Where Eagles Dare

Character mistake: Lt Schaffer (Clint Eastwood) is wearing his War Merit Cross With Swords badge upside down on his tunic. It's supposed to be worn with the sword handles at the bottom but his are at the top. Best view of this is when he is leaning against the bar of the tavern at 00:36:03 and has just watched Major Smith get slapped by Heidi. (00:36:03)

Character mistake: The adjutant who wakens Major Wilhelm Wilner to tell him he has a phone call from the Schloss Adler has no breast eagle on his tunic. (01:27:40)

Character mistake: In the courtyard of the castle there is an anti-aircraft gun. You could probably not find a worse place for a gun like that even if you tried (except maybe if you put it inside, in a windowless room). In the position it is placed it can only fire at targets directly above the castle. What you want to do is fire at targets before they reach the castle. It would be better if they placed it on the roof, or even near the village below.

Character mistake: Before entering the tavern,Smith tells the team to meet outside in a 1/2 hour. When they are sitting at the table just before capture, he says he gave orders for nobody to leave.

Plot hole: Why do all the Germans abandon the cable car control room after the alarm has been sounded? If the cable car is critical for access to the castle then you would expect a hard core of SS troops to remain behind to control access and protect the machinery in the event of an attack. (01:42:55)

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Mary Ellison: I nearly froze to death in that damn plane. Why couldn't you have supplied some hot water bottles or an electrically heated suit? I thought you loved me.
Major John Smith: Can't help what you think.

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Trivia: When Mary goes undercover in the castle, her name is Maria Schenck. They are the middle names of Col Stauffenberg, the German officer played by Tom Cruise in Valkyrie, who tried to kill Hitler.

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Question: When Richard Burton is holding his gun on all the people in the meeting and asks if one of the guards could come in and watch them, why doesn't the guard just shoot him?

Answer: When the guard comes in, Burton explains what's going on. Also he is dressed as a German officer so his explanation and actions are plausible.

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