History Film / WhereEaglesDare

* AdventureDuo: Smith and Schaffer.

* FiveManBand:
** TheHero -- Major John Smith
** TheLancer -- Lieutenant Morris Schaffer
** TheChick -- Mary Ellison
** TheSmartGuy -- General George Carnaby
** SixthRanger -- Heidi

* LethalChef: In the novel, Torrance-Smythe is implied to be one. His movie counterpart [=MacPherson=] apparently also makes really bad coffee.

* MoreDakka: Many occasions throughout the film.

* {{Oktoberfest}}: Of course there's gotta be a beer hall with Dirndl-wearing waitresses, Heidi (Creator/IngridPitt) in this case. That being said, it matches the setting, as that traditional dress is actually worn in the Germanic Alps (Bavaria, Tyrol and so on).

During UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, seven Allied commandos are dropped behind enemy lines in the Alps, ostensibly to find and rescue a captured American general who's a key player in the plans for D-Day. However, after some members of the group appear to have been assassinated by a member of the gang and then the local Nazis are informed of their presence, it's clear to the viewer that there's a traitor in their midst. Is everyone in the team who they appear to be? Can the team accomplish their mission against all odds? And how many Nazis can be killed in just one castle anyway? [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRHqtbt3ORc A lot.]] (Although that missed a few.)

** [[spoiler:Traitor]] Edward Carraciola is now Ted Berkeley

* AffablyEvil: Rosemeyer is remarkably polite and soft-spoken for a Nazi general, treating Carnaby to a fancy dinner before actually starting the interrogation. Likewise, Kramer isn't your typical sneering SS officer (''that'd'' be von Hapen). The dinner scene emphasizes their wish to be as polite as possible with Carnaby. .... Until he tries their patience, whereupon they prove that no matter how affable they are, they're still bad guys.

* BoobyTrap: And how. Smith and Schaffer smuggle enough tripwire/timer-activated TNT into the castle to... well, blow it and everyone in it into smithereens.

* CruelMercy: Smith informs the traitor [[spoiler:Colonel Wyatt-Turner]] that if he wants to escape the hangman waiting for him all that badly, he's free to jump out the plane's door. The defeated Colonel [[SelfDisposingVillain seems almost grateful and obliges]].

* DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler:''All'' the Nazis who survived in the book die in the movie, notably Weissner and his men, and all the high-ranking officers in the dining room.]]

* EvenEvilHasStandards: General Rosemeyer and Colonel Kramer hate the thuggish Gestapo "cluttering things up with their torture chambers." This opinion is especially interesting with Kramer, who is SS.

* GambitRoulette: Played with. [[spoiler:Rolland is aware that some of the commando group are loyal whilst others are suspected to be double agents. Other than Smith, the only one he knows is loyal is Schaffer -- who, being American, is an outsider -- he doesn't know which of the others are loyal. Part of the overall plan is to expose the traitors.]]

* DoubleAgent: [[spoiler:Half of the commando party are double agents working for the Nazis. Smith is a ''triple'' agent who's managed to convince the Nazis he's a double agent working for them when in fact he's working for British counter-intelligence]].
* DressingAsTheEnemy: The protagonists dress up as Nazis to infiltrate the fortress.

* GambitRoulette: Played with. [[spoiler:Rolland is aware that some of the commando group are loyal whilst others are double agents. However, only Smith, Schaffer and Rolland are aware of each other's loyalty but aren't sure which members of their own group are loyal. Part of the overall plan is to expose them.]]

* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: Overdone. Mooks from THREE Nazi groups (SS, Luftwaffe, and Heer) can't hit any of the heroes (except for Major Smith, but it's just a flesh wound).

* JustPlaneWrong: General Rosemeyer arrives in a postwar American Bell helicopter, presumably meant to represent a German Flettner Fl 282.

* LeaveBehindAPistol: Smith cautions Schaffer against shooting [[spoiler:Colonel Wyatt-Turner]], noting "We mustn't cheat the hangman," but raises no objections when [[spoiler:Turner]] chooses to throw himself out the plane's door rather than face trial.

-->'''Smith:''' Heidi's been one of our top undercover agents in Bavaria for years. And... eh... what a disguise.

** [[spoiler:John Smith/Johann Schmidt is the man you can't trust to be who he says he is.]]

** [[spoiler:Colonel Wyatt-Turner. Whilst it's only revealed at the end of the film, it becomes apparent that the British have suspected him as the mole for a long time and organised the mission to secure proof. Not to mention all the other moles who were killed in getting that information.]]
** [[spoiler:Smith]]

* TranslationConvention: The film begins with the Allied operatives in a meeting being briefed on their mission to infiltrate a Nazi stronghold. The leader helpfully reminds them, "All of you speak fluent German," [[AsYouKnow which they presumably did not need to be told]][[note]]Although it's possible he was addressing the group to emphasize that ''everyone'' had these skills, even if some members weren't aware that other members did[[/note]]; it's just a line thrown in only to explain to viewers why all of the dialogue afterwards is in English.

* YouJustToldMe: Used as part of ThePlan; [[spoiler:because he's convinced Schmidt is actually a double agent working for the Germans, Kramer voluntarily gives Smith the notebooks containing the lists of spy contacts working undercover in Britain ''and'' confirms the name of the lead mole]].

* JustPlaneWrong: General Rosemeyer arrives in a postwar American Bell helicopter. Now, Germany ''did'' have helicopters during World War II, but they look nothing like helicopters as we know them today.

