''Escape to Athena'' is a 1979 British

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

directed by George P. Cosmatos. It stars Roger Moore,

Telly Savalas Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was an American actor and singer whose career spanned four decades. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on th ...

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in '' Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles ...

, Stefanie Powers,

Claudia Cardinale Claude Joséphine Rose "Claudia" Cardinale (; born 15 April 1938) is an Italian actress. She has starred in some of the most iconic European films of the 1960s and 1970s, acting in Italian, French, and English. Born and raised in La Goulette, a ...

Richard Roundtree Richard Roundtree (born July 9, 1942) is an American actor. Roundtree is noted as being "the first black action hero" for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film ''Shaft'', and its four sequels, released between 1972 and 2 ...

Sonny Bono Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono (; February 16, 1935 – January 5, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and politician who came to fame in partnership with his second wife Cher as the popular singing duo Sonny & Cher. A member of the Republica ...

and Elliott Gould. The film is set during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

on a German-occupied

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

island. The music was composed by Lalo Schifrin. It was filmed on location on the island of

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

Plot

In 1944, Allied prisoners at a

POW camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

on an unnamed Greek island are forced to excavate ancient artifacts. The camp Commandant, Major Otto Hecht, a former Austrian antiques dealer, is sending some of the valuable pieces to his sister living in Switzerland. However the prisoners have discovered that they will be sent to other camps once the finds run out, so they arrange to keep "discovering" the same pieces. While Hecht is content to sit out the war, the SS Commandant of the nearby town, Major Volkmann, brutally enforces discipline, including reprisal executions of civilians. Resistance to the Germans is led by Zeno, a former monk, and his few fighters. They use the local brothel, run by his girlfriend, as an undercover headquarters. Zeno, who is in contact with Allied Headquarters, is ordered to break the prisoners out of their camp and use them to help liberate the town and capture the nearby U-boat refuelling depot. Two captured

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

artists, Charlie and Dottie, perform a concert as cover, while the Resistance takes over the camp. With the choice of being killed by Zeno or helping them, Hecht joins forces with the Allies, helping them eradicate Volkmann's troops as well as capturing the fuel depot. After completing the mission, Charlie asks Zeno to lead him and two other prisoners, Judson and Rotelli, up to the monastery on Mount Athena to steal Byzantine treasures kept there by the monks. However Zeno tells Charlie that the treasures belong to the Greek people. Zeno now receives word from Allied intelligence that the planned invasion of the islands has been brought forward, and so the German garrison in the monastery atop Mount Athena must be neutralised. Without revealing the whole truth, Zeno tells Charlie, Rotelli and Judson that in return for helping liberate the monks from the Germans, whatever they find there would be theirs. However, on climbing to the monastery, the group discover a heavily armed garrison. Zeno uses gas to knock out most of the soldiers, but not before their commander orders a

V-2 rocket The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was develop ...

launch to destroy the invasion fleet. Judson knocks out the control room with grenades, but one of the Germans survives long enough to activate the base's self-destruct mechanism. Not realising the danger immediately, Charlie and Rotelli scour the monastery for the treasure, while Judson frees the monks. Zeno finds the self-destruct clock, but he cannot deactivate it. Zeno, the monks and the Americans escape the monastery before it explodes. Searching for treasure until the last minute, Charlie escapes the explosion with the only treasure the Germans left behind — tin plates adorned with Hitler's face. During the victory celebration in the village, Hecht, Charlie, and Dottie plan after the war to capitalise on treasures Hecht has already looted, by making copies to sell to Americans. Professor Blake learns from one of the freed monks that their treasure —

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

plates made of gold — is safe, having been hidden in the brothel the entire time. The final scene cuts to the modern day, by which time Zeno's former headquarters have been turned into a state museum housing the treasures of Mount Athena.

Cast

* Roger Moore as Major Otto Hecht: an Austrian who is the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

commandant of the POW camp, a former antiques dealer *

as Zeno: the head of the Greek island's resistance movement *

as Professor Blake: senior British officer amongst the prisoners and a well-known archaeologist * Stefanie Powers as Dottie Del Mar: an American USO artist (in fact, stripper), who was shot down with Charlie and detained in the POW camp * Elliott Gould as Charlie Dane: an American comedian, USO performer and professional partner of Dottie *

as Eleana: a local madame, girlfriend of Zeno *

as Sgt. Nat Judson: African-American POW and amateur magician *

as Bruno Rotelli: an Italian POW, professional chef * Anthony Valentine as Maj. Volkmann: SS officer, town commandant and Hecht's rival *

Siegfried Rauch Siegfried Rauch (2 April 1932 – 11 March 2018) was a German film and television actor. In a career spanning over 60 years, he appeared in several international film productions and had leading roles in numerous German television productions. C ...

as Lt. Braun: SS officer under Volkmann's command * Richard Wren as Capt. Reistoffer: Volkmann's adjutant *

Michael Sheard Michael Sheard (18 June 1938 – 31 August 2005) was a Scottish character actor who featured in many films and television programmes, and was known for playing villains. His most prominent television role was as strict deputy headmaster Mauric ...

as Sgt. Mann: Hecht's senior camp NCO *

Philip Locke Roy James "Philip" Locke (29 March 192819 April 2004) was an English actor who had roles in film and television. He is perhaps best known for his part in the James Bond film '' Thunderball'' as Largo's personal assistant and chief henchman, Var ...

as Colonel Vogel * Steve Ubels as Capt. Lantz *

Paul Picerni Horacio Paul Picerni (December 1, 1922 – January 12, 2011) was an American actor in film and television, perhaps best known today in the role of Federal Agent Lee Hobson, second-in-command to Robert Stack's Eliot Ness, in the ABC hit televisi ...

as Zeno's Man *

Paul Stassino Phaedros Stassinos (1930 – 28 June 2012) was a Greek Cypriot actor whose international stage name was Paul Stassino. Early life Stassino was born in Platres and grew up in nearby Limassol, but spent most of his acting career in England. He ...

as Zeno's Man

Production

The film was based on a script by Dick Lochte who was a former Playboy PR executive. The film was financed by

Lew Grade Lew Grade, Baron Grade, (born Lev Winogradsky; 25 December 1906 – 13 December 1998) was a British media proprietor and impresario. Originally a dancer, and later a talent agent, Grade's interest in television production began in 1954 ...

