Where Eagles Dare

A conscientiously large World War II adventure, drawn from the novel by Alastair MacLean, about a 7-man team parachuted into the Bavarian Alps to rescue a high-ranking Allied officer held prisoner by the Germans in an impregnable mountain Schloss. It may be devoid of significance of any sort, but it is nevertheless passably entertaining, and certainly better viewing than most MacLean adaptations. Its ability to sustain interest depends on fine cinematography (Arthur Ibbetson), and a handful of genuinely exciting action sequences, notably two extended scenes involving death-defying feats on a cable car slung between two snow-covered peaks. The climax simply involves blowing up everything in sight.