In a vein similar to the James Bond movies, British Agent Philip Calvert (Sir Anthony Hopkins) is on a mission to determine the whereabouts of a ship that disappeared near the coast of Scotl... Read allIn a vein similar to the James Bond movies, British Agent Philip Calvert (Sir Anthony Hopkins) is on a mission to determine the whereabouts of a ship that disappeared near the coast of Scotland.In a vein similar to the James Bond movies, British Agent Philip Calvert (Sir Anthony Hopkins) is on a mission to determine the whereabouts of a ship that disappeared near the coast of Scotland.
- Quinn
- (as Oliver Macgreevy)
- Thug
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- Alistair MacLean(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis movie was to be the first in a series of spy movies featuring the character Philip Calvert (Sir Anthony Hopkins). Since Sir Sean Connery had stated that he would be doing no further James Bond movies, the producers saw a vacuum in the spy-action genre. However, this movie's box-office failure scrapped any plans for future entries in the "Calvert" series.
- GoofsWhen gunmen shoot at a helicopter which is supposedly crashing, the smoke disappears into their guns. This shows the film was run backwards and the helicopter was taking off. In the film's trailer (available with the DVD) the shot is run correctly.
- Quotes
[Uncle Arthur is discussing the work involved in dealing with the bullion robbers]
Philip Calvert: I have everybody breathing down my neck: the Admiralty, the Government, the Americans... and the insurance assessors. Grubby little men with gabardine raincoats and dandruff.
Philip Calvert: Well I don't have dandruff, Sir, if it's any consolation.
Uncle Arthur: Yes, I don't think you need demonstrate your questionable attitude to authority *quite* so early.
This film gave a young Anthony Hopkins a chance to be an action hero. His character has more of a rebellious streak than James Bond ever did, but he gets results. His assignment is to get to the bottom of a series of ship hijackings, the last one was a freighter carrying a fortune in gold bullion. He's teamed with Corin Redgrave who takes a more cerebral approach to crime fighting.
That however leaves Redgrave dead and Hopkins looking to take down who did it. He himself is almost killed when a helicopter he was in was shot down. All the action takes place in and around the islands of Northern Scotland where the locals seem to be helping the bad guys. And in McLean tradition, just who are the bad guys.
In most of McLean's work there is always a twist or two and which side the players are on is a mystery through much of the film. When Eight Bells Toll is no exception.
Robert Morley plays the spymaster supervisor of Hopkins and is less avuncular than usual. Jack Hawkins is a Greek shipping tycoon with a young trophy wife. As we know Hawkins had lost his voice box to cancer and his last eight or so years he was dubbed. Whoever dubbed him sounded to me remarkably like Alec Guinness.
When Eight Bells Toll is not as good as some of the other McLean inspired films I mentioned before. But it's still a pretty good action film.
- bkoganbing
- Apr 18, 2013
- How long is When Eight Bells Toll?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Kad osam zvona zazvoni
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 34 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1