''When Eight Bells Toll'' is a 1971 action film directed by Étienne Périer and starring

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...

Jack Hawkins John Edward Hawkins, CBE (14 September 1910 – 18 July 1973) was an English actor who worked on stage and in film from the 1930s until the 1970s. One of the most popular British film stars of the 1950s, he was known for his portrayal of mil ...

Robert Morley Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE (26 May 1908 – 3 June 1992) was an English actor who enjoyed a lengthy career in both Britain and the United States. He was frequently cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment, of ...

, and Nathalie Delon. Set in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, it is based upon Scottish author

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 ...

's 1965 novel of the same name. Producer

Elliott Kastner Elliott Kastner (January 7, 1930 – June 30, 2010) was an American film producer, whose best known credits include ''Where Eagles Dare'' (1968), '' The Long Goodbye'' (1973), ''The Missouri Breaks'' (1976), and '' Angel Heart'' (1987). Early li ...

planned to produce a string of realistic gritty espionage thrillers to rival the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

series, but the film's poor box office receipts ended his plans.

Plot

British Treasury secret agent Phillip Calvert (

) is sent to investigate the hijacking of five cargo ships in the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

, tracking the latest hijacked ship—the ''Nantesville'', carrying £8 million in gold bullion—to the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...

and the sleepy port town of "Torbay" on the "Isle of Torbay" (actually filmed in Tobermory, on the Isle of Mull). Posing as

marine biologists Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifie ...

, Calvert and his partner Hunslett (

Corin Redgrave Corin William Redgrave (16 July 19396 April 2010) was an English actor and left-wing socialist activist. Early life Redgrave was born on 16 July 1939 in Marylebone, London, the only son and middle child of actors Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kem ...

) find the local inhabitants suspicious and hostile. They suspect that Cypriot tycoon and shipping magnate Sir Anthony Skouras (

), whose luxury yacht ''Shangri-La'' is anchored off the coast, may be behind the pirating of the gold bullion. While searching the surrounding area in a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

Helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

, Calvert makes contact with a group of remote shark fishermen who appear more friendly than Torbay's locals. Calvert also meets the occupants of a castle, Lord Kirkside and his teenage daughter, who behave strangely as well as being hostile. As the helicopter brings Calvert back to Torbay it comes under attack from the shore and the Royal Navy pilot is killed. The helicopter crashes onto the rocky shoreline, explodes and slides into the sea. Calvert escapes from the helicopter after it sinks to the bottom. When he returns to his research yacht ''Firecrest'' he finds Hunslett is missing and is surprised by the presence of his boss Sir Arthur Arnford-Jones, known as "Uncle Arthur" (

). Together, they combat boarders and make ready for sea. On raising the anchor they find the dead body of Hunslett tied to it. They are joined by Skouras's wife, Charlotte (Nathalie Delon), whom they find calling for help in the sea. She claims to have escaped his yacht after he beat her. Calvert is both attracted to, and suspicious of her. When a pirate speedboat approaches, Calvert rams it, shoots the occupants and blows up the boat in vengeance for Hunslett's death. Calvert recruits the shark fishermen to deal with Skouras and his modern day pirates. Guessing that the missing bullion ships are being sunk to allow the gold to be offloaded invisibly, Calvert dives in the bay and finds the ''Nantesville''. He fights and kills one of the divers, whom he has previously encountered and who he suspects killed Hunslett. He then secretly enters Kirkside's castle and questions the Lord's daughter, discovering that Skouras is an innocent victim whose real wife is being held hostage along with other locals down in the castle's

dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...

s. He then sneaks into the underground dock of the castle where the gold is being offloaded. At midnight ( eight bells) the shark fishermen ram the gates of the underground dock with their boat. The pirates are expecting them because Charlotte has been transmitting Calvert's plans to them by secret radio. She is actually the wife of their ringleader, not Skouras. A fire fight ensues in which the pirates are wiped out, after which Calvert lets Charlotte escape with a single bar of gold in her possession.

Cast

as Commander Philip Calvert *

as Sir Arthur Arnford-Jones (Uncle Arthur) * Nathalie Delon as Charlotte Skouras *

as Sir Anthony Skouras *

as Roy Hunslett *

Derek Bond Derek William Douglas Bond MC (26 January 1920 – 15 October 2006) was a British actor. He was President of the trade union Equity from 1984 to 1986. Life and career Bond was born on 26 January 1920 in Glasgow, Scotland. He attended Haberd ...

as Lord Charnley *

Ferdy Mayne Ferdy Mayne (or Ferdie Mayne) (born Ferdinand Philip Mayer-Horckel; 11 March 1916 – 30 January 1998) was a German-British stage and screen actor. Born in Mainz, he emigrated to the United Kingdom in the early 1930s to escape the Nazi regi ...

as Lavorski *

Maurice Roëves John Maurice Roëves (; 19 March 1937 – 14 July 2020) was a British actor. He appeared in over 120 film and television roles, in both the United Kingdom and the United States. His breakthrough performance was as Stephen Dedalus in the 1967 ...

as Lieutenant Scott Williams *Leon Collins as Tim Hutchinson *

Wendy Allnutt Wendy Allnutt (born 1 May 1946) is an English stage and screen actress. She now teaches at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, leading a degree course in Training Actors Movement. Life Born in Lincoln, Allnutt trained for an acting career ...

as Sue Kirkside *

Peter Arne Peter Arne (born Peter Randolph Michael Albrecht; 29 September 19241 August 1983) was a British character actor. He made more than 50 film appearances including roles in ''Ice Cold in Alex'', ''The Moonraker'', ''Conspiracy of Hearts'' and '' Vi ...

