When Eight Bells Toll

When Eight Bells Toll (1971)

When Eight Bells Toll is a 1971 action film set in Scotland, based upon Scottish author Alistair MacLean’s 1965 novel of the same name. Producer Elliott Kastner planned to produce a string of realistic gritty espionage thrillers to rival the James Bond series, but the film’s poor box office receipts ended his plans.

Ask your standard movie fan which Alistair MacLean adaptation they prefer and the vote would most likely be split between The Guns of Navarone and Where Eagles Dare, but, whilst I absolutely love the latter of those two, my personal favorite has been for many years When Eight Bells Toll – a James Bond-inspired spy thriller penned by MacLean in the late 1960s when Bond-mania was at its zenith, and subsequently filmed with Anthony Hopkins in the lead role in 1971.
I original saw the movie on British television sometime in the late 1970s. For years after I couldn’t remember which movie had featured a castle, a shootout in a hidden boathouse and an appealingly pretty heroine (actually Wendy Allnutt), not lead actress Nathalie Delon). It was only seeing it a second time that the title of the movie was saved to memory and the happy realization that it was another adaptation of my favorite author’s work.
Directed by Etienne Périer (who gave us the fun WWI action spy adventure Zeppelin, also in 1971), the film benefits from a witty script and a simply superb cast that sees Hopkins joined by Robert Morley (as a rather snobbish boss in the M-mold) and Jack Hawkins (as a suspicious millionaire) this movie is simply brimming over with “Bondian” elements that include beautiful girls (bad and good), thrilling action, underwater battles, building suspense and a roaring soundtrack. Watching it again on Blu-ray it is the most entertaining couple of hours of spy thriller action that I have had the opportunity to enjoy in almost two decades.
Hopkins plays secret agent Calvert who travels to the coast of Scotland disguised as a marine biologist to investigate the disappearance of bullion ships in the Irish Sea. There he encounters a colorful array of characters, both friend and foe.
Producer of Where Eagles Dare Elliott Kastner and co-producer Jerry Gershwin announced in July 1966 that they had purchased five MacLean scripts, to include not only Where Eagles Dare, but also When Eight Bells Toll. The two announced that these scripts would form part of an ambitious 14-film slate over two years. Among those 14 was Where Eagles Dare, and when that became a mammoth commercial and critical success in 1968 (always a difficult balancing act), work on When Eight Bells Toll was fast-tracked, with filming starting in September 1969, shot partly on location in Scotland.
As he had done on Where Eagles Dare, MacLean opted to write the screenplay himself. However, unlike Where Eagles Dare in which he wrote the screenplay first in this instance he was tasked with adapting his own novel. Though he stuck very close to his own novel in many respects he did make some considerations for cinematic effect by replacing the novel’s original summation with a climatic shootout in the castle boathouse.
It’s no secret that producers hoped this movie would provide a springboard for a series of spy adventure movies featuring MacLean’s Philip Calvert secret agent character. At the time of production it was widely believed that the James Bond series would end following the announced departure of Sean Connery frim the role. The belief was further cemented as cameras rolled on When Eight Bells Toll when Bond producers first attempt at a non-Connery Bond movie, 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ was panned by both critics and audiences (though in more recent times it has become a favorite of Bond fans). Kastner evidently believed that a series of Calvert movies would fill the void created by the anticipated end of the Bond series, by offering up another dashing action hero to viewers.
Kastner considered both Michael Jayston and Anthony Hopkins for the role of Calvert, though Hopkins (then primarily known for his stage performances with the National Theater) was initially reluctant to take on the part. Relating his hesitancy in a 1970 interview with The Los Angeles Times, Hopkins said he had concerns about his ability as an action-star, “”It seemed too fast for me…I could hear myself saying, ‘Now wait a minute’. Then when I had finally overcome my fright I said to myself ‘I’d be mad to turn this chance down.’ I didn’t.” Hopkins need not have worried but to be on the safe side he was then put through a rigorous training by 007 stuntman Bib Simmons who helped him slim down to convince as a Royal Naval trained frogman and commando.
Shot for $7 million the movie performed well in Europe (it was the 11th most popular movie at the British box office in 1971), but unfortunately failed to find an audience in the United States. The New York Times in an overall harsh review did note it as a “handsome, technically elaborate movie” but also “the newest and possibly the silliest action melodrama yet written by Alistair MacLean.” This unfair review could be the reason why for many years I had to settle for a Region 2 DVD of the movie, until niche retailer Kino Lorber opted to release it in DVD and Blu-ray in 2016. Seeing it once again after all these years my passion for this action adventure is unfailing, I consider this to be the best spy thriller that [Bond producers] EON Productions NEVER made.