The Secret Invasion is directed by Roger Corman and written by R. Wright Campbell. It stars Stewart Granger, Raf Vallone, Mickey Rooney, Edd Byrnes, Henry Silva, Spela Rozin and William Campbell.
The Secret Invasion 1964 The Nazis imprison an Italian general who was planning to switch sides and turn over his army to the Allied side. Allied headquarters sends a small, somewhat misfit group of soldiers to spring the general from prison and carry out his plans. Subtitle The.Secret.Invasion.1964.1080p.BluRay.H264.AAC-RARBG: Caichac: Synopsis. The Nazis imprison an Italian general who was planning to switch sides and turn over his army to the Allied side. Allied headquarters sends a small, somewhat misfit group of soldiers to spring the general from prison and carry out his plans.
Music is by Hugo Friedhofer and Eastman Color cinematography is by Arthur E. 1943 and British Intelligence send Major Richard Mace (Granger) and five convicts into Yugoslavia on a dangerous mission. They are to rescue an Italian General from German captivity in the hope that he will join the fight against the Nazis. An army based reworking of Corman and Campbell's Five Guns West from 1955, The Secret Invasion is cheap on budget but rich on action. A sort of forerunner to Where Eagles Dare and Operation Cross Eagles, and a definite companion piece for the far superior The Dirty Dozen that followed three years later, it's a film that's hard to dislike. There's such a sense of fun about the whole thing and Corman still manages to create suspense and craft potent action scenes. The ensemble cast bring to life the roll call of damaged characters who are either looking for redemption, personal gain or just a crack at getting the freedom dangled in front of them.
The Eastman Color is very appealing, the pic actually filmed on location in Yugoslavia, and Friedhofer provides a very effective musical score that hits the right beats for the blend of drama and sorrow that fills out the plot. Corman inevitably has to cut some corners, such as one key character is killed off screen, not all the acting is great and veers close to being second string Spaghetti Western standard, and of course the plot is bonkers. But the flaws never stop it being worth the time of the Action War film fan. British officer Major Richard Mace recruits a bunch of convicted criminals in to a carrying out a secret mission that involves rescuing an Italian General being held hostage by the Nazis in Yugoslavia. If they succeed they'll be granted a pardon.
If they fail they won't have to worry about living long enough to be sent back to jail because this is a literal suicide mission The above premise is very similar to THE DIRTY DOZEN a fact reflected that everyone on this page has brought up the 1967 film directed by Robert Aldrich. Of course there's only so many ways you can deal a pack of cards so sooner or later premises are going to meet one another and the 1960s were full of movies where desperate men were conscripted in to carrying out suicide missions behind enemy lines. THE SECRET INVASION probably didn't have much or any influence over THE DIRTY DOZEN and perhaps this 1964 movie owes more to the 1961 big budget release THE GUNS OF NAVERONE?
Where THE DIRTY DOZEN succeeds is that the group of soldiers turned criminals turned back in to soldiers again are far more convincing than the ones seen here. You want a demolition expert then who better than Mickey Rooney who shockingly was only 44 when this movie was released but looks like a man at least 20 years older. You do get the impression that his character would have a problem running up a flight of stairs never mind taking part in a physically draining mission against the Nazis THE SECRET INVASION is directed by Roger Corman and that alone tells you what the production values are going to be like. The action scenes aren't handled well with three or four actors squeezed in to frame as bullets whizz past explosions take place out of shot that fails to convince the audience that an epic battle scene is taking place. That said the resolution to the mission is somewhat surprising and unexpected which means if the film had a bigger budget then it might have been held in higher regard than it actually is.
Roger Corman got his largest budget to date and distribution through United Artists for The Secret Invasion. Even though the story is a combination of The Dirty Dozen and The Guns Of Navarone, it's all delivered in nice style. Heading the mission is Major Stewart Granger and the time is during those days just before the Allies invaded Italy proper having already landed and occupied Sicily.
He gets himself a choice team of criminals of varying kind all with certain specialties. His team includes Raf Vallone, Edd Byrnes, William Campbell, Mickey Rooney, and Henry Silva. With Granger that makes it a half a dozen. These six are to go into occupied Yugoslavia and kidnap a popular Italian general.
