Guns in the Heather (1969)

Actors: Ron Miller (producer), Eddie Byrne (actor), Buddy Baker (composer), Beatrice Dawson (costume designer), Patrick Barr (actor), Kurt Russell (actor), Tilly Day (miscellaneous crew), Alfred Burke (actor), Kevin Stoney (actor), Robert Butler (director), Hugh McDermott (actor), Peter Boita (editor), Niall Toibin (actor), Patrick Westwood (actor), Declan Mulholland (actor),

Plot: The Secret of Boyne Castle (television title) or Guns in the Heather (theatrical title) is a wild romp through late 1960's Ireland with two school chums being pursued by spies from an unknown state. The story opens with an automobile chase scene of a mortally wounded Irish underworld figure being chased by the spies. The chase ends at an upper class school where the spies will not of course follow the man they wounded onto the school grounds. The wounded man is looking for an American student at the school by the name of Rich Evans. With his dying breath, he tells Evans to look in, "...my room at Boyne Castle." Rich with his friend Sean O'Connor set off for Boyne Castle but on the way are kidnapped by the spies. They seem to feel that Evans knows something that his older brother Tom - who unbeknown st to Rich Evans is a secret agent - knows. The indignant younger Evans replies, "...Tom's a sales representative for steel company." Evans and O'Connor manage to escape from the "bad guys." Here is where the real fun begins. With the Irish countryside and highway system as a backdrop, a cross-country chase ensues of Evans and O'Connor being pursued by the spies. While continually getting into and then out of scrapes with them, Evans and O'Connor use considerable ingenuity to evade their pursuers. In one instance they attack their pursuers by dropping cannon balls from a glider. All the while Rich is wondering what his brother Tom's involvement in all this is. The "secret" of course lies at Boyne Castle.

Keywords: based-on-novel, castle, defection, dungeon, espionage, ireland, physicist, spy, student, tourist
Genres: Adventure, Family,

The Blue Max (1966)

Actors: James Mason (actor), Derren Nesbitt (actor), Anton Diffring (actor), Friedrich von Ledebur (actor), Ursula Andress (actress), Loni von Friedl (actress), Harry Towb (actor), Jerry Goldsmith (composer), Karl Michael Vogler (actor), George Peppard (actor), John Guillermin (director), Jeremy Kemp (actor), Elmo Williams (producer), Max Benedict (editor), Nikki Van der Zyl (actress),

Plot: Promoted from the ranks after spending two years in the trenches, Bruno Stachel becomes a flying officer in Germany's World War I air force. Most of the officer corps comes from Germany's aristocratic elite and Stachel feels out of place. This does not dampen his ambition however as he single-mindedly pursues his goal: to be awarded the Blue Max, given for shooting down 20 enemy planes. His blind ambition leads him to claim a kill that is not his and when he confides in the beautiful wife of a General, disaster is inevitable.

Keywords: acrobatic-flight, aerial-combat, air-attack, air-base, airplane-crash, airplane-shot-down, ambition, arrogance, automatic-weapon, aviation
Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama, War,
Taglines: MIRACLES IN THE AIR! MIRACLES IN THE AIR! far from the mud and bayonets of no man's land... The raiding squadrons of the Red Baron... There was no quiet on the Western Front for the heroes and cowards who flew to their rendezvous with Hell!

Quotes:

[Funeral for an enemy pilot]::Willi von Klugermann: Well, aren't you coming? It's an order.::Bruno Stachel: Why?::Willi von Klugermann: Because our commanding officer has made it one. He believes in chivalry, Stachel.::Bruno Stachel: Chivalry? To kill a man, then make a ritual out of saluting him - that's hypocrisy. They kill me, I don't want anyone to salute.::Willi von Klugermann: They probably won't.

Willi von Klugermann: By the way, Stachel... there's an impression around that... you care more about your unconfirmed kill than you do about Fabian's death.::[long pause]::Bruno Stachel: Perhaps it's force of habit. In the trenches, we couldn't even bury the dead; there were too many of them. I've never had the time... to discuss them over a glass of champagne.

General Count von Klugermann: I'm afraid it's rather a small medal, Willi, but it's the highest Germany can give.::Willi von Klugermann: Thank you... Uncle

General Count von Klugermann: Stachel. I want him brought to Berlin immediately.::Holbach: Yes, Herr General.::General Count von Klugermann: There is some difficulty?::Holbach: Well, I don't know what you have in mind, Herr General, but, uh, with the offensive at its height, well, there'd have to be some legitimate excuse to order him to come.::General Count von Klugermann: He's wounded, isn't he?::Holbach: Yes, Herr General.::General Count von Klugermann: Hmm. A mentionable wound?::Holbach: Uh, in the arm.::General Count von Klugermann: Good. The people like soldiers who were shot in the right places. Order Stachel to Berlin for special hospital treatment. I want you to ensure that all our newspapers give full prominence to this gallant episode - photographs, everything.

General Count von Klugermann: Take a look outside. See that? Revolution is just beneath the surface! If that happens, everything we stand for will be DESTROYED - unless the German officer corps stands like a rock, intact! And what is more important, untarnished. I made this Stachel into a national hero for good military reasons. If I court-martial him now, it will reflect on the integrity of the whole officer corps.::Otto Heidemann: Herr General, I see now, I have notions of honor which are outdated.::General Count von Klugermann: Ahh, they're not outdated! [pause] Stored. With care, and love, for better times.

Ziegel: I can't keep these barges flying forever - I'm a mechanic, not a magician.::Otto Heidemann: No, Ziegel, you ARE a magician, whether you like it or not.

Bruno Stachel: [resignedly] Well, I suppose I might as well say it.::Countess Kaeti von Klugermann: Say what?::Bruno Stachel: You're beautiful.

Bruno Stachel: Do you think I came all this way to run off to Switzerland with you?::Countess Kaeti von Klugermann: You gambled your life for me once with Willy.::Bruno Stachel: That was about flying, Kaeti, not about you!

[about von Klugerman's kills]::Bruno Stachel: You've got 18, haven't you?::Willi von Klugermann: Squadron Rule #1, Stachel: Gentlemen never parade their military achievements.::Bruno Stachel: Any rule against... saying how long it took you?::Willi von Klugermann: I would say that was covered by the same rule, wouldn't you?::Bruno Stachel: No. I wouldn't. How many rules are there?::Willi von Klugermann: I don't know: none of them have been written down.

Otto Heidemann: Yes, I understand - but I don't agree with killing helpless men!::General Count von Klugermann: Otto, this is 1918 - things have changed. Unrestricted submarine warfare, bombing of civilians, poison gas. Ask your wife - she's a nurse. Ask Elfi about the mustard gas casualties.::Otto Heidemann: So you approve of this kind of ruthlessness!::General Count von Klugermann: We fight to win, Otto.