The Eiger Sanction at 50: The Great Hunt for Felicity Tupp

The Eiger Sanction at 50: The Great Hunt for Felicity Tupp

As we celebrate 50 years of the classic Eastwood thriller The Eiger Sanction, I thought it was about time we finally tried to address definitively, the case of the lost scenes featuring the beautiful French actress Claudine Auger ((born Claudine Oger; 26 April 1941 – 18 December 2019). Auger was arguably best known for her role as a Bond girl, Dominique "Domino" Derval, in the James Bond film Thunderball (1965). So naturally, when pictures and press stills started circulating with her image and her credit mentioned, a lot of eyebrows were raised. Auger was undoubtably a popular beauty, so her participation in the latest Clint Eastwood movie really sent pulses racing. But of Couse, by the time of the film’s release, Auger’s scenes had mysteriously disappeared – which in turn has lead to some 50 years of serious head scratching… 

Below. The Beautiful Claudine Auger

It's a really strange scenario. From all of the many, many books I have accumulated over the decades and the many documentaries that cover Clint’s film career – no-one ever seems to address the question of Auger’s mysterious disappearance? In fact, rather shamefully, it is often the case that the whole existence of The Eiger Sanction seems entirely overlooked - as if it never even existed at all? It barely gets a mention and is something I’ve never really understood? So with that information – or rather lack of it, it’s is often down to us to try and do the homework and fill in the gaps.

At least a good deal of the information here is firmly based on fact. It’s information I’ve accumulated on file for a couple of decades, and gathered from several accurate sources. My referencing skills may had been a bit ‘slack’ all those years ago, so instead I must provide an all-encompassing thank you to all the sources that provided this information originally. I also did a fair share of researching in the original novel, in order to try and patch the storyline together between script and novel, and at the same time use as a secondary source of confirmation. 

Below: The famous FOH / Lobby card, Hemlock wearing the yellow polo neck jumper, while Auger fixes a couple of drinks

So, the Eiger’s greatest mystery was certainly the scenes with Auger. We know that these scenes were filmed and that the stills were not just publicity shots. Because of the pictures appearing, both in the shape of press stills and indeed the inclusion on the film’s lobby cards – it’s probably safe to assume that this particular scene was removed from the final print fairly late in the day. Another of the giveaway signs was the fact that several of the press stills printed legend on the reverse, mysteriously had Auger’s name crossed out with black marker pen. 

Obviously, someone in the Universal publicity offices was given the arduous task of sitting there with a pile of stills and a black marker! But, a great deal of photos did get through the system and got out with Auger’s name fully unscathed. 

Of course, the pictures were certainly the first piece of the puzzle, and it was down to us to try and drag whatever clues we could from them. Firstly, there was the famous lobby card and FOH still that depicted Clint and Auger together in a scene. I suppose the biggest visual clue pulled from this, is the fact that Hemlock is wearing the distinct yellow polo neck jumper. Without examining Hemlock’s hygiene habits too deeply, this is the same jumper he was wearing while on the plane to Zürich and where he first encounters Jemima Brown. Aside from that, there isn’t really much that we can take from this visual clue. We know when he lands, he leaves the airport with Jemima and is next seen back at his home with her – so the continuity becomes a little confusing at this point. 

It is here that we can now revert to perhaps the best piece of evidence which is the film’s final draft screenplay from Warren B. Murphy which is dated May 20th 1974. We pick up where Hemlock has just visited Dragon and picked up his advance payment for the first sanction – and instead the original cut is slightly extended and provides the missing link: 

Above: Clint welcomes Auger to the set

Dragon produces an envelope from his desk drawer

HEMLOCK

Twenty thousand dollars?

DRAGON

Twenty thousand

HEMLOCK

I hate being predictable

He stands, takes the envelope and moves toward the door

DRAGON

You are never that Hemlock. Miss Cerberus will give you the address of our search coordinator in Zürich. Her name is Felicity Tupp. She will be your contact for the first sanction.

HEMLOCK

The only sanction

CUTS TO:

Establishing shot of Zurich - night

Int. An apartment house - night

Hemlock stands in front of the sterile door in a sterile hallway in a sterile apartment building. He hits the buzzer, then turns and looks with distaste at an art print on the wall. The door opens behind him and he turns. The woman standing there is a lush blonde.

WOMAN

I'm Felicity Tupp (she extends her hand) Do come in, Hemlock.

He holds her hand slightly longer than is necessary for greeting, then follows her into her apartment which is done in twentieth century kitsch.

FELICITY

Drink?

HEMLOCK

A scotch on the rocks

FELICITY

Make yourself comfortable while I fix it.

He watches appreciatively as her body shakes making his drink. She hands it to him. He holds on to her hand and sips the drink.

HEMLOCK

You know, this apartment is monumentally ugly. But my guess is that you are going to be very good.

FELICITY

Very good? Shall I finish my drink first?

HEMLOCK

Only if you're one of those women who gets a kick from denying her self-pleasure.

FELICITY

Never. My motto is: if it feels good, do it quickly

HEMLOCK

This will feel very good.