* TheMole: [[spoiler:Colonel Wyatt-Turner. Whilst it's only revealed at the end of the film, it becomes apparent that the British have suspected him as the mole for a long time and organised the mission to secure proof. Not to mention all the other moles who were killed in getting that information.]]

* ReverseMole: [[spoiler:Smith]]

''Where Eagles Dare'' is a seminal 1968 novel by Creator/AlistairMacLean (who also wrote ''Literature/TheGunsOfNavarone''). The following year it was made into an action thriller starring Creator/ClintEastwood, Creator/RichardBurton, Mary Ure, Anton Diffring, Creator/IngridPitt, Patrick Wymark and Michael Hordern. It follows in the footsteps of ''Film/TheDirtyDozen'' and ''Literature/TheGunsOfNavarone'', where there was a shift in war movies, eschewing historical accuracy in favour of exploding Nazis, and a very high JustForFun/HolyShitQuotient in order to appeal to a new generation of moviegoers.

''Where Eagles Dare'' is a seminal 1968 novel by Creator/AlistairMacLean (who also wrote ''Literature/TheGunsOfNavarone''). The following year it was made into an action thriller starring Creator/ClintEastwood and Creator/RichardBurton. It follows in the footsteps of ''Film/TheDirtyDozen'' and ''Literature/TheGunsOfNavarone'', where there was a shift in war movies, eschewing historical accuracy in favour of exploding Nazis, and a very high JustForFun/HolyShitQuotient in order to appeal to a new generation of moviegoers.

* AdjectiveAnimalAlehouse: The team meet their contact at a tavern called "Zum Wilden Hirsch" (At the [sign of the] Wild Deer)

* UriahGambit: Played with. [[spoiler:Colonel Turner sends his goons along with the rescue party to ensure Major Smith is killed or captured with no loose ends; the film then subverts the trope by revealing both Smith and Admiral Rolland knew Turner et. al. were German spies, but had to set up the mission to collect evidence]].

[[caption-width-right:350:''[[Music/IronMaiden They dared to go, where no one would try ! They chose to fly, where eagles dare!]]'']]

[[caption-width-right:350:''[[Music/IronMaiden They dared to go where no one would try, they chose to fly where eagles dare!]]'']]

[[caption-width-right:350:''[[Music/IronMaiden They dared to go where no one would try, they chose to fly where eagles dare]]'']]

[[caption-width-right:350:''"They dared to go where no one would try,
They chose to fly where eagles dare!"'']]

[[caption-width-right:350:They dared to go where no one would try,
They chose to fly where eagles dare]]

[[caption-width-right:350:''[[Music/IronMaiden They dared to go where no one would try,
They chose to fly where eagles dare]]'']]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[Music/IronMaiden ''They dared to go where no one would try,
They chose to fly where eagles dare'']]]]

->''They dared to go where no one would try\\
They chose to fly where eagles dare''
-->-- '''Music/IronMaiden''', "[[FilkSong Where Eagles Dare]]"

* {{Oktoberfest}}: Of course there's gotta be a beer hall with Dirndl-wearing waitresses, Heidi (Creator/IngridPitt) in this case. It matches the setting that being said, as that traditional dress is worn in the Germanic Alps (Bavaria, Tyrol and so on).

** Smith's treatment of [[spoiler:Christiansen, Thomas and Berkeley]] after they're outed as Nazi spies is quite cold. Sure, they're traitors, but the manner in which he uses and disposes of them after they're of no further use to him is pretty ruthless, such as sacrificing [[spoiler:Thomas]] to distract the pursuing Germans, and kicking a begging [[spoiler:Christiansen]] off of the cable car.

''Where Eagles Dare'' is a seminal 1968 novel by Creator/AlistairMacLean (who also wrote ''Literature/TheGunsOfNavarone''). The following year it was made into an action thriller starring Creator/ClintEastwood and Creator/RichardBurton. It follows in the footsteps of ''Film/TheDirtyDozen'' and ''Literature/TheGunsOfNavarone'', where there was a shift in war movies, eschewing historical accuracy in favour of exploding Nazis, and a very high {{HSQ}} in order to appeal to a new generation of moviegoers.

!!''Where Eagles Dare'' provides examples of:

* TranslationConvention: The film begins with the Allied operatives in a meeting being briefed on their mission to infiltrate a Nazi stronghold. The leader helpfully reminds them, "All of you speak fluent German," [[AsYouKnow which they presumably did not need to be told]]; it's just a line thrown in only to explain to viewers why all of the dialogue afterwards is in English.

* GunsAkimbo: Schaffer's [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome CMOA]] is dual-wielding [=MP40s=] to hold of dozens of soldiers.

* SelfDisposingVillain: In both the book and the movie, the final traitor opts to jump out of the plane at the end rather than be taken into custody, in a scene lifted almost beat for beat from [=MacLean=]'s earlier novel ''TheSatanBug''.

A bunch of seven Allied paratroopers are dropped behind enemy lines in the Alps, ostensibly to find and rescue a captured American general who's a key player in the plans for D-Day. However, after some members of the group appear to have been assassinated by a member of the gang and then the local Nazis are informed of their presence, it's clear to the viewer that there's a traitor in their midst. Is everyone in the team who they appear to be? Can the team accomplish their mission against all odds? And how many Nazis can be killed in just one castle anyway? [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRHqtbt3ORc A lot.]] (Although that missed a few.)