Force 10 from Navarone (1978) Synopsis

In 1943, after their successful mission in Navarone, MI6 agents Mallory (Robert Shaw) and Miller (Edward Fox) are sent to find and kill "Nicolai". Originally thought to be a traitor who informed the Germans about Miller and Mallory during the Navarone mission, Nicolai is now known to be a dedicated German spy, and is believed to be disguised among the Yugoslav Partisans as a Captain Lescovar (Franco Nero). Mallory and Miller's new mission is to get to Yogoslavia, find Nicolai, and kill him.To get to Yugoslavia the two men pair with "Force 10", an American sabotage unit led by Lt. Col. Barnsby (Harrison Ford) and having with its own mission in German-occupied Yugoslavia. To maximize security, Force 10 steals a plane from Termoli Airfield in Italy rather than requisitioning one, but are spotted by US M.Ps before takeoff. Weaver (Carl Weathers), a US Army sergeant under arrest by the MP's, joins with Force 10 and forces his way onto the plane. Barnsby and crew successfully "escape" Termoli only to be shot down by German night fighters over Yugoslavia. Only Barnsby, Mallory, Miller, Weaver and Reynolds (Angus MacInnes) manage to escape the crippled plane.On the ground, the five survivors run across a group they believe to be Communist Yugoslav Partisans, their allies. Led by a hulking Yugoslav named Captain Drazak (Richard Kiel), Force 10's rescuers are soon revealed to be collaborationist Chetniks (nationalist Serb guerrillas) under German control. The Germans take the team into custody, but do not know what their mission is. Mallory and Barnsby tell the German commander, Major Schroeder (Michael Byrne), that they are deserters and criminals fleeing Allied authorities. To keep Schroeder from opening Miller's suitcase, which contains his special explosives, Mallory tells him that it contains a "new" drug called penicillin.The next morning, the prisoners are told that Schroeder has opened the case, finding it full of firewood. Mallory and Barnsby improvise, "admitting" they buried the samples. Schroeder sends Mallory and Barnsby out to retrieve them, under the guard of his concubine, Maritza (Barbara Bach), and three of his soldiers. Miller, Weaver and Reynolds are left in a cell in camp.Far from camp, Maritza kills the Germans, revealing herself to be a partisan spy. She directs Mallory and Barnsby towards the real partisans under the command of her father, Major Petrovich (Alan Badel). Mallory and Barnsby escape, ambushing and killing two of Drazak's Chetniks - men bandaged to hide burns from flamethrowers. Eventually, the two meet a patrol of real Yugoslav Partisans led by a man Mallory recognizes as his target Captain Lescovar, AKA: Nicolai. While Mallory assumes that Lescovar has recognized him, he and Barnsby are nevertheless taken to the partisans. Mallory and Barnsby both realize their location when they recognize a wide river and a large hydroelectric dam near the Partisan camp.Skeptical, Major Petrovich dismisses Mallory's story about Lescovar being Nicolai - assuring Mallory that they had executed the real 'Nicolai' months earlier. He reproves the men for killing the bandaged Chetniks, as the men were partisan infiltrators in the Chetnik camp and his only link to Maritza.Petrovich's principle worry is an impending assault by the Wehrmacht. The Germans are massing their forces nearby, and only a ravine separates as many as three German divisions from the outnumbered partisans. Only a single concrete arch bridge links each side of the ravine, but the partisans have been unable to destroy it. Convinced that no bridge is impregnable, Barnsby reveals that this bridge is in fact Force 10's target. Knowing Miller's expertise in demolitions, Mallory convinces a reluctant Petrovich to help mount a rescue mission using Lescovar and the Partisan Marko (Petar Buntic).The four re-enter the camp at night, Mallory and Barnsby posing as captives and the partisans disguised as the bandaged men. Before they complete their mission, Drazak arrives with the bodies of the real bandaged men and, since Maritza had always been seen with them, concludes she was a partisan as well and savagely beats her up. A gun battle breaks out in the cell block. Schroeder and Reynolds are killed, but Mallory, Barnsby, Miller, Weaver, Lescovar and Marko escape in a truck with a badly beaten Maritza and the recovered explosives.Having made it to the Partisans, Miller reveals that the bridge really is impregnable to explosives. Mallory hits upon the idea of destroying the upstream dam they saw earlier, with the sudden onrush of several millions of gallons of water being enough to destroy the bridge. A night time air drop is arranged to replace Force 10's lost supplies, but