Clint Eastwood in the WWII Epic Where Eagles Dare

Clint Eastwood’s long career includes a striking turn in Brian G. Hutton’s 1968 World War II adventure Where Eagles Dare, in which he plays Lieutenant Morris Schaffer, a terse, menacing American serving on a British commando led by Major Jonathan Smith (Richard Burton).

The squad is tasked with rescuing American general George Carnaby, but the mission hides a secret objective and an undercover agent, Mary Ellison (Mary Ure). Shot in widescreen Panavision and played with a stern, unflinching tone, the film leans into grand production design, precise costuming and immersive sound to create a larger-than-life wartime spectacle.

What begins as a man-on-a-mission action picture gradually turns into a cunning espionage thriller, trading bravado for a tighter, plot-driven intensity. Eastwood’s Schaffer feels like an extension of the Man With No Name: quiet, outwardly controlled and threatening.

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