Remember at this point in time Mussolini had already been overthrown and the Allies were conducting negotiations with Field Marshal Badoglio to take Italy out of the Axis orbit. Command broke down in the Italian Army and Badoglio dragged his feet somewhat. So this was a move in Yugoslavia where the Italians had considerable troops. Things didn't quite work out for Granger and the rest of his half dozen no more than they did for the Allies and Badoglio. Still the mission is completed kind of and a few actually survive to tell the tale. Best in the cast is Mickey Rooney who adopts a nice Irish brogue as he plays an IRA man who's good with explosives. Like the rest he's fighting for a pardon if he gets back from Yugoslavia.
He looks like he's having a great old time in the part. Given his last name you'd think the Mick would have played more Irish types in films. But remember he was born Joe Yule, Jr.
Quite Jewish. The Secret Invasion will not be one of Roger Corman's cult classics, it had too big a budget for that. Still it's an enjoyable film, war film fans will like it. This exciting and so-so war movie produced by Gene Corman packs thrills, suspense, plot twists, lots of action sequences and climatic ending, but doesn't quite hang together. Passable warfare film follows a group of convicts soldiers played by all star cast who undergoes assignment against the promise of free pardons. It deals with Major Mace (Stewart Granger), a tough commandant, he assigns a motley team(Mickey Rooney,Raf Vallone, Edd Byrnes, Henry Silva, William Campbell) for a dangerous mission whose aim is to free an Italian General (Enzo Fiermonte).
As Stewart Granger training an outfit of rebels and misfits soldiers for a risked assault in Yugoslavia where they contact partisans. The commando must participate in a suicidal mission, the first to wipe a Yugoslavian little town and after an assault over a strong position located on Dubrovnik, Croacia, where is imprisoned the Italian General. Each member of the squad keeps time by rhythmically snapping his fingers so the kidnap can be coordinated. They wreak havoc and kill Nazis to earn the respect of military higher-ups in an exciting final.
This low-budgeted and appropriate runtime warfare film concerns about an incredible lesson of courage set in WWII. This flag-waving film packs frantic thrills, perilous adventures, relentless feats, and buck-loads of explosive action and violence. The noisy action is uniformly well-made, especially deserving of mention the rip-roaring final scenes on the mountains and battle at Dubrovnik city. Fine location cinematography by Arthur Arling and powerful musical score by Hugo Friedhofer. Serious and rough Stewart Granger is good as leader of the motley pack together thwart the the Nazi schemes, as well as the largely secondary cast with particular mention to Henry Silva and Raf Vallone who finish developing a sincere friendship. The film belongs to Commandos sub-genre operating beyond enemy lines whose maximum examples result to be the classics as ¨Dirty dozen¨(Robert Aldrich), ¨Guns of Navarone¨ (J.L.
Thompson), ¨When eagles dare ¨ (Brian G Hutton), ¨ and ¨Kelly's heroes¨ (Hutton) and other movies that were made during the 60s and 70s regarding wartime adventures about special forces in risked missions. The motion picture is professionally directed by Roger Corman. After his period realizing poverty-budget horror movies as ¨Swamp woman, The beast with a million of eyes, Attack of the crab monsters, Undead¨, then came the cycle of tales of terror based on Poe as ¨ House of Usher, Pit and pendulum, The raven, Tales of terror, The masque of the red death ¨, and meanwhile Corman made this passable war film that achieved limited success. In Cairo, Egypt, during World War II, British Major Stewart Granger (as Richard Mace) pardons five criminals from prison - 'master of disguise' William Campbell (as Jean Saval), boozy Irish revolutionary Mickey Rooney (as Terence Scanlon), well-coiffed forger Edd Byrnes (as Simon Fell), close-mouthed assassin Henry Silva (as John Durrell), and educated crime lord Raf Vallone (as Roberto Rocca).
The quintet agreed to cooperate in a potentially suicidal mission. They are to infiltrate a German prison, and free a general.
