The Eagle Has Landed (or, I'm going to try this again)

[Bill in VA]

Reading FAA's post about his recent reenactment in Mapledurham reminded me of my visits there back almost 40 years ago. (Gosh, has it been that long?) Rather give a re-telling of the storyline or a critique of the movie, I thought I'd share my recollections of the film set and some photos taken by my father at the. The movie was filmed in 1976, and at that time dad was assigned to RAF Greenham Common and we were living in Reading, Berks. (UK), about three or four miles from Mapledurham.

 

The Eagle Has Landed has got to be one of my all-time favorite WWII movies. If you're not familiar with it, it's a novel by Jack Higgins that's based on a plot to land paratroopers in England to either kill or kidnap Winston Churchill while he's visiting the quiet coastal village of Studley Constable. The movie, The Eagle Has Landed stars Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland, Robert Duvall, Larry Hagman, and Jenny Agutter. While most of the photos shown in this thread were taken by my father, there are a few that need to be attributed either as stills from the movie (obvious), or from Google Earth (also obvious...annotations of mine notwithstanding.)

We visited the set several times during filming and my brothers and I collected a far number of 9mm blanks from in/around the churchyard. I still have a couple. Anyway, I thought it'd be fun to post a few photos of the set, stills from the film, and a few maps of the village of Studley Constable (aka Mapledurham.) I'm the kid with the red hair and yellow t-shirt in the photos. My mother and my two younger brothers are present as well. Most of these photos were taken shortly after the climactic shootout at the end of the movie.

First things first, a couple aerial photos of the village of Mapledurham as it looks pre- and post movie. These will help in orienting the photos too.

 

That's the River Thames on the left. The large field that's bordered on three sides by hedges is the laydown yard and the MTB was berthed about where the barge is shown. The original mill sits just to the left of the "M" in "Mapledurham", the church sits bottom center (below the village commons) and the manor house is the large structure/complex just about 5 o'clock, relative to the church.

 

A close-up. The church is at the bottom, the mill and mill pond at the top. On the left, where the empty green lot is, is where the Spyglass and Kettle pub stood. Across the road is the village commons/car park (two white cars and red one.) This is where a series of false shops were built. It's also where the wrecked/shot-up jeep was photographed.

 

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074452/

[Bill in VA]

The Spyglass and Kettle pub....George Wilde's place. This was built for the movie.

 

 

Facing the pub, the church is at the viewer's rear across the road. The River Thames is behind the pub, and the mill to the right.

 

 

And in the movie:

 

 

The pub is also visible in the lower left corner photo (and is almost the exact same perspective as the second one I posted (above.))

 

Note the little grey car in the photo with Donald Sutherland (solo, above.) That's my mom turning the starter crank.

 

[Bill in VA]

"Downtown" Studley Constable.

 

A couple of shops, shot up/destroyed in the final battle scene.. These were completely contrived. These were built in an empty lot that was used as a car park. If you look closely at the last one, you can see it's only built on three sides (notice the scaffolding holding up the roof and the fact that the rear roof only has shingles on the edges.) By the way, I'm the goofy kid in the yellow shirt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Detail on a false wall. It's all molded plaster, but looks pretty real.

 

 

 

 

And here's the "downtown" area in the movie, just prior to the big battle. For orientation the church is on the right, the Spyglass and Kettle behind the viewer, the mill to the viewer's left and the downtown/shops behind the jeep.

 

[Bill in VA]

During the final battle scene the halftrack blasts away, shredding the mill. A jeep comes flying down the road and is shot up by the German paratroopers, crashing into the mill pond. Another jeep is also shot up, but doesn't crash; it pulls in behind some buildings, the crew bails out and fires a bazooka. The bazooka blows up a Bedford cargo truck and a small pickup truck. The pickup truck crashes/is blown up in the church yard.

The jeep that crashed into the mill pond.

 

 

 

 

The jeep from where the bazooka was fired. This is behind the false shops, and in reality is only a few yards across the road from the church where the pickup truck was destroyed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The destroyed army pickup truck (driven by German's fleeing back to the church.) Note the manor house directly behind the church.

