Operation Daybreak

{{short description|1975 film}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox film | name = Operation Daybreak | image = Operation Daybreak FilmPoster.jpeg | caption = | director = [[Lewis Gilbert]] | producer = Carter DeHaven | screenplay = [[Ronald Harwood]] | studio = Howard R. Schuster, Inc. American Allied Studios [[Barrandov Studios]] | based_on = {{based on|''Seven Men at Daybreak'' 1960 novel|[[Alan Burgess]]}} | starring = [[Timothy Bottoms]] [[Martin Shaw]] [[Joss Ackland]] [[Nicola Pagett]] [[Anthony Andrews]] | music = [[David Hentschel]] | cinematography = [[Henri Decaë]] | editing = [[Thelma Connell]] | distributor = [[Warner Bros. Pictures]] (US) [[Columbia Pictures|Columbia]]-[[Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Distributors]] (UK) | released = {{Film date|1975|11||US (limited)|1976|02|29|UK|df=y}} | runtime = 118 minutes | country = [[Czechoslovakia]] United States Yugoslavia | language = English German | budget = }}

'''''Operation Daybreak''''' (also known as '''''The Price of Freedom''''' in the U.S.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075019/releaseinfo IMDb: ''Release dates for Operation: Daybreak''] Retrieved 2013-01-22</ref> and '''''Seven Men at Daybreak''''' during production) is a 1975 [[war film]] based on the true story of [[Operation Anthropoid]], the assassination of SS general [[Reinhard Heydrich]] in [[Prague]]. Starring [[Anthony Andrews]], [[Timothy Bottoms]] and [[Martin Shaw]], the film was directed by [[Lewis Gilbert]] and shot mostly on location in [[Prague]]. It is adapted from the book ''Seven Men at Daybreak'' by [[Alan Burgess]].<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075019/literature IMDb: ''Literature for Operation: Daybreak''] Retrieved 2013-01-22</ref>

==Plot== In late 1941, General [[František Moravec]] commands three Czech [[Partisan (military)|partisan]]s, [[Jan Kubiš]], [[Jozef Gabčík]], and [[Karel Čurda]], who were trained by the British, to undertake a crucial military operation described as being the most important of the war. Reinhard Heydrich, the ruthless Reich Protector in Prague, is seen as a potential successor to Hitler if the Fuhrer were to die. The men parachute into [[Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945)|occupied Czechoslovakia]], but their landing is not where it was intended to be. Gabčík injures his foot during the descent and Čurda falls several miles away. After regrouping with Čurda, they head to Prague and are offered refuge by the Moravec family: aunt Marie and her son Ata and daughter Jindřiška, where they plan how to execute Heydrich.

The first attempt to assassinate Heydrich on his departing train is thwarted. Under vigilance from Gabčík, Kubiš hides in a control room and aims his rifle at Heydrich, but another train abruptly passes to the opposite direction, obstructing the [[trajectory]]. They devise a new plan to shoot Heydrich as his car slows down at a bend in the road during his regular morning drive into the city from his country residence. When Heydrich approaches, Gabčík's gun jams, and he runs away, pursued by Heydrich's driver. Kubiš, who is sitting nearby, then throws a grenade at the car, causing it to explode nearby and injuring Heydrich, who later dies at hospital due to mortal wounds caused by the [[Fragmentation (weaponry)|shrapnel]].

A manhunt is launched as the Gestapo offer a large sum of money for an informant who can give a lead to their capture. Čurda, who fears for his wife and child's safety, surrenders to the [[Gestapo]], betraying Gabčík, Kubiš and their group. The Moravec family is arrested after learning of Čurda's [[Military intelligence|intelligence]]. The paratroopers seek refuge in the crypt of [[Saints Cyril and Methodius Cathedral]], but when the Germans discover their location, a long battle ensues. The Germans try to force them out by gassing and flooding the crypt. Knowing they cannot escape alive and unwilling to surrender, the assassins fatally shoot each other in the flooded crypt.

