The Guns of Navarone (1961)

The Guns of Navarone (1961) is a classic war film directed by J. Lee Thompson and based on the novel of the same name by Alistair MacLean. The film is set during World War II and follows a group of Allied soldiers on a violent mission to destroy a German gunboat on the fictional Greek island of Navarone.

These guns were Allied naval codes and had to be removed to allow the evacuation of British troops trapped on a nearby island.
The film stars Gregory Peck as Captain Keith Mallory, an experienced mountaineer and mission leader. He is joined by David Niven as Corporal John Anthony Miller, an explosives expert, and Anthony Quinn as Colonel Andrea Stavros, a Greek anti-war fighter.

The group also includes Stanley Baker as Engineer Sergeant “Butcher” Brown, Anthony Quayle as Major Roy Franklin, and James Darren as Private Spyros Pappadimos, a young Greek resistance fighter.

The story begins with the British planning a desperate mission to destroy Navarone’s guns after several failed bombing attempts. Gathered through their specialized skills and expertise, they are tasked with infiltrating the virtual island to try and discover guns before a major naval operation takes place.