The Guns of Navarone - directed by J. Lee Thomson, 1961 – starring Gregory Peck, Anthony Queen, David Nieven and Irine Papa. Filmed in locations around Greece. Here at Mandraki Harbour, Rhodes.
"The Guns of Navarone is a 1961 British-American epic adventure war film directed by J. Lee Thompson. The screenplay by producer Carl Foreman was based on Alistair MacLean's 1957 novel The Guns of Navarone, which was inspired by the Battle of Leros during the Dodecanese Campaign of World War II. The film stars Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn, along with Stanley Baker, Anthony Quayle, Irene Papas, Gia Scala, and James Darren. The book and the film share the same basic plot: the efforts of an Allied commando unit to destroy a seemingly impregnable German fortress that threatens Allied naval ships in the Aegean Sea.
In 1943, the Axis powers plan an assault on the island of Kheros, where 2,000 British soldiers are marooned, to display their military strength and convince neutral Turkey to join them. Rescue by the Royal Navy is prevented by two massive radar-directed large-calibre guns on (fictional) nearby Navarone Island. When aerial bombing efforts fail, Allied Intelligence gathers a commando unit to infiltrate Navarone and destroy the guns. Led by Major Roy Franklin (Anthony Quayle), the team is composed of Captain Keith Mallory (Gregory Peck), a renowned spy and an officer with the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG); Colonel Andrea Stavrou (Anthony Quinn) from the defeated Greek Army; Franklin's best friend Corporal Miller (David Niven), an explosives expert and former chemistry teacher; Greco-American Spyros Pappadimos (James Darren), a native of Navarone; and "Butcher" Brown (Stanley Baker), an engineer and expert knife fighter.
Disguised as Greek fishermen on a decrepit fishing vessel, they sail across the Aegean Sea, where they successfully overwhelm the crew of a German patrol boat intercepting them. Later in the voyage, Mallory confides to Franklin that Stavrou had sworn to kill him after the war, because Mallory was inadvertently responsible for the deaths of Stavrou's wife and children. After shipwrecking on Navarone's coast during a storm, the experienced mountaineer Mallory leads the team in a climb up the cliff, during which Franklin badly injures his leg. While taking shelter in the mountains, Mallory stops Franklin from committing suicide and lies to him that their mission is only a diversion, and that a major naval attack will be mounted on the coast instead. They rendezvous with two local resistance fighters, Spyros' sister Maria (Irene Papas) and her friend Anna (Gia Scala), who was once captured and tortured by the Germans before escaping.
The mission is continually dogged by German soldiers and the group is eventually captured in the town of Mandrakos by Oberleutnant Muesel (Walter Gotell) while trying to find a doctor for Franklin (whose leg is infected with gangrene). While being interrogated by SS Hauptsturmführer Sessler (George Mikell), Stavrou distracts the Germans and the team overpower their captors. They escape in German uniforms, leaving Franklin behind to receive medical attention. In due course, Franklin is injected with scopolamine and gives up Mallory's misinformation. As Mallory had hoped, most forces leave the fortress to counter the expected coastal attack. Upon infiltrating the village of Navarone, however, Miller discovers most of his explosives have been sabotaged and deduces that Anna is the culprit. She confesses that she did not escape but that the Germans recruited her as an informer in exchange for her release. Mallory reluctantly prepares to execute Anna as a precaution against detection, but Maria shoots her instead.
The team splits up: Mallory and Miller go for the guns, Stavrou and Spyros create distractions in town (assisted by local residents), and Maria and Brown steal a boat for their escape. Spyros dies in a stand-off with a German officer, and Brown from being stabbed during the boat theft. Meanwhile, Mallory and Miller infiltrate the gun emplacement, but set off an alarm when they seal the doors behind them. Miller plants explosives on the guns and prepares a large booby trap below an ammunition hoist, with a trigger device set into the hoist's track. The Germans eventually gain entry into the gun emplacement and defuse the explosives planted directly on the guns; meanwhile, Mallory and Miller make their escape over the cliff, reaching the stolen boat. A wounded Stavrou is also able to reach the sea and is helped aboard by Mallory, thus resolving the blood feud between them.
As the Allied destroyers trying to rescue the trapped British troops appear, the Germans open fire at them. When the hoist reaches Miller's trigger, the hidden explosives set off the surrounding shells in a huge explosion that destroys the guns and the entire fortress. Mallory's team safely reaches the British convoy, but Stavrou shakes Mallory's hand and decides to return to Navarone with Maria, with whom he has fallen in love. Mallory and Miller, returning home, observe the aftermath of their success from a destroyer.
The film was part of a cycle of big-budget World War II adventures that included The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), The Longest Day (1962) and The Great Escape (1963). The screenplay, adapted by producer Carl Foreman, made significant changes from the novel The Guns of Navarone by Alistair MacLean. The film was directed by J. Lee Thompson. Thompson was brought in after original director Alexander Mackendrick was fired by Carl Foreman a week before shooting started due to "creative differences".
The Greek island of Rhodes provided locations and Quinn was so taken with the area that he bought land there in an area still called Anthony Quinn Bay. Some further scenes were shot on the islands of Gozo, near Malta, and Tino, in the Ligurian Sea. One of the warships in the film, the USS Slater, then a training ship in the Hellenic Navy known as Aetos (D-01), is preserved as a museum ship in Albany, New York.