==Cast== {{Cast listing| * [[Timothy Bottoms]] as Sergeant [[Jan Kubiš]] * [[Anthony Andrews]] as Sergeant [[Jozef Gabčík]] * [[Martin Shaw]] as Sergeant [[Karel Čurda]] * [[Nicola Pagett]] as Anna Malinová * [[Joss Ackland]] as Janák * [[Ray Smith (actor)|Ray Smith]] as Hájek * [[Vernon Dobtcheff]] as Pyotr * [[Diana Coupland]] as aunt {{ill|Marie Moravcová|cs}} * [[Ronald Radd]] as aunt Marie's Husband * Kim Fortune as Ata Moravec * Pavla Matějovská as Jindřiška * [[Cyril Shaps]] as Father Petrek * [[Anton Diffring]] as acting Reichsprotektor [[Reinhard Heydrich]] * [[Carl Duering]] as [[Karl Hermann Frank]], Secretary of State of the Reich [[Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia]] * [[George Sewell]] as Heinz Pannwitz, Chief Investigator * [[Reinhard Kolldehoff]] as Fleischer, Gestapo * [[Philip Madoc]] as Heydrich's interpreter * [[Kika Markham]] as Čurda's Wife * [[Nigel Stock (actor)|Nigel Stock]] as General [[František Moravec]] * [[Frank Gatliff]] as Surgeon * [[Jiří Krampol]] as Lt [[Adolf Opálka]] (leader of the second set of paratroopers) }}

==Production== ===Development=== The screen rights to the novel ''Seven Men at Daybreak'' by [[Alan Burgess]] were acquired by [[Warner Bros. Pictures]] in mid-1973.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UFwcAAAAIBAJ&pg=2869,5214168&dq=seven+men&hl=en |title=Warners Purchases 'Seven Men' Rights |newspaper=The Pittsburgh Press |page=71 |date=May 12, 1973}}</ref> Filming on the wartime-action movie based on the book, itself based on a factual story, was announced to be starting in November 1974 with screenplay by [[Ronald Harwood]],<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=R-FIAAAAIBAJ&pg=3583,180824&hl=en |title=Wartime Drama Told by "7 Men" |newspaper=Youngstown Vindicator |page=18 |date=August 16, 1974}}</ref> and based on the factual events of the assassination of [[Reinhard Heydrich]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0alRAAAAIBAJ&pg=4259,2512508&hl=en |title=Bottoms Set For Nazi Role |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |page=7 |date=December 17, 1974}}</ref> The film was produced by Carter Dehaven and directed by Lewis Gilbert.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=k0U_AAAAIBAJ&pg=5332,1185570&hl=en |title=Seven Men, hero drama |newspaper=The Windsor Star |page=50 |date=February 5, 1975}}</ref> Gilbert says he was approached to do the project.<ref name="lew"/>

===Casting=== In November 1974, [[Timothy Bottoms]] signed to star in the film.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_IBIAAAAIBAJ&pg=2354,2161104&hl=en |title=Bottoms to Star |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |page=17 |date=November 15, 1974}}</ref> To prepare for the role of Kubiš, leader of the group and eventual hero who does the killing, Bottoms spent three months on location in [[Czechoslovakia]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5yImAAAAIBAJ&pg=6101,2293686&hl=en |title=Timothy Bottoms Visits |newspaper=The Afro American |page=14 |date=November 22, 1975}}</ref> The castings of Anthony Andrews, Martin Shaw and Nicola Pagett were announced in December 1974, who all had acting experience from London's [[West End theatre]].<ref name="full_american"/>

Anton Diffring was cast as Heydrich and was familiar to viewers due to being frequently cast as Nazi officers in war films of the 1950s and 1960s. Diffring, being born in 1918, was in his mid-50s when he took on the role,{{sfn|Hutchings|2009|p=97}} despite Heydrich being 38 when he died.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87421754 |title=Reinhard Heydrich, Gestapo Hangman, is dead of wounds |newspaper=Corsicana Daily Sun |page=1 |date=June 4, 1942}}</ref>

In January 1975, Gilbert announced that the actor chosen to play [[Adolf Hitler]] had to be replaced, as the original actor turned out to be too small for the role. Calls were made to [[Gunnar Möller]] and [[George Sewell]],<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sm5kAAAAIBAJ&pg=1858,3881987&hl=en |title=Calling all 'Hitlers' |newspaper=The Calgary Herald |page=39 |date=January 29, 1975}}</ref> the latter of whom went on to play Heinz Pannwitz.

