Operation Daybreak
Operation Daybreak (also known as The Price of Freedom in the U.S. 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.
Plot
In late 1941, General František Moravec commands three Czech partisans, 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 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.
Cast
- Anthony Andrews
- Anton Diffring
- Aubrey Woods
- Carl Duering
- Cyril Shaps
- Diana Coupland
- Frank Gatliff
- George Sewell
- Jan Kuželka
- Jaroslav Drbohlav
- Jiří Krampol
- Josef Abrhám
- Josef Laufer
- Joss Ackland
- Kika Markham
- Martin Shaw
- Neil McCarthy
- Nicola Pagett
- Nigel Stock
- Philip Madoc
- Ray Smith
- Reinhard Kolldehoff
- Timothy Bottoms
- Vernon Dobtcheff
- Vítězslav Jandák
- William Lucas
More details
| author | Ronald Harwood |
|---|---|
| contentLocation | Prague |
| director | Lewis Gilbert |
| editor | Thelma Connell |
| events | World War II |
| genre | drama |
| keywords | arrest control room flood fragmentation františek moravec german occupation of czechoslovakia gestapo how to intelligence jan kubiš jozef gabčík karel čurda land learn military intelligence military operation morning mortal wound occupied czechoslovakia partisan reinhard heydrich saints cyril and methodius cathedral shrapnel trajectory wife and child |
| musicBy | David Hentschel |
| producer | Carter DeHaven |
| productionCompany | Barrandov Studios |
| publisher | Columbia Pictures Warner Bros. |
| recordedAt | Czech Republic |
| theme | war |