Escape to Athena (1979)

It is 1944 in the Greek isles.  The Nazis are pursuing several escapees from the local prisoner of war camp.  Among them are Professor Blake (David Niven), Bruno Rotelli (Sonny Bono), and Nat Judson (Richard Roundtree).  The trio are brought back to the camp and the commandant, Major Otto Hecht (Roger Moore), talks to them like a disappointed father.  The SS Officer, Major Volkmann, would rather they were shot, but Hecht asserts his authority over camp prisoners.  Hecht is an Austrian art dealer who has found himself in the German Army.  In addition to the camp, he oversees the archeological site that provides valuable artefacts for the Third Reich.  Of course, he skims the best pieces for himself.

Charlie Dane (Elliot Gould) and Dottie Del Mar (Stephanie Powers) are American entertainers who were recently captured and routed to the camp.  Otto is quite pleased to welcome Dottie and arranges for her to have a private room where he visits.  Dane, who is obviously Jewish, he allows to arrange a show to entertain the guards.  In the nearby town, Zeno (Telly Savalas) leads the Greek resistance.  He plans to first capture the POW camp, then the town, and finally assault the communication station that has been setup at the monastery on Mount Athena.  Sounds like an exciting action movie in theory, less so in practice.

The movie suffers from too many characters and not a clear villain.  Early on, Major Volkmann is generally the villain.  Then the villain becomes a Nazi at Mount Athena.  Nor is there a central hero.  Though Zeno is the man behind all the action, he is tight-lipped and doesn't tell anyone what is happening.  As such, some events come as a surprise to his allies - Charlie, Bruno, & Nat - though not to Zeno.

Roger Moore is miscast as a German/Austrian officer.  He himself said as much.  However, the movie offered an opportunity to 'vacation' in the Greek isles with his friend David Niven and have nights on the town with Telly Savalas.  I imagine this movie was a lot of fun to make.

Charlie is a fast-talking goofball who somehow transforms into a wisecracking commando.  The transition from one to the other was quite sudden and entirely unbelievable.  Of all the men Zeno could take on his assault on Athena, he chose Charlie?  Of course, Charlie didn't want to be a commando, but there was the promise of vast piles of gold.  Crazy as it was, Charlie proved to be a highlight of the movie.

There are a couple of love stories in the mix.  Major Hecht pursues Dottie, which is awkward considering he is her jailor.  Then there is Zeno and Elena (Claudia Cardinale), the madam of the local brothel.  In addition to his love interest, she plays his conscience.  Yes, she is less than keen on his risking lives of Greeks on his grand designs.

The finale turned into a Bond film, as the Nazis deploy a rocket from a secret base to sink the allied fleet.  What?  As if this film wasn't bonkers already.

Light, mindless, popcorn fun.