5 Questions: Force 10 from Navarone

I’ll be the first to admit I’m not a big war movie buff. But when you throw Han Solo and Apollo Creed in a war movie, you’ve got my attention.

The 1978 film, Force 10 from Navarone, stars both Harrison Ford and Carl Weathers along with such luminaries as Robert Shaw, Barbara Bach, Edward Fox, Franco Nero and Richard Kiel.

There is no question, the inclusion of Ford and Weathers is what got me to watch. But as I was watching, some questions came to mind…

1. Did anybody keep track of the number of double crosses in this movie? 

Force 10 from Navarone is filled with double crosses. I would not be surprised if it held some sort of record for most double crosses in a single movie.

This movie has trust issues right from the start as Mallory (Shaw) and Barnsby (Ford) butt heads.

Then there’s Weaver (Weathers) who forces his way on to the plane after escaping from the Military Police.

The first backstabbing comes in giant form when Drazak (Kiel) sells out our heroes. Drazak is also bit of a racist, which should have been a clue that he was working with the Nazis.

Let’s not forget about Maritza (Bach), who double crosses the Nazis and assists Mallory and Barnsby. She also has a thing going with Franco Nero’s character Lescovar.

And speaking of Lescovar, he is the biggest double crosser of them all. Or is he? Maybe I just double crossed you so I didn’t spoil all the double crosses in Force 10 from Navarone.

This movie proves that “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was right…  “Don’t trust anybody!”

2. Who carries firewood around with them in a forest?

Now the Nazis are definitely suspicious of the cover story Mallory gives that he and his allies were carrying penicillin in a case (he didn’t want to reveal they were actually carrying explosives to blow up a bridge). But not once did the Nazis question why they would fill the case with firewood after they took the penicillin out and buried it, when they had a whole forest worth of trees at their disposal if at some point they actually did need firewood. Plus, why not bury the case with the penicillin inside?

This lack of asking the right questions has to be at least one of the reasons the Nazis lost WWII.

3. Can Michael Byrne only play Nazis?

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve only seen Byrne in two movies, Force 10 from Navarone and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. But in both movies the man plays a Nazi. I will say he is quite good at it, but it makes me wonder if that’s the only role he can play… or maybe I should be asking if he can only be in films with Harrison Ford?

4. This movie is rated PG? 

While there’s not a lot of gore and violence that is to be expected when a war movie is rated PG. What was not to be expected was the view of a bathing Barbara Bach’s bare breasts. #Alliteration

I guess the fine folks at the MPAA were a little more liberal back in the 70’s. I don’t recall any of the PG movies of the 80’s featuring boobs and I’m pretty sure it is something I’d remember.

5. Does Carl Weathers have one of the best laughs in Hollywood?

I say yes… and that laugh makes its presence felt a few times in Force 10 from Navarone. If you’ve had the misfortune of never hearing the Carl Weathers laugh, it is the kind of laugh that can light up a room and I suggest you go watch some of his movies now.