 

 

 

[Bill in VA]

And the church. In the corner you can just see part of the wrecked truck, and beyond, the Spyglass and Kettle. The doorway of the church is the location where Michael Caine (Oberstleutnent Kurt Steiner) speaks with Treat Williams (Capt. Clark, US Army Rangers)

 

 

 

 

The villagers, upon noticing the "Polish" paratroopers aren't whom they claim to be. They're staring at the dead paratrooper hanging off of the water wheel.

 

 

 

[lewis505]

Great story & thanks for sharing brother!

[Bill in VA]

The mill.

 

There are/were actually two mills: the original and another built just for the movie, identical to the original, and built immediately beside it. You'll also recall that mill provided the critical turning point in the movie (no pun intended.) It was at the mill that the villagers discover their visiting "Polish" paratroopers are actually German. George Wilde's (owner of the Spyglass and Kettle) daughter falls into the mill race and is pulled towards the churning water wheel. A paratrooper jumps in to save her but is in turn killed by the wheel. When the wheel stops the paratrooper is hanging off of it, his blouse open and revealing his fliegerbluse beneath it.


The mill and mill's water wheel. Note the original mill behind/to the right of the movie mill. The movie mill was shot to pieces in the final battle.

 

 

 

Look carefully and you can note the notches in the wheel's paddles where the dead paratrooper hung (see below.)

And in the movie:

 

 

 

[Bill in VA]

Last, a few photos of the film equipment in the village as well as an annotated aerial photo to help orient things.

Looking down the road from the laydown yard where vehicles were stored. The River Thames is on the viewer's right. The MTB (used several times in the movie...in the Orkneys as well as the final scene with the rescue attempt) was tethered to the shore here. There was also a mock-up of the church tower for close-up shots.

 

 

 

 

A few shots of the village and a boom truck.

 

 

 

 

 

And last, an annotated aerial photo of Mapledurham to help put the photos and movie scenes into their proper geographic perspective.

 

 

 

 

[Sabrejet]

Ahhhh...the wonder of Hollywood...or in this case, Pinewood! A very interesting behind-the-scenes look at the movie...thank you! Co-incidentally, I watched it again when it was screened on British tv just a week or so ago!

[nix284]

Thanks for posting those. I always liked this movie and tought the english town scenes were cool.

[Sabrejet]

Speaking as a native of this green and pleasant island, I'm surprised how much trouble the movie company went to in order to create "Studely Constable" because there are literally hundreds of villages which already look like that anyway. That said, I suppose by building it ...or parts of it...themselves, they were free to do what they wanted with it, unlike "real" properties which belonged to private individuals. Reminds me of the set for "Saving Private Ryan"...actually built on a disused airfield near Hatfield...but totally convincing!

[king802]

The Eagle has Landed was actually copied from the British Wartime film -"Went the day well", which IMHO is actually a better film -the villagers fight off the Germans themselves before the Guards turn up and do a bayonet charge.

 

I met a Royal Marine years ago who did the scene where they parachute into the sea off the coast.

 

Rich

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Went_the_Day_Well%3F

[American Graffiti]

Aw man, thank you for posting this. Great film, one of my favourites, and I always wanted to know where it was filmed.

Amazing to see those on-set shots, and how they built the fake village.

Thanks again,

AG

[Johan Willaert]

Great movie, topic and pictures and one of my all time favorites!

 

FYI the British 'pick-up' truck is actually an Austin Light Utility Truck

http://austin.tillyregister.com/about.html

 

Whenever I go to England, I hear Michael Caine say:

 

'Don't drive too slowly and on the left hand side of the road...'

[Sabrejet]

Hey Johan...will the "tilly" be coming over to Folkestone in July?!

[Johan Willaert]

It seems the owner will be with me, but we haven't decided whether to bring it or not... He should as he might win 'Best in Show'...

[Bill in VA]

Great movie, topic and pictures and one of my all time favorites!

 

FYI the British 'pick-up' truck is actually an Austin Light Utility Truck

http://austin.tillyregister.com/about.html

 

Whenever I go to England, I hear Michael Caine say:

 

'Don't drive too slowly and on the left hand side of the road...'

 

Thanks Johan. I never knew anything about the "Tilly" until now.

 

[Sabrejet]

Here's a superbly restored Austin 10P Utility Truck:

[bobgee]

Great war flick! Watch it whenever it turns up. Thanks much for the "behind the scenes" insights. Bobgee

[willysmb44]

THANKS for posting these, must have been so neat to have been there as they were filming the movie.