The size of the cast, which included actors of German, French, Finnish and Czech origin, was around 3,000.<ref name="vicadv_jun75">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Mao_AAAAIBAJ&pg=5083,198874&hl=en |title=Nazis Return to Prague |newspaper=The Victoria Advocate |page=21 |date=June 1, 1975}}</ref>

===Filming=== The film was entirely American produced and financed<ref name="full_american">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UCBcAAAAIBAJ&pg=944,2985825&hl=en |title=Totally American Film Is Being Shot Abroad |newspaper=Youngstown Vindicator |page=53 |date=December 6, 1974}}</ref> and was shot on location in [[Prague]], Czechoslovakia, using various places that were part of the real assassination. Scenes outside Prague were filmed in the town of [[Karlovy Vary]].<ref name="vicadv_jun75"/> During filming, cast and crew were accommodated in Prague's [[Alcron Hotel Prague|Alcron Hotel]], with little opportunity to explore the city.{{sfn|Hildred|Ewbank|2006|p=43}} Bottoms was accompanied by his wife Alicia, who described the local population as "very guarded" and unprepared to handle tourists. They struggled to find accommodation, eventually settling on a tiny apartment that they rented for $1,000 a week.<ref name="tes_26nov75">{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100552377 |title='Operation' Was Unlikely But True, Bottoms Says |newspaper=The Evening Sun |page=17 |date=November 26, 1975}}</ref>

The [[Swastika]] flag was hung around Prague and in particular at [[Praha hlavní nádraží|Prague railway station]]. Younger extras on set, who had no experience of the war, showed little emotion. In one instance, an elderly woman arriving from the countryside needed reassurance from railway station workers that the German invaders had not returned, while another Czech woman was observed to glance disapprovingly at an actor wearing a full Nazi SS uniform.<ref name="czechs_remember">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8RVaAAAAIBAJ&pg=7187,4567848&hl=en |title=Czechs Remember Massacre |newspaper=Waycross Journal-Herald |page=23 |date=June 11, 1975}}</ref>

For the razing of [[Lidice]], the movie deployed convincing replica [[Tiger tank]]s, built on the [[T-34]] chassis.{{sfn|Hughes|2012|p=159}} Historic film footage from the destruction is inter-cut with new film footage shot by Gilbert.<ref name="tbs_26nov75_p20">{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100512496 |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |title=Nazi horror recalled in new film |page=20 |date=November 26, 1975}}</ref>

===Post production=== Gilbert considered it a "good film" but felt it came along "fifteen years too late... there was nothing in it for people to relate to." However, the film impressed Albert Broccoli and prompted the producer to hire Gilbert to direct ''The Spy Who Loved Me''.<ref name="lew">{{cite web|website=British Entertainment History Project|title=Interview with Lewis Gilbert Side 14|url=https://historyproject.org.uk/interview/lewis-gilbert|year=1996}}</ref>

==Music== [[David Hentschel]] composed the score from an [[ARP Instruments|ARP]] synthesizer{{sfn|Hughes|2012|p=159}} and the orchestra was conducted by [[Harry Rabinowitz]].

==Critical reception== Colin Bennett of Australia's ''[[The Age]]'' newspaper felt that while the latter part of the film was "very moving", this only made up for the "quiet drabness" that was shown before. He did believe that the film felt authentic and felt the acting was mostly understated, suggesting that British actors Andrews and Shaw eclipsed Bottoms, who was promoted as the star of the show.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UO9UAAAAIBAJ&pg=5956,7927934&hl=en |title=Daybreak shines very late |newspaper=The Age |page=26 |date=October 28, 1976}}</ref> Film critic [[Tony Sloman]] described the film as a "grimly exciting war drama", describing Andrews as "excellent" in his role as a fellow Czech patriot.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/film/hrtww/operation-daybreak/ |title=Operation Daybreak Review |publisher=Radio Times |access-date=27 October 2021 |archive-date=October 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027152945/https://www.radiotimes.com/film/hrtww/operation-daybreak/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Writing for ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'', R. H. Gardner was critical of the film's omission of historical context and felt the film lacked "the punch a chronicle of such a tragic and heroic event should have".<ref name="tbs_26nov75_p20"/>

