In case one serving of macaroni wasn’t enough, Severin Films has doubled-up the ratio of the so-called “Macaroni Combat” genre with Enzo G. Castellari’s Eagles Over London. The 1969 precursor to Castellari’s later The Inglorious Bastards has at long last found its way to DVD and Blu-ray courtesy John Severin and devoted crew. Apart from a few limited engagements back in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Enzo’s retro World War II flick has rarely been seen by American audiences — so this is your big chance to see the film that signore Castellari’s is perhaps most famous for in his native Italy.

We start in Dunkirk, with the British withdrawing from the advancing German army. A group of undercover Nazi soldiers slaughter a troop of Englanders, and assume their identities. One of them, “Martin” (Francisco Rabal), inadvertently befriends a Hungarian/English army captain, Paul Stevens (Frederick Stafford) and his girlfriend, Meg (Ida Galli, billed here as Evelyn Stewart). Dwindling star Van Johnson turns in one of his most embarrassingly enjoyable performances as Air Marshall George Taylor, the familiar face of Luigi Pistilli can be seen as the Nazi troops’ commanding officer (?), and Renzo Palmer is on hand as the movie’s comedy relief, Sgt. Mulligan.

While the movie isn’t the greatest World War II flick ever made, you really have to admire Enzo’s creativity on this one. During the dogfight sequences, he splices in some vintage wartime stock footage (via split screen), and also makes some very cunning use of models and miniatures to boot. Outside of the studio, Enzo manages to assemble hundreds of extras during the German air attack on Dunkirk, and again when the Brits return from France. Pretty impressive shit, especially for a 1969 Italian-made war flick (the film’s producers were so impressed with Castellari’s combat footage that a majority of it wound up in Umberto Lenzi’s From Hell To Victory). On the opposite end of the spectrum, Eagles Over London boasts a mostly subdued cast that either phone it in (Castellari’s leading man, Frederick Stafford, delivers a rather forgettable performance) or ham it up altogether (the name Van Johnson quickly comes to mind, particularly during the film’s climactic dogfight).

Article Author: Luigi Bastardo

Luigi Bastardo is the disgruntled alter-ego of Adam Becvar, a thirtysomething lad from Northern California who has watched so many weird movies since the tender age of 3 that a conventional life is out of the question. …

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