as Imrie *

Oliver MacGreevy Oliver John MacGreevy (25 July 1928 - October 1981) was an Irish actor who appeared in many British films and television series from the mid 1950s until he retired in 1980, often as brutish, shaven-headed villains. Among his roles he played Hou ...

as Quinn *

Tom Chatto Tom Chatto (born Thomas Chatto St George Sproule; 1 September 1920 – 8 August 1982) was an English actor who made numerous appearances on television, film, and stage between 1957 and his death in 1982. Early life and career Chatto is a great- ...

as Lord Kirkside * Edward Burnham as Macullum Charles Gray, uncredited, dubbed the voice of Jack Hawkins, whose larynx had been removed when the actor was diagnosed with

throat cancer Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms ...

in 1966. Due to the similarity between their voices, Gray dubbed him in other films as well.

Production

Development

In July 1966 Kastner and his producing partner Jerry Gershwin had purchased five screenplays from MacLean: ''Where Eagles Dare'', ''When Eight Bells Toll'', and three other unnamed ones. In November Kastner announced they would make the film as part of a 14-film slate over two years. Among the 14 movies were Maclean's '' Where Eagles Dare'', which was a big hit in 1968, leading to high expectations for ''When Eight Bells Toll''. Kastner saw ''When Eight Bells Toll'' as a combination of ''The Guns of Navarone'', ''Gunga Din'' and ''The Treasure of the Sierra Madre''. "There was a strong character and a great adventure in there," said Kastner. MacLean elected to adapt his novel for the cinema himself, and kept the adaptation close to the novel. The story is very close to the source text, and features some of the same witty dialogue. Some of the twists in the ending have been changed, however, and a shootout replaces MacLean's original Agatha Christie-style summation. Producer

hoped that the film would be the first of a series of spy adventures films featuring MacLean's Philip Calvert character by capturing

series fans after the anticipated demise of that series ( Sean Connery was believed to be planning to quit the Bond role, and some thought that the Bond series would end after his departure). The director was a Belgian, Etienne Perier who had done low budget films. Kastner later said hiring him was "probably the one mistake" he made on the film.

Financing

Kastner says he raised the budget by ringing "a guy I read about in ''Fortune'' magazine and I went and saw him and said 'I need one point eight million dollars to make this second Alistair Maclean project.' And he heard me out and he wrote the damn cheque." Hopkins was paid £8,000.

Casting

Kastner wanted a Celtic actor to play the hero Calvert, having had a big success with Richard Burton in ''Where Eagles Dare''. "I saw the agent Calvert as a very exciting characterisation," said Kastner. "A lot could be done with him. But I didn't want a Tony Curtis. I didn't want a star. I wanted a classical actor. A real actor." He considered

Michael Jayston Michael James (born 29 October 1935), known professionally as Michael Jayston, is an English actor. He played Nicholas II of Russia in the film ''Nicholas and Alexandra'' (1971). He has also made many television appearances, which have include ...

and

for the role. Hopkins, then best known as a stage actor for his work at the National Theatre, was chosen on the basis of his performance in ''The Lion in Winter''. Hopkins says he turned down the role at first, worried about being an action star. "It seemed too fast for me," he said. "I could hear myself saying, 'Now wait a minute'. Then when I had finally overcome my fright I said to myself 'I'd be mad to turn this chance down.' I didn't." Kastner wanted Hopkins to lose weight for the role. Bond film stunt arranger Bob Simmons helped him slim down to become a convincing Royal Naval officer trained as a

commando Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...

and

frogman A frogman is someone who is trained in scuba diving or swimming underwater in a tactical capacity that includes military, and in some European countries, police work. Such personnel are also known by the more formal names of combat diver, com ...

Filming

Filming started in September 1969 and went for sixteen weeks. It was done partly on location in Scotland with studio work at Pinewood. The main helicopter used in the film is a Westland Widgeon painted in Royal Navy Rescue helicopter colours. The helicopter, registered G-ANLW was also seen in the 1981 war movie '' Eye of the Needle''. The aircraft still exists and is currently being restored to flying condition. The ship used to represent Calvert and Hunslett's yacht ''Firecrest'' was the ''Tavit'', built in 1966 at Berwick Shipyard. The ship still exists to this day, currently registered in Greece. Skouras' yacht, the ''Shangri-La'' was in reality the ''Maureen Mhor'', built in 1961 by Yarrows. The ship still exists, now called the ''Camara C'' The "Northern Diver" the boat used to search for Calvert after the helicopter crash is currently being assessed for restoration by Cam Marine Services on the Isle of Skye. During filming Hopkins fell in love with one of Kastner's assistants, Jennifer Lynton, and left his wife and child for her.

Reception

Box office

''When Eight Bells Toll'' performed poorly in cinemas in the US, although it was more popular in Europe and was the 11th most popular film at the British box office in 1971. Kastner said the film "tripled its money" but admitted it was a disappointment.

Critical reception

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' described the film as, "All thoroughly silly but routine rather than rotten".

Proposed series

Connery returned to the Bond role and appeared in the successful '' Diamonds Are Forever'', and the Bond series producers decided to continue the series when Connery left. The projected Phillip Calvert series was cancelled.

References

Notes

External links

Movie Review at Videovista.net
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Review of film
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New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:When Eight Bells Toll 1971 films 1970s action thriller films 1970s spy films British thriller films Films set in Scotland Films shot in Scotland 1970s English-language films Films based on British novels Films based on crime novels Films directed by Étienne Périer Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films based on works by Alistair MacLean Films produced by Elliott Kastner 1970s British films