==Historical inaccuracies== While the film remains broadly true to the facts of the operation, critics have highlighted some inaccuracies and omissions. The circumstances leading up to the assassination of Heydrich were largely ignored, with the implication that the operation was primarily an effort to remove a man who may have been the successor to Adolf Hitler, yet Heydrich was not considered second to Hitler within the Nazi party.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100511732 |title=Nazi horror recalled in new film |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |page=17 |date=November 26, 1975}}</ref> While the film portrays the British [[Special Operations Executive]] as being responsible for the operation, in reality they had little involvement, as it was primarily the [[Czechoslovak government-in-exile]] that organised the operation.{{sfn|Rich|2018|p=68}} The operation was considered a necessity by [[Winston Churchill]] in an effort to raise allied morale, despite the expectation of German retribution. The film failed to emphasize this facet or the involvement of those whose actions ultimately resulted in the Nazi destruction of Lidice.<ref name="tes_26nov75"/>

The film does not show that aunt Marie Moravcová commits suicide in the toilet by ingesting a capsule of cyanide. Similarly, Ata was not interrogated in the flat as the film suggests, but was arrested along with his father. After his mother's suicide, he was shown her severed head and warned his father would be killed if he did not reveal information. This is not shown in the film.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

In the film, Sergeant [[Karel Čurda|Karel Curda's]] betrayal made him appear as a "treacherous weakling", though in reality his confession came after an order by Hitler for the execution of 30,000 political Czech prisoners of war.{{sfn|Rich|2018|p=68}}

The finale shows Kubiš and Gabčík sacrificing each other in a flooded crypt, yet in reality, Kubiš was found unconscious in the church by the Nazis and taken to hospital upon where he was declared dead within twenty minutes.<ref>{{cite book|last=McDonald|first=Callum|title=The Killing of Reinhard Heydrich: The SS Butcher of Prague|location=New York|publisher=Da Capo Press|year=1998|isbn=0-306-80860-9}}</ref> Other reports from the time suggested that the Gestapo claimed the paratroopers were captured while hiding and were immediately executed.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100872373 |title=An Invented Finis? |newspaper=The Billings Gazette |page=4 |date=July 4, 1942}}</ref>

==See also== * [[Dramatic portrayals of Reinhard Heydrich]]

==References== '''Citations''' {{Reflist|35em}}

'''Sources''' {{refbegin}} * {{cite book |last1=Hildred |first1=Stafford |last2=Ewbank |first2=Tim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QTetDwAAQBAJ |title=Martin Shaw - The Biography |publisher=John Blake |year=2006 |isbn=9781782192664}} * {{cite book |last=Hughes |first=Howard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ahCMDwAAQBAJ |title=When Eagles Dared : The Filmgoers' History of World War II |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2012 |isbn=9780857721501}} * {{cite book |last=Rich |first=Paul B |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jn1jDwAAQBAJ |title=Cinema and Unconventional Warfare in the Twentieth Century |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2018 |isbn=9781350055704}} * {{cite book |last=Hutchings |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N_5DPHOVG7YC&dq=anton+diffring+nazi&pg=PA97 |title=The A to Z or Horror Cinema |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2009 |isbn=9780810870505}} {{refend}}

==External links== * {{IMDb title|0075019|Operation Daybreak}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110910072827/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/24506/Operation-Daybreak/ ''Operation Daybreak''] at the [[TCM Movie Database]] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160309234225/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b2400f7/ ''Operation Daybreak''] at the [[British Film Institute]]{{better source needed|reason=Help request: a live link can be searched for at https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/search/expert - if available, replace the archive URL with the live link. Or if none found, remove this 'better source needed' template. | date=October 2023}} * {{BBFC title|AFF014640|Operation Daybreak}}

[[Category:1975 films]] [[Category:1975 war films]] [[Category:Films directed by Lewis Gilbert]] [[Category:Films about Operation Anthropoid]] [[Category:Warner Bros. films]] [[Category:Films shot in the Czech Republic]] [[Category:Czech war films]] [[Category:American war drama films]] [[Category:English-language Czech films]] [[Category:Films with screenplays by Ronald Harwood]] [[Category:Films scored by David Hentschel]] [[Category:Czech World War II films]] [[Category:American World War II films]] [[Category:Czechoslovak World War II films]] [[Category:World War II films based on actual events]] [[Category:1975 American films]]