FELICITY

Then do it. Immediately.

Close up - their glasses being set down

HEMLOCK

Tell me about the sanction. Where is the bedroom?

Close up - their legs walking away

FELICITY

Through there. A special agent code named Wormwood was killed by two men.

Close up - her skirt dropping on floor

HEMLOCK

The one you identified? Is he a professional? Damn! These hooks always confuse me*

*I think this is probably referring to ‘hooks’ on Felicity’s bra? Rare picture below:

FELICITY

I'll do it. Yes. His name is Garcia Kruger. A very bad type who has been working here for years.   Aaaah. Aaaah.

Close up - her panties dropping to the floor

HEMLOCK

What do you mean, a bad type? Press down with the soles of your feet.

FELICITY

Ooooooooh. The way he got Wormwood. Wormwood swallowed the gum with the microfilm. Kruger went after it with a knife. Cut his throat. Ooooh. Oh, yes. Oh yesss. The other man couldn't take it, I guess. He threw up.

*The Oooooh’s are probably Felicity getting aroused as Hemlock continues to undresses her

HEMLOCK

Forget him. I'm only interested in Kruger. Move this way. Do you have his schedule?

Close up - Felicity's bare foot, toes pointing skyward

FELICITY  

Yes. I have worked it all out and I have got you a clean weapon too. Oh, please I can’t take any more of that.

*Still being seduced by Hemlock

HEMLOCK

I told you, keep pressing down with the soles of your feet.

Close up Felicity’s foot pressing down on bed

FELICITY

You’re the doctor. Speaking of feet, Kruger’s accomplice had a limp. Will you get the name of Kruger’s accomplice before you kill him?

HEMLOCK

Arch your back now. No. That’s not my job. It makes my work too risky. Besides I don’t care who the second killer was. No more talk now.

FELICITY

Who’s talking?  Arggh. Ohhh. (sighing)

I can’t believe you’re a killer. You’re killing me.

HEMLOCK  

Only with kindness.

Felicity moans, sighs and comes.

Int. Felicity Tupp’s apartment: Day

Hemlock is dressed. Felicity is wearing a short nylon negligee.

FELICITY  

Kruger is very punctual. That schedule doesn’t vary more than a couple of minutes all day long. The gun is in the box. It’s clean.

Hemlock removes a revolver from a shoebox and inspects it. He walks to the door.

FELICITY  

Will you be back?

HEMLOCK

I’m afraid I can’t. I’ve got a date (He smiles at her disappointed face) …With an art dealer.

Hemlock is at the door of her apartment.

FELICITY

Thank you for the advice about pushing down with the feet. It really helps.

HEMLOCK  

I like to leave people a little richer for having known me.

She holds out her hand and he shakes it ceremoniously

FELICITY

You really have magnificent eyes Hemlock. I’m glad you came.

He smiles but does not touch the obvious line.

The scene plays out in similar structure in the novel, but the script offers a much more accurate account how it probably played out on film. So, it begs the question – where and why was this scene eventually removed? Personally, I think there is one or possibly even two reasons for this – and remembering this is only a personal thought as nothing (as far as I know) has ever been officially established? 

Above Clint directing the scene in the same yellow polo neck jumper

Firstly, does this scene really achieve anything? Forgetting for a minute the atrociously cheesy seduction dialogue, does the scene serve any real purpose? If anything, it probably slows down the pace considerably. There is of course another reason – one that I think is probably more likely and that may have become more apparent during the editing / post production stages. Clint is doing a lot of bedding in this movie! Now I know the 70’s was a decade of ‘male masculinity’ and it was the age of bedding anything that moved, at any given opportunity – but let’s just apply the brakes and reflect for a minute. From the very outset of the film, we see Hemlock fighting off the advances of a pretty blonde student – a student who will do ‘anything’ to help improve her overall grade… Then Hemlock starts bedding Jemima (Vonetta McGee 1945 – 2010), then he ends up in bed with his personal trainer ‘George’ (Brenda Venus) and then fights off an open invite from Anna Montaigne (Heidi Brühl 1942 - 1991), the seductive wife of a French climber Jean-Paul! 

Woah!!! Just a second, is it just me or is Hemlock taking on the shape of a one-man shagging machine? I’m just wondering if Clint (during the final edit) began to realise this, weighed it all up and decided that the entire Felicity Tupp sequence of events could be removed. It makes sense to me, but I’d still love to have the definitive answer. 

Given the shape of the dialogue from this missing scene, I really do wonder if we will ever get to see it at all? The opportunity for it to be rediscovered - perhaps for a Blu-ray extra, has probably now long passed. But in all honesty, if I had delivered some of those particular lines, and retrospectively checked them out today, I think I'd probably too want them buried - perhaps deep in some frozen glacier! 

Above: Clint and Auger on location for the Eiger

Below: Possibly the last meeting between Clint and Auger, taken at the 47th Cannes Film Festival in 1994

Below: A rare page from a Spanish publication captures Eastwood and Auger together during the Eiger shoot. 

My kind thanks to our friend Graham Rye for contributing this.