But, the Nazis have other plans. 'The Secret Invasion' is relatively bloody for its time, with good action and locations. The Secret Invasion (9/16/63) Roger Corman Stewart Granger, Raf Vallone, Mickey Rooney, Edd Byrnes. I saw this one today and I was very surprised by the film. Not onlydoes it have a theme reminiscent of the later Dirty Dozen, but there'sa scene towards the beginning that smacks of the Guns of Naverone. Thecasting is surprisingly top notch and I was overall pleased with theentire film. Stewart Granger is Good as the troubled British officerout for revenge.
I loved Mickey Rooney, who seemed to be having thetime of his life as an IRA demolition expert. The other members of thecast rounded out an almost perfect ensemble with notable mention toWilliam Campbell & Edd Byrne. The only thing I found odd about thisfilm was the speed at which the actors found themselves on their secretmission. It seemed within 20 minutes they were introduced, trained, andalready in enemy waters. Other than that, it was a solid WW2 movie withplenty of action!
I HIGHLY recommend it. Stewart Granger, Raf Vallone, Mickey Rooney, William Campbell,EddByrnes, and Henry Silva are part of 'The Secret Invasion,' directed byRoger Corman. Vallone, Rooney, Campbell and Silva are prisoners who arebrought in as part of a mission to free an Italian general, who wasabout to turn on the Nazis and turn his army over to the allies and isnow being held by the Nazis. Granger, as Major Mace, is put in chargeof them. If they don't die, they will win their amnesty.
The levels of commitment vary among the men. The organizer, Rocca(Vallone) is a brilliant man who is dedicated to the mission, whileSimon Fell (Byrnes), a forger, is not and tries to escape. MickeyRooney plays the munitions expert, a cheerful Irishman, and Henry Silvaplays an assassin, Durrell, who, although quiet, has feelings that runvery deep.
Saval (Campbell) doesn't trust him. While this is a derivative movie, it's filled with action, some goodcharacters, sadness, and violence. Corman paces it well. On a sidenote, because I know German, the German spoken was perfect and, unlikeDas Boot, easy to understand. Corman made this on a low budget, and the actors' performances vary asa result of not being able to fill this movie with an all-star cast.Edd Byrnes leaves a lot to be desired. I remember William Campbell frommy childhood in a TV series called 'Canonball' - actually, his bigclaim to fame is that he was married to JFK-Sam Giancana girlfriendJudith Exner. Granger, Vallone, Rooney and Silva are excellent as arethe members of the German cast.
Good drama, good war story. I've officially had it with Roger Corman. He always directed films which you think would be entertaining if not exceptional. Without fail, he's disappointed every time. It's not just the low budgets, it's the scripts, the way the story lines are handled, the acting. This film was so bad, I couldn't make it past about 45 minutes. I can only imagine how much more bad acting, terrible direction, boring action, and stupid dialog ensue after I turned it off.
Why this idiot has been so successful in his own way I'll never know. I had to stop watching when one of the convicts holds his hands over a baby's nose and mouth and (I guess accidentally) smothers a baby while the mother stands right beside him, seemingly in another world. Somehow Corman seems to bring out the worst in the talent he works with.
Please avoid this boring, stupid piece of junk. This film was a big disappointment.
It lacked energy, a good cast, involvement and enthusiasm. I blame most of this on the director and an equal amount on the editor. It was chock full of bad cuts and continuity errors, e.g. The key scene where Henry Silva quiets the crying infant. Silva, Raf Vallone and a few others were the only assets to the cast.
It was Stewart Granger, Mickey Rooney and above all Edd 'Kookie' Byrnes whose acting was really bad. The script was very badly written and formulaic. The film might've worked with better casting, directing, and a better script, but I doubt it very much as this type of story has been told before and with more energy. Its only pluses were a decent score and excellent cinematography. All in all this was a 'bust'! This is Corman's second best film.
His masterpiece is 'I Hate Your Guts'. This one stands out second best among his other films, which are among the worst ever made.
The theme is the same as the Dirty Dozen, with some better writing, and probably better acting. There are some big names in here. The characters are probably not as well drawn as in the Dirty Dozen, but the plot and the turns are better. This group goes through a lot. Henry Silva stands out in this crowd. There is a very goofy character played by Raf Vallone that really makes no sense, and for some reason he plays a large role.
It would have been better if Granger had a bigger part. His part is largely understated. It has good action and some character twists, and good plot writing that even Corman can't mess up. I may be generous rating this a 7.