Lescovar sabotages the air drop by calling in German planes. Maritza spots Lescovar betraying the partisans, but Lescovar kills her before she can warn the others. German planes bomb the illuminated drop zone.Petrovich, angered by the botched air drop, orders the men to be sent to Marshall Tito's headquarters for transport back to Italy. The team decides to infiltrate the German marshaling yards at Mostar to steal explosives, taking Lescovar and Marko. Lescovar again betrays them alerting a German sergeant to their presence, identifying himself as an Abwehr officer. Marko overhears the plan and sacrifices himself to save the others from the Germans. The others escape with Lescovar aboard a train leaving for Sarajevo. Lescovar's hasty cover story doesn't fool Mallory or Barnsby; Barnsby had observed Lescovar's interactions with the German sergeant who, fatally, salutes the other man even though Lescovar's uniform only made him out to be a corporal; Mallory had noticed a map showing that their train passes within a half-mile of the dam - a fact Lescovar "neglected" to bring up. Though Lescovar denies treachery, Mallory is convinced, and he kills Lescovar.Jumping the train near the dam, the team splits up: Miller and Weaver set off diversionary explosives while Mallory and Barnsby sneak into the dam. Weaver runs into Drazak in the woods, and kills him after a knife fight.Mallory and Barnsby set their charges within the dam, but realize that they are out of time. With the German assault only minutes away - they are forced to set a short fuse, leaving them no time to escape. Mallory and Barnsby are caught in the explosion, yet nevertheless survive. The dam appears undamaged, but soon begins to disintegrate; with its barely maintained structural integrity disrupted, the dam wall collapses, releasing millions of tons of water in a wave that topples the bridge. The German assault is thwarted, saving the Partisans. Mallory and Barnsby rejoin Miller and Weaver, but the jubilation is short-lived. Mallory reminds the men that they're now trapped on the wrong side of the river, with no supplies and no way of contacting or reaching the partisans. As the end credits roll, the four men begin a strenuous journey back to friendly lines.In this movie appears Wolf Kahler who will later play Ludendorff, chemist and Fritz Shimon Haber's close friend in Haber (2008).

In 1943, after their successful mission in Navarone, MI6 agents Mallory (Robert Shaw) and Miller (Edward Fox) are sent to find and kill "Nicolai". Originally thought to be a traitor who informed the Germans about Miller and Mallory during the Navarone mission, Nicolai is now known to be a dedicated German spy, and is believed to be disguised among the Yugoslav Partisans as a Captain Lescovar (Franco Nero). Mallory and Miller's new mission is to get to Yogoslavia, find Nicolai, and kill him.To get to Yugoslavia the two men pair with "Force 10", an American sabotage unit led by Lt. Col. Barnsby (Harrison Ford) and having with its own mission in German-occupied Yugoslavia. To maximize security, Force 10 steals a plane from Termoli Airfield in Italy rather than requisitioning one, but are spotted by US M.Ps before takeoff. Weaver (Carl Weathers), a US Army sergeant under arrest by the MP's, joins with Force 10 and forces his way onto the plane. Barnsby and crew successfully "escape" Termoli only to be shot down by German night fighters over Yugoslavia. Only Barnsby, Mallory, Miller, Weaver and Reynolds (Angus MacInnes) manage to escape the crippled plane.On the ground, the five survivors run across a group they believe to be Communist Yugoslav Partisans, their allies. Led by a hulking Yugoslav named Captain Drazak (Richard Kiel), Force 10's rescuers are soon revealed to be collaborationist Chetniks (nationalist Serb guerrillas) under German control. The Germans take the team into custody, but do not know what their mission is. Mallory and Barnsby tell the German commander, Major Schroeder (Michael Byrne), that they are deserters and criminals fleeing Allied authorities. To keep Schroeder from opening Miller's suitcase, which contains his special explosives, Mallory tells him that it contains a "new" drug called penicillin.The next morning, the prisoners are told that Schroeder has opened the case, finding it full of firewood. Mallory and Barnsby improvise, "admitting" they buried the samples. Schroeder sends Mallory and Barnsby out to retrieve them, under the guard of his concubine, Maritza (Barbara Bach), and three of his soldiers. Miller, Weaver and Reynolds are left in a cell in camp.Far from camp, Maritza kills the Germans, revealing herself to be a partisan spy. She directs Mallory and Barnsby towards the real partisans under the command