t happen unless something is done about two huge guns on a near-by island, Navarone. They are operated by the Germans and any attempt to pass the strait leading to Kheros is doomed. The only part of the island that the Germans are not watching is a cliff that simply cannot be climbed. So, in a desperate attempt to rescue the men, British authorities put together a team led by the finest mountain climber in the world, Keith Mallory (Gregory Peck), and send them off on a suicide mission. Everything becomes even more dangerous when they realize that they have a traitor in their midst.

A psychological edge
It’s a classic Alistair MacLean tale; plenty of action supporting a story with a psychological edge, inspired by the real-life 1943 Battle of Leros (even if there were no guns of that frightening size). The script deals with the problems that come with potential treason and one of the team members getting seriously hurt. Who gets to live or die, and what are you prepared to do for the mission? The women who are introduced later on may seem less interesting at first. They never appeared in the novel and their presence is likely the result of Bridge on the River Kwai writer Carl Foreman realizing that women might provide a challenge or two. Their roles become important to the story.

Equally significant is the locations. There is a Kheros but no Navarone in real life, and the filmmakers convincingly blend footage from Rhodes with scenes shot on a soundstage. Director J. Lee Thompson keeps the action going, delivering a series of thrilling sequences, aided by the award-winning special effects that pack a punch near the end, as those guns are finally dealt with.

And how about that cast? David Niven provides some comic relief as Corporal Miller, the cynical explosives expert who refuses to be promoted. Peck is a perfect hero (even though his British English is far too American, and his German so poor that some of the dialogue had to be dubbed) and Anthony Quinn effective as the Greek freedom fighter who has sworn to kill Mallory once the war is over.

The music has become one of the most classic, memorable action scores ever written.

One of Dimitri Tiomkin’s later efforts, his music received an Oscar nomination and has become one of the most classic, memorable action scores ever written.

The film is essentially a companion piece to Where Eagles Dare (1968), the other great MacLean adaptation. One shouldn’t compare these films unfavorably to the sort of WWII pictures that portray the war as grimly realistically as possible. These two are sheer entertainment, pitting the ultimate good guys against the ultimate bad guys. There is certainly room, and even need, for that type of adventure as well.

The Guns of Navarone 1961-U.K.-U.S. 157 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by J. Lee Thompson. Screenplay: Carl Foreman. Novel: Alistair MacLean. Music: Dimitri Tiomkin. Visual Effects: Bill Warrington, Chris Greenham. Cast: Gregory Peck (Keith Mallory), David Niven (Dusty Miller), Anthony Quinn (Andrea Stavros), Stanley Baker, Anthony Quayle, James Darren, Irene Papas, Richard Harris, Bryan Forbes.

Trivia: Co-produced by Foreman. William Holden was reportedly considered for the part of Mallory. Alexander Mackendrick began directing the film, but was replaced by Thompson. Followed by Force 10 From Navarone (1978).

Oscar: Best Special Effects. Golden Globes: Best Motion Picture (Drama), Score. 

Last word: “Those commandos were performing miracles. Five or six commandos outwitting a whole German regiment, getting right into the middle of them, stealing their uniforms and masquerading as Nazis. Well, to do that, you have to do with the Nazis what Mack Sennett did with the Keystone Kops. There were 550 chances for them to kill us before we even set foot on the island, but we had to do it with total conviction, even though we were aware that it was flirting with parody.” (Peck, “Gregory Peck” by Michael Freedland)