10 War Movie Plot Twists That Nobody Saw Coming
4. Steiner's Demise And Churchill's Body Double - The Eagle Has Landed
Based on Jack Higgins' novel of the same name, the WWII thriller The Eagle Has Landed depicts a fictional German plot to kidnap Winston Churchill at the height of the conflict. The 1976 film stars Michael Caine in the leading role of the brooding and highly decorated Colonel Kurt Steiner, the man charged with carrying out this daring plot.
The operation appears doomed to fail from the get-go, with high-ranking German officials realistically viewing the endeavour as little more than a meaningless exercise to placate their demented leader's whims. As such, the fact that the mission actually appears to succeed constitutes an almighty twist in itself, with Steiner apparently managing to successfully assassinate the British Prime Minister before being gunned down himself.
Remarkably, the shocking nature of the proceedings doesn't let up one bit from there. The dead "Churchill" is soon revealed to have been an unnervingly similar-looking body double - the real man is safe and sound on his way to the Tehran Conference. It's a seismic level curveball and the perfect conclusion to one of the most underrated war films from the 1970s.