of her father, Major Petrovich (Alan Badel). Mallory and Barnsby escape, ambushing and killing two of Drazak's Chetniks - men bandaged to hide burns from flamethrowers. Eventually, the two meet a patrol of real Yugoslav Partisans led by a man Mallory recognizes as his target Captain Lescovar, AKA: Nicolai. While Mallory assumes that Lescovar has recognized him, he and Barnsby are nevertheless taken to the partisans. Mallory and Barnsby both realize their location when they recognize a wide river and a large hydroelectric dam near the Partisan camp.Skeptical, Major Petrovich dismisses Mallory's story about Lescovar being Nicolai - assuring Mallory that they had executed the real 'Nicolai' months earlier. He reproves the men for killing the bandaged Chetniks, as the men were partisan infiltrators in the Chetnik camp and his only link to Maritza.Petrovich's principle worry is an impending assault by the Wehrmacht. The Germans are massing their forces nearby, and only a ravine separates as many as three German divisions from the outnumbered partisans. Only a single concrete arch bridge links each side of the ravine, but the partisans have been unable to destroy it. Convinced that no bridge is impregnable, Barnsby reveals that this bridge is in fact Force 10's target. Knowing Miller's expertise in demolitions, Mallory convinces a reluctant Petrovich to help mount a rescue mission using Lescovar and the Partisan Marko (Petar Buntic).The four re-enter the camp at night, Mallory and Barnsby posing as captives and the partisans disguised as the bandaged men. Before they complete their mission, Drazak arrives with the bodies of the real bandaged men and, since Maritza had always been seen with them, concludes she was a partisan as well and savagely beats her up. A gun battle breaks out in the cell block. Schroeder and Reynolds are killed, but Mallory, Barnsby, Miller, Weaver, Lescovar and Marko escape in a truck with a badly beaten Maritza and the recovered explosives.Having made it to the Partisans, Miller reveals that the bridge really is impregnable to explosives. Mallory hits upon the idea of destroying the upstream dam they saw earlier, with the sudden onrush of several millions of gallons of water being enough to destroy the bridge. A night time air drop is arranged to replace Force 10's lost supplies, but Lescovar sabotages the air drop by calling in German planes. Maritza spots Lescovar betraying the partisans, but Lescovar kills her before she can warn the others. German planes bomb the illuminated drop zone.Petrovich, angered by the botched air drop, orders the men to be sent to Marshall Tito's headquarters for transport back to Italy. The team decides to infiltrate the German marshaling yards at Mostar to steal explosives, taking Lescovar and Marko. Lescovar again betrays them alerting a German sergeant to their presence, identifying himself as an Abwehr officer. Marko overhears the plan and sacrifices himself to save the others from the Germans. The others escape with Lescovar aboard a train leaving for Sarajevo. Lescovar's hasty cover story doesn't fool Mallory or Barnsby; Barnsby had observed Lescovar's interactions with the German sergeant who, fatally, salutes the other man even though Lescovar's uniform only made him out to be a corporal; Mallory had noticed a map showing that their train passes within a half-mile of the dam - a fact Lescovar "neglected" to bring up. Though Lescovar denies treachery, Mallory is convinced, and he kills Lescovar.Jumping the train near the dam, the team splits up: Miller and Weaver set off diversionary explosives while Mallory and Barnsby sneak into the dam. Weaver runs into Drazak in the woods, and kills him after a knife fight.Mallory and Barnsby set their charges within the dam, but realize that they are out of time. With the German assault only minutes away - they are forced to set a short fuse, leaving them no time to escape. Mallory and Barnsby are caught in the explosion, yet nevertheless survive. The dam appears undamaged, but soon begins to disintegrate; with its barely maintained structural integrity disrupted, the dam wall collapses, releasing millions of tons of water in a wave that topples the bridge. The German assault is thwarted, saving the Partisans. Mallory and Barnsby rejoin Miller and Weaver, but the jubilation is short-lived. Mallory reminds the men that they're now trapped on the wrong side of the river, with no supplies and no way of contacting or reaching the partisans. As the end credits roll, the four men begin a strenuous journey back to friendly lines.In this movie appears Wolf Kahler who will later play Ludendorff, chemist and Fritz Shimon Haber's close friend in Haber (2008).

Published Time: 2016-02-06 00:45:06