As described by director Thompson in the DVD commentary track, David Niven became severely ill after shooting in the pool of water underneath the cave elevator and almost died, remaining in hospital for some weeks as other portions of the cave sequence were completed by the crew. However, since key scenes with Niven remained incomplete at that time, and it was doubtful whether he would be able to return to finish the film, the entire production was in jeopardy. Reshooting key scenes throughout the film with another actor, and abandoning the project to collect the insurance were contemplated. However, Niven was able to complete his scenes some weeks later.
A complication arose when it was found that Gregory Peck, whose character was supposed to be fluent in German, could not speak the language convincingly. Voice actor Robert Rietty dubbed all of Peck's German dialogue for the film.
The film's maps were created by Halas and Batchelor, a British team best known for their animated films.
Although the island of Navarone is fictional, a map depicted in the film purporting to show the island of Navarone shows it as the real island of Antikythera.
Several members of the Greek royal family visited the set the day the Mandrakos cafe scene was filmed and appear in the background as extras."
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Ta ópla tou Navarone - se skinothesía J. Lee Thomson, 1961 - me protagonistí ton Gregory Peck, ton Anthony Queen, ton David Nieven kai tin Irine Papa. Tainíes se óli tin Elláda. Edó sto limáni tou Mandrakíou, sti Ródo.
"«Ta Kanónia tou Navaróne» (angliká: The Guns of Navarone), eínai mia polemikí peripéteia Amerikano-Vretanikís paragogís tou 1961 se skinothesía Tzéi Li Tómson, vasisméni sto omónymo mythistoríma tou Alíster MákLean. Protagonistoún oi Nkrénkori Pek, Ántoni Kouín kai Ntéivint Níven.
Katá tin diárkeia tou V' Pankósmiou Polémou to 1943, oi Germanoí tha topothétisoun se éna mikró nisí tou Aigaíou, to Navaróne, dýo terástia kanónia sti koryfí enós vráchou, ta opoía tha apotrépoun opoiadípote naftikí epicheírisi ton Symmáchon sto Aígaio. Oi Symmáchikes dynámeis vlepóntas aftó tha apofasísoun na dimiourgísoun mia epílekti omáda kommántos, oi opoíoi tha analávoun tin katastrofí ton kanonión tou Navaróne.
Epikefalís tis omádas tha orístei o Tagmatárchis Rói Frán'klin (Ántoni Kouéil) kai mazí tou tha eínai o Vretanós lochagós kai émpeiros oreivátis Kith Malóry (Nkrénkori Pek), o dekanéas Tzon Míler (Ntéivint Níven), eidikós sta ekriktiká, o Éllinas Syntagmatárchis kai mélos tis Ethnikís Antístasis, Antréas Stávrou (Ántoni Kouín), o Ellino-Amerikanós Spýros Papadímos (Tzéims Ntáren), me katagogí apó to Navaróne kai télos o émpeiros katadroméas Boútser Bráoun (Stánlei Béiker).
Metamfiesménoi os Éllines psarádes se éna palió alieftikó káiki, pléoun se olókliro to Aigaío, ópou tha pésoun páno se éna germanikó peripolikó skáfos chorís óstoso na tous ypopsiastoún oi Germanoí. Argótera kai katá ti diárkeia mias kataigídas to káiki tha navagísei stin aktí tou Navaróne, opou o émpeiros oreivátis Malory odigeí tin omáda se mia anávasi sto vrácho, allá o Frán'klin travmatízetai áschima sto pódi tou.
Sti synécheia tha synantísoun dýo gynaíkes tis topikís antístasis, tin adelfí tou Spýrou, María (Eiríni Papá) kai tin fíli tis Ánna (Tzia Skála), pou kápote aichmalotístike kai vasanístike apó tous Germanoús prin apódrasei. I omáda katalígei teliká stin chorió Mandrákos, ópou prospatheí na vrei énan giatró gia ton Frán'klin (to opoíou to pódi molýnetai me gángraina).
Ópos eíche provlépsei o Málory, oi perissóteres germanikés dynámeis enkataleípoun to froúrio gia na antimetopísoun tin anamenómeni paráktia epíthesi ton Symmáchon. Me tin eísodo tous sto chorió Navaróne, ómos, o Míler anakalýptei óti ta perissótera apó ta ekriktiká tou échoun achristeftheí kai ypopsiazétai óti i Ánna échei kánei to sampótaz. Ekeíni omologeí óti den apedráse, allá óti oi Germanoí tin prosélavan os pliroforiodóti se antállagma gia tin apelefthérosí tis. O Málory proetoimázetai apróthyma na skotósei tin Ánna, allá i María ton prolavaínei kai tin pyrovoleí aftí.
I omáda chorízetai sta tría: oi Málory kai Míler pigaínoun na topothétisoun ta ekriktiká sta kanónia, o Stávrou kai o Spýros dimiourgoún antiperispasmoús stin chorió (me ti voítheia topikón katoíkon) kai i María kai o Bráoun klévoun éna skáfos gia na borései na diafýgei óli i omáda apó to nisí.
O Málory kai o Míler tha katáferoun na eisélthoun sto froúrio kai tha topothétisoun ta ekriktiká, enó o Spýros katá tin prospátheia tou na klépsei éna káiki, tha ton antiliftheí énas germanós stratiótis kai tha ton skotósei.
Sto télos o Míler tha pyrodotísei ta ekriktiká apó asfalí apóstasi kai ta kanónia tha katastráfoun oloscherós, epitrepóntas stis Symmáchikes dynámeis na katalávoun olókliro to nisí kai na to apeleftherósoun apó tis germanikés katochikés dynámeis."
PIGI - (sýndesmos epískepsis)