| The Wild Geese | |
|---|---|
_poster.jpg) Original poster by Arnaldo Putzu | |
| Directed by | Andrew V. McLaglen |
| Screenplay by | Reginald Rose |
| Based on | The Wild Geese 1978 novel by Daniel Carney |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Jack Hildyard |
| Edited by | John Glen |
| Music by | Roy Budd |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Rank Film Distributors |
Release dates |
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Running time | 134 minutes |
| Countries |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $11.6 million[1] |
| Box office | $9.8 million (worldwide)[2][3] |
The Wild Geese is a 1978 war film starring an ensemble cast led by Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris and Hardy Krüger. The film, which was directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, was the result of a long-held ambition of producer Euan Lloyd to make an all-star adventure film in the vein of The Guns of Navarone or Where Eagles Dare. The plot concerns a group of European mercenaries fighting in Africa. The screenplay by Reginald Rose was based on Daniel Carney's unpublished novel The Thin White Line.
The film is named after the Wild Goose flag and shoulder patch used by Michael "Mad Mike" Hoare's Five Commando, ANC, which in turn was inspired by a 20th-century Irish mercenary army Wild Geese. Carney's novel was subsequently published by Corgi Books under the film's title.
The novel was based upon rumours and speculation following the 1968 landing of a mysterious aeroplane in Rhodesia that was said to have been loaded with mercenaries and "an African president" believed to have been a dying Moïse Tshombe. McLaglen and Lloyd would go on to produce The Sea Wolves with several returning cast members.
- ^ John M. Wilson (26 November 1978). "The Global Film: Will It Play in Uruguay?: The Global Film". The New York Times. p. D1.
- ^ Cohn, Lawrence (15 October 1990). "All-Time Film Rental Champs". Variety. p. M194.
- ^ Box office information for Stewart Granger films in France at Box Office Story