It could rate anywhere from 4-7, but it's a fun flick to watch, so I give it the benefit of the doubt. This film cut out much of the extra stuff that was in the Dirty Dozen. It also did not have a maggot character like Savalas played in the dozen.
The film had a few unexpected turns and did not turn to the revolting conclusion of the Dirty Dozen. Secret Invasion had a better premise than Dozen. In Dozen the mission was to kill as many German officers as possible at a castle which also would include their their wives and girlfriends.
In Secret Invasion the mission was to rescue a popular Italian general from German captivity so that he could return to lead Italian forces. At that time many Italians wavered between German and Allied forces so a strong leader could turn the tide so Italians would join the Allied cause. The film demands some understanding of the war to fully understand the plot. It also shows glimpses into the Yugoslavian underground which supported the U.S.
There are plenty of convincing battle scenes and Corman does a fine job of directing with good acting. Great to see on cable instead of the usual more talky Second World War films. This film cut out much of the extra stuff that was in the Dirty Dozen. Italso did not have a maggot character like Savalas played in the dozen. Thefilm had a few unexpected turns and did not turn to the revoltingconclusion of the Dirty Dozen. Secret Invasion had a better premise thanDozen.
In Dozen the mission was to kill as many German officers as possible at acastle which also would include their their wives and girlfriends. In SecretInvasion the mission was to rescue a popular Italian general from Germancaptivity so that he could return to lead Italian forces. At that time manyItalians wavered between German and Allied forces so a strong leader couldturn the tide so Italians would join the Allied cause. The film demands some understanding of the war to fully understand the plot. It also shows glimpses into the Yugoslavian underground which supported theU.S. There are plenty of convincing battle scenes and Corman does a finejob of directing with good acting. Great to see on cable instead of theusual more talky Second World War films.
Although producer/director Roger Corman is known for his 'economical'pictures, this World War II actioner belies its $600,000 budget (small byconventional Hollywood standards, but an epic for Corman) and is awell-acted, tightly directed, enjoyable not-quite-so-little picture. Thestory of a group of misfit Allied soldiers sent to rescue an importantItalian general who has been imprisoned by the Nazis, Corman makes gooduseof the Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia, locations and a cast consisting of muchbetteractors then he usually got, especially Mickey Rooney, Stewart Granger andHenry Silva (in an outstanding performance as a taciturn, deadly killerwhoisn't quite as cold-blooded as he seems).
Even Edd Byrnes is far lessannoying than usual, and turns in a good job. The action scenes are verywell handled, the picture looks much more expensive than its budget wouldindicate, and it actually garnered some of the best reviews of Corman'scareer up to that time, and deservedly so. It's a good one (and comparesfavorably to 'The Dirty Dozen,' which it preceded). This film is well directed by Roger Corman and has a great plot withsome good twists. The Yugoslavian location filming adds to the enjoyment,there's plenty of action and the pace is fast. The top notch cast is whatreally puts it over. Mickey Rooney is excellent as Scanlon and providesmuch of the humor.
Edd Byrnes, Stewart Granger, William Campbell andHenrySilva give solid performances and Raf Vallone adds an introspectivequalitythat raises this film a few notches above the average adventure. Myfavorite quote is from his character, 'Who will free it from us and whowillfree us from ourselves.'
If you're not initially nuts about this flick like I was, be patient.I went to see this in 1964 with my cousin. It was my second time seeingitbut her first.
About twenty minutes into it I said to myself, 'Boy, thisisa good movie.' 'It is,' she questioned in an unconvinced tone, butfifteenminutes later she nudged me and said very enthusiastically, 'You're right!This is a good movie!' It is also one of the first films I remember from the 60's thatdabbledin graphic violence.
Although there are only a few, the scenes wereshocking and tense in 1964 and still strike a chord now. The Dirty Dozen(1967), which I also like very much, may be the bestknown of the two but the Secret Invasion was a forerunner of the genre andin my estimation is the better film.
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Dominika emerges as the most dangerous Sparrow after completing the sadistic training process. As she comes to terms with her new abilities, she meets a CIA agent who tries to convince her that he is the only person she can trust. Quality:.