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Trivia / The Eagle Has Landed

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  • Acting for Two: A funny thing about having a small stunt team: One of the German soldiers shoots and kill the driver of an American jeep, so it crashes into the pond. Both the German AND the driver of the jeep is played by the same stuntman Jim Dowdall. He kills himself, so to speak...
  • Cast the Runner-Up: Michael Caine was originally offered the part of Devlin but did not want to play a member of the IRA, so asked if he could have the role of Steiner.
  • Creator Backlash: In his autobiography Michael Caine confessed to being somewhat disappointed with the end product:
    The picture was being directed by the Hollywood old-timer John Sturges [...], and we were all very pleased that this illustrious veteran had agreed to direct our film. That is, until one day when I was talking to him between set-ups and he informed me that now that he was older, he only ever worked to get the money to go fishing, which was his passion. Deep-sea fishing off Baja, California, he added, which was very expensive. The moment the picture finished he took the money and went. [Producer] Jack Wiener later told me that he never came back for the editing nor for any of the other post-production sessions that are where a director does some of his most important work. The picture wasn't bad, but I still get angry when I think of what it could have been with the right director. We had committed the old European sin of being impressed by someone just because he came from Hollywood.
  • Dawson Casting: Molly is said to be almost nineteen. Jenny Agutter was 24 at the time.
  • Fake Irish: Donald Sutherland as Liam Devlin.
  • Fake Nationality: Almost every single German character falls into this category:
  • Role-Ending Misdemeanor: Richard Harris was originally cast as Devlin, but was forced to drop out of the film after he caused an uproar by attending a fund raiser for the Provisional IRA in the United States.
  • What Could Have Been:
    • John Sturges wanted Mia Farrow for Molly.
    • In March 1976 The New York Times announced David Bowie would play a German Nazi in the film if his schedule could be worked out. John Sturges meanwhile claimed that Bowie was actually turned down because his audition wasn't particularly good.
    • The role of Joanna Grey was originally offered to Deborah Kerr, who turned it down.

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