Brian G. Hutton (1935–2014)

Originally conceived as a vehicle for Richard Burton, but a lithe young Clint Eastwood is definitely the star here. The original material is so full of preposterous double crosses that I decided to skip as many as I could and start watching only once the real pyrotechnics start, about 50 minutes before the end of the movie. Automobiles and airplanes obligingly burst into flames at the lightest nudge. All the booby traps work flawlessly. But there's something appealing about the escape in the big bus with the snowplow on the front, and the pilot's exaggerated imperturbability during the final takeoff is a nice touch. Just a decade later the studios could reuse the German army uniforms to dress the officers of the Galactic Empire in the original Star Wars movies. Doubtless they reused a number of the actors, also.… (mere)