This Unlikely Harrison Ford Flop Influenced One of Star Wars’ Most Pivotal Movies

The Big Picture

• Force 10 From Navarone,
  the 1978 WWII thriller starring Harrison Ford, was a commercial disappointment.
• The film was criticized for being too different from its well-received predecessor, the 1961 historical epic
  The Guns of Navarone.
• Force 10 From Navarone
  surprisingly
  
  influenced the character designs in
  Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
  , according to the film’s designer.

There aren’t many movie stars over the course of the last half century who have dominated popular culture quite like Harrison Ford. While appearing in a franchise as critically and commercially successful as Star Wars is enough to earn any actor a certain amount of goodwill for the rest of their lives, Ford is essentially a “franchise king” thanks to his work on the Indiana Jones, Blade Runner, and Jack Ryan film sagas. Ford is also a highly respected actor among his peers, as he earned an Academy Award nomination for his powerful performance in the crime drama Witness. But despite having a fairly consistent track record, Ford has a few films that missed the mark. The 1978 World War II thriller Force 10 From Navarone was a commercial disappointment that grossed just over $3 million on a budget of $11 million.

While Force 10 From Navarone certainly did not connect with audiences, that may have been due to the unreasonable expectations that it was saddled with. The film served as a belated sequel to the 1961 historical epic The Guns of Navarone, an acclaimed World War II action film starring Gregory Peck and David Niven. The original film was praised as an original, exhilarating celebration of the “greatest generation,” and received several Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. Comparatively, Force 10 From Navarone was a fairly generic action thriller that wasn’t all that dissimilar from the schlock that Roger Corman would regularly produce within the same era. While no one would cite it as one of Ford’s best films, Force 10 From Navarone became a surprising inspiration for the live-action spinoff film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

What Is ‘Force 10 From Navarone’ About?

Set during the final stretch of World War II, Force 10 From Navarone centers on a group of rugged military commandos that are assigned to execute a Nazi spy who is hiding deep within enemy territory. The British commando Major Keith Mallory (Robert Shaw) is given control over the mission, which requires an elite force of ten highly trained assassins and warriors who are willing to give their lives in support of the Allies’ cause. Mallory is the type of leader who prefers to be seen as the absolute authority on all matters, but he is reluctantly forced to join the American team led by Lieutenant Colonel Mike Barnsby (Ford). Despite their initial conflicts, the team ends up earning each others’ respect as they venture on a thrilling mission.

Force 10 From Navarone may have received backlash because of how different it was compared to The Guns of Navarone. While the original film was seen as a more authentic, realistic version of what naval combat and secret missions actually looked like, its sequel was much more interested in “shoot ‘em up” action scenes. Turning something prestigious into an elevated “B movie” rarely works in a film’s favor, but Force 10 From Navarone works fairly well as an action film because of the sheer charisma of its cast. In addition to Ford and Shaw, the film includes former Bond girl Barbara Bach as a guerrilla fighter, Edward Fox as a staff sergeant, and Carl Weathers as an explosives expert.

How Did ‘Force 10 From Navarone’ Inspire ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’?

Force 10 From Navarone was quickly forgotten, especially when compared to Ford’s run of commercial hits in the 1980s. However, the character designs in Force 10 From Navarone were cited as a major influence on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, according to designer Christian Alzmann. While previous installments in the series featured more striking color pallets that emphasized the differences between the heroes and villains, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story focused on the ethical ambiguity of undercover spies seeking to perform a dangerous mission. One of the greatest merits of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is that it takes the franchise in a new direction that is not reliant on knowledge of the “Skywalker saga.”

Both Force 10 From Navarone and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story focus on a group of ragtag heroes on a secret mission to thwart the forces of fascism, and show the importance of having “untraditional” agents who don’t exactly follow the rules. The influence of World War II combat footage is seen throughout the saga, particularly in the infamous trench run scene in Star Wars: Episode IV-A New Hope. However, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story introduced an element of espionage and deception that the series had not previously tackled. This made it feel like a breath of fresh air, especially in an era where the series had been accused of playing things too safely.

‘Force 10 From Navarone’ Is One of Harrison Ford’s Most Underrated Movies

While it hardly reached the box office highs of The Empire Strikes Back or Raiders of the Lost Ark, Force 10 From Navarone is worth watching to see a very different era of Ford’s career. Despite his brief appearances in American Graffiti and The Conversation, Ford was by no means a star when Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope came out. Force 10 From Navarone can be seen as a transitional moment in which he truly lets his charisma loose; it’s impressive that Ford was able to stand toe-to-toe with Shaw, who was arguably much more famous.

Force 10 From Navarone isn’t the only underrated film Ford made in the 1970s, as he took on a multitude of interesting parts when he was still a relative unknown. Films like the romantic epic Hanover Street, the counterculture comedy Getting Straight, and the road trip comedy Heroes indicate that Ford is much more than an action hero; any fan of Star Wars or Indiana Jones owes it to themselves to check out these fascinating projects that Ford was a part of.

Force 10 From Navarone is available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.

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