Eagles Over London

Directed by: Enzo G. Castellari

Starring Frederick Stafford, Francisco Rabal, Van Johnson, Ida Galli, Luigi Pastilli, Renzo Palmer

Synopsis:

A squad of German saboteurs use the chaos and confusion of Dunkirk to infiltrate the British military and make their way to London. Their objective it to disrupt the south coast radar installations to allow Germany to launch a full-scale invasion of England. Hot on their heels though is Capt Paul Stevens, who is able to convince his friend, Air Marshall George Taylor that villainy is afoot – but will they be able to stop them in time?

Review:

Enzo G. Castellari’s Eagles Over London (aka The Battle Over England) is in the same “boys own” spirit of “Guns of Navarone” or “The Eagle Has Landed” – fantastical adventures in a realistic wartime setting.

After a rousing start in which British commandos ambush a German tank patrol, we are very quickly introduced to the plot – a group of German soldiers in British army uniforms kill a British squad and steal their identity tags and papers. Unfortunately for them, Capt Paul finds the dead bodies and takes note of the fact their ‘tags are missing.

Then we are treated to an excellent vista of the British troops escaping Dunkirk in the flotilla of small boats and ships which had made their way across the English Channel. These beach scenes are quite expansive – no CGI soldiers filling the ranks here! Castellari lingers on the chaos of the moment as ships are loaded up, and then follows through with the disembarkation at Portsmouth. Throngs of soldiers and sailors filling the dockside as our heroes and villains head inland.

Van Johnson plays Air Marshall George Taylor, who has been passed the somewhat poisoned chalice of being in charge of England’s air defences – including the radar positions the Germans want to destroy.

He is able to lend a sympathetic ear to Paul’s outlandish theory of German infiltrators and helps him get heard at the highest levels, which in turn puts Paul in charge of the capture of the German spies.

The production design is pretty superb, even if there are one or two anachronisms – bear in mind that the film is an Italian production not an English one. For this release, the film is in its dubbed English form, which is fine in this case. The model fx for the huge aerial dogfight at the end is a bit lacking, however it is compensated by two big action set pieces on the ground as the German spies manage to execute their dastardly plan.

There’s an interesting “roman” flavour to the romance sub-plot. Both Stevens and Taylor are in love with Ida Galli’s Meg, who works for Air Marshall, and who equally loves her two suitors. Being best friends, they playfully compete for her affections.

Be rest assured that the film print quality it is much better than the rather knackered trailer I was able to dig up from you-tube for this review. Also included on the DVD are a couple of segments with Quentin Tarantino, which make for an interesting viewing.

Verdict:

A good old-fashioned Boy’s Own adventure romp through WW2, Eagles Over London is a must-see for War Movie fans.

7 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)

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