's ITC Entertainment, who had previously made ''The Eagle Has Landed''. That was produced by the team of David Niven Jr and Jack Wiener, and had been successful, so ITC agreed to finance two more films from the same team, ''Escape to Athena'' and '' Green Ice''. Grade gave the job of directing to George Costmatos who had just made ''

The Cassandra Crossing ''The Cassandra Crossing'' is a 1976 disaster thriller film directed by George Pan Cosmatos and starring Sophia Loren, Richard Harris, Ava Gardner, Martin Sheen, Burt Lancaster, Lee Strasberg and O. J. Simpson about a disease-infected Swedish ...

'' for ITC and who Grade felt "would make a great action movie and as "action" was in vogue again I was confident we were on to a winner." In October 1977 ITC announced what was then known as ''The Athena Boodle'' as part of a $97 million slate of movies Lew Grade was making which also included ''

The Legend of the Lone Ranger ''The Legend of the Lone Ranger'' is a 1981 American Western film that was directed by William A. Fraker and stars Klinton Spilsbury, Michael Horse and Christopher Lloyd. It is based on the story of The Lone Ranger, a Western character create ...

'', ''

Movie Movie ''Movie Movie'' is a 1978 American double bill directed by Stanley Donen. It consists of two films: ''Dynamite Hands'', a boxing ring morality play, and ''Baxter's Beauties of 1933'', a musical comedy, both starring the husband-and-wife team of G ...

'' (then called ''Double Feature''), '' The Boys from Brazil'', '' Raise the Titanic'', '' The Golden Gate'' from the

Alistair MacLean Alistair Stuart MacLean ( gd, Alasdair MacGill-Eain; 21 April 1922 – 2 February 1987) was a 20th-century Scottish novelist who wrote popular thrillers and adventure stories. Many of his novels have been adapted to film, most notably '' The ...

novel (never made), '' Love and Bullets'', ''

The Muppet Movie ''The Muppet Movie'' is a 1979 American musical road comedy film directed by James Frawley, produced by Jim Henson, and the first theatrical film featuring the Muppets. A co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States, the fil ...

'' and ''Road to the Fountain of Youth'' with Bing Crosby and

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

(which was never made). Grade's first five films had been made in partnership with General Cinema Corp, but Grade would finance this slate himself.FILM CLIPS: Lew Grade's $97 Million Projects Kilday, Gregg. Los Angeles Times 15 Oct 1977: b9. The film was also known as ''The Athena Crisis''. Filming began in Greece on 21 February 1978. The bulk of the film was shot on the island of Rhodes. David Niven agreed to be in the film because his son produced it and he liked the idea of returning to Rhodes, where he had made '' The Guns of Navarone''.

William Holden William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...

was visiting his girlfriend Stefanie Powers during filming and was persuaded to make a cameo in the prison camp scene, presumably reprising his role as ''

Stalag 17 ''Stalag 17'' is a 1953 American war film which tells the story of a group of American airmen confined with 40,000 prisoners in a World War II German prisoner of war camp "somewhere on the Danube". Their compound holds 630 Sergeants representi ...

'' escapee Sergeant Sefton. According to stuntman

Vic Armstrong Victor Monroe Armstrong (born 5 October 1946) is a British film director, stunt coordinator, second unit director, and stunt double—the world's most prolific, according to the '' Guinness Book of Records''. Career The Armstrong doubled for ...

, the crew hated the director so much they stole his hat and nailed it to a mast. Armstrong directed the motorcycle chase which he says took two weeks.

Reception

Producer Jack Wiener said during the shoot that the film cost $10 million and needed to make $30 million at the box office to recoup its cost. The film was partly financed and produced by

ITC Entertainment The Incorporated Television Company (ITC), or ITC Entertainment as it was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in production and distribution of television programmes. History Incorporated Television Programme Compan ...

. Grade had wanted an

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...

and felt it "did not live up to expectations of the script" turning out to be "a broad comedy with action-adventure sequences and the combination just didn't work." Grade thought ""the first eighty minutes were a failure because of these different elements but the last forty, action-packed minutes were wonderful. If only the emphasis had been on action throughout the film would have been a hit. Unfortunately it wasn't. Still, with the pre-sales I'd made we didn't lose nearly as much as we might have". David Niven Jr said "we had a lot of fun on that picture, I just wish it had been more successful." According to a number of sources, this film's motorcycle chase scene is, as one critic said, "one of the most memorable motorcycle chase scenes in cinematic history". Another says: "Film is an uneven mix of comedy and military action, but includes a stand out motorcycle chase. During a battle with the resistance, SS Major Volkmann escapes on a motorcycle with Charlie (played by Elliott Gould) chasing after him on a motorcycle with sidecar down narrow village streets. Impressive motorcycle stuntwork featuring some excellent jumps". Author Mark Hinchliff of ''Motorbike Writer'' ranks the chase in ''Escape to Athena'' as 3rd, only after those in '' The Great Escape'' (1st) and ''

Skyfall ''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the vill ...

'' (2nd).

References

External links