

Starting in late May 1944, during the German retreat on the Eastern Front, Captain Stransky (Helmut Griem) orders Sergeant Steiner (Richard Burton) to blow up a railway tunnel to prevent Russian forces from using it. Steiner's platoon fails in its mission by coming up against a Russian tank. Steiner then takes a furlough to Paris just as the Allies launch their invasion of Normandy.
Acting
Burton's magnificent disinterest; Mitchum's visible nap.
Production
Shamelessly recycles 40 minutes from 'Cross of Iron'.

Director
Andrew V. McLaglen
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This 'sequel' to Peckinpah's 'Cross of Iron' uses 40 minutes of his footage without permission. Peckinpah threatened lawsuits; producers didn't care.
Burton filmed his scenes in three days while visibly ill from alcoholism; his Paris hotel scenes were shot in a Munich warehouse.