I’m going to go on the record here before I write this one up. This is the first time I have watched The Guns of Navarone. I watched the semi-sequel, Force 10 From Navarone because it was Harrison Ford, sure, but never saw the original.

I buckled up and settled in for an incredibly tense, and wonderfully enjoyable WWII action drama starring Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn and David Niven. In a film filled with gorgeous locations around Greece, well-crafted sets, fantastic matte paintings, and stunning actors, there was nothing not to like in this film.

Peck plays Mallory, a captain, who is requisitioned on a mission and is assigned to lead a group of Allied forces in a mission: impossible. They have to find a way into an impregnable Nazi-held island, and with the help of an explosive expert, Corporal Miller (Niven), blow up two giant long-range guns that are preventing an Allied rescue mission from rescuing two thousand trapped soldiers.

Mallory is joined on his mission by Stavros (Quinn) who has a personal goal to settle with the captain when the mission is over.

Taking its time with the story, the film runs two and a half hours, the film delves into all of the characters that populate Mallry’s team, and the adventure will be filled with close calls, as well as betrayals, ploys, plans within plans, and lots of Nazis to punch (and more).

It’s a crisp, tense tale, and each of the actors brings their A game. Mallory isn’t sure he wants to be there, but he’s also the best man for the job. Miller is interesting because he’s never taken a promotion, he doesn’t want to step up, take responsibility, and he’s not keen on the idea of killing Nazis with a gun – but he’s good at what he does.

There are other characters and events that will shape and change the mission as it progresses and adapts.

The film is captivating and is a prime example of the fantastic all-star WWII films that were coming out at the time (along with one of my favourites The Great Escape). I miss the idea of all-star casts coming together for traditional, grand adventures and this one is a perfect example. Every character has a number of moments to shine, each one has their arc, and whether or not there were egos after the cameras stopped rolling (though by the end of the shoot, everyone seemed to get along well), everything works brilliantly on-screen.

I can’t believe it took me this long to actually dig into this one, but man, did I enjoy it. And of you haven’t seen it, bump it to the top of your list, and if you have seen it, isn’t it time to watch it again?

Damn, this one was good!