Photo Opportunity #55 on location Where Eagles Dare

Photo Opportunity #55 on location Where Eagles Dare

For our November Photo Opportunity, I thought I’d post this rare photo of Clint while on location shooting the 1968 World War II epic Where Eagles Dare.

Here Clint can be seen between takes and descending the stairs of the castle. Hohenwerfen Castle is a medieval rock castle, situated on a 500 ft rock pillar overlooking the Austrian market town of Werfen in the Salzach valley. The fortress (known as the fictional Schloß Adler in the film) is surrounded by the Berchtesgaden Alps and the adjacent Tennen Mountains. Hohenwerfen was built by the Archbishops of Salzburg in the 11th century. 

Although we can’t be sure of the photographer, there is a strong possibility that the photo was taken by 1st unit still photographer John Jay (uncredited). John Jay was born on November 14th 1920 in Brixton, London, England. He is known for his photography on Star Wars (1977), The Human Factor (1979), Hanover Street (1979) and Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense (1984). 

He died on April 29th 2005 in London.

A big thank you to our Where Eagles Dare expert, Neil Thomson who sent the following pic of photographer John Jay with Richard Burton during the filming. Neil informed me that John jay was in fact injured during the explosion with the station hut... according to second unit cameraman Bob Thomson. My kind thanks again Neil.