May 27 - Operation Daybreak

Hello. Here is today's movie and appropriately for this Memorial Day, it's a movie about true heroes. I hope you like it and watch it tonight. 

OPERATION DAYBREAK

Three Czechs serving in the British Army during World War II, Sergeant Jozef Gabčík,  Sergeant Karel Čurda and Sergeant Jan Kubiš,  are recruited to return to their homeland and assassinate Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi ruler of the occupied Czech territories of Bohemia and Moravia. They parachute into the country. Curda goes to visit his wife, but the three  are successful in making contact with Czech resistance members. They eventually develop a plan to kill Heydrich. However, on May 27, 1942 [54:25 to 1:05:03] when Gabcik steps into the street to shoot Heydrich in his car, Gabcik’s gun jams and won’t fire. He has to run as Heydrich’s driver chases after him. However this allowed Kubis to toss a grenade into the car. Heydrich appeared to be only slightly injured, but the grenade forced shrapnel and bits of the horsehair seat covers into his blood system and he died eight days later. In  revenge the Nazis destroyed the Czech village of Lidice and killed thousands of others. Curda betrayed the others to the Nazis for the reward. They are trapped in the basement of a church and after a gun battle with the Germans,  the survivors kill themselves to prevent capture. Curda was later executed for treason.

An interesting film. Notable for being shot on location in Prague at the height of the Cold War. The film implies that Curda turned traitor to protect his family, but history seems to indicate he did it for the reward.  By the way there is a museum dedicated to the team in the church where they died.

The Killing of SS Obergruppenfuher Reinhard Heydrich by Collum MacDonald (The Free Press, New York, 1989) at page 169 gives the date of the attack

Director - Lewis Gilbert

Producer - Carter DeHaven

 Screenplay - Ronald Harwood

Released -   February 29, 1976

Runtime -  1 hour 58 minutes

Starring –

Timothy Bottoms as Sergeant Jan Kubiš

Martin Shaw as Sergeant Karel Čurda

Joss Ackland as Janák

Nicola Pagett as Anna Malinová

Anthony Andrews as Sergeant Jozef Gabčík

Anton Diffring as Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich

Carl Duering as Karl Frank, acting Reichsprotektor

Cyril Shaps as Father Petrek

Diana Coupland as Aunt Marie Moravcová

Ronald Radd as Karel Moravec

Kim Fortune as Ata Moravec

Ray Smith as Hájek

George Sewell as Heinz Panwitz, Chief Investigator

Reinhard Kolldehoff as Fleischer, Gestapo

Kika Markham as Čurda's Wife

Philip Madoc as Heydrich's interpreter

Nigel Stock  as General Cyril Cross  

Vernon Dobtcheff as Pyotr

Frank Gatliff as Surgeon

Pavla Matejovska as Jindriska