Little-known facts about The Guns of Navarone

Little-known facts about The Guns of Navarone

The Guns of Navarone is based on the best-selling 1957 novel by Alistar MacLean. While not centered around an actual real-life mission of the Second World War, the story does take place during the Dodecanese Campaign of 1943 – the failed Allied attempt to capture the Dodecanese Islands from the Axis powers following the signing of the Italian Armistice.

For many, it’s considered British Prime Minister Winston Churchill‘s worst military blunder of the conflict.

The book was read by Columbia Pictures’ Mike Frankovich, who’d served with the US Army Air Corps during WWII. He saw its cinematic potential and passed the story along to Carl Foreman, the mastermind behind the screenplay for The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957).

While Foreman was initially hesitant to turn the book into a movie, he later agreed to write the screenplay, albeit with a few changes.

The Guns of Navarone, 1961. (Photo Credit: videorecord / Sony Pictures / Columbia Pictures / MovieStillsDB)
Now that we’ve gotten all that out of the way, it’s time to share some little-known facts about The Guns of Navarone, the first few of which involve David Niven.

If you look closely, you’ll notice his character, Cpl. John Anthony Miller, wears a Light Infantry cap badge on his beret. This is significant, as it was the regiment the actor himself was commissioned into during WWII.

On a more worrisome note, Niven nearly lost his life while filming. While shooting a scene in a dirty tank of water and suffering from a split lip, he became seriously ill, with the crew worried he’d fall victim to the fatal infection that was ravaging his body.

He spent weeks in the hospital and, against medical advice, wound up returning to set to complete his scenes. This ultimately led to another seven weeks of recovery time.

This third fact isn’t just about Niven, but it does involve him. While filming The Guns of Navarone, he forged what became a life-long friendship with Gregory Peck, whom he admired for his ability to drink large amounts of brandy and still recite his lines. The pair became so close that Peck even delivered the eulogy at Niven’s funeral after he passed in 1983.

Since we’re on the topic of Peck, you might be interested to learn that he wasn’t the first actor tapped to portray Capt. Mallory. William Holden was initially approached about the role, but wound up turning it down, as he believed it was too similar to his portrayal of Cmdr. Shears in The Bridge on the River Kwai.

Finally, those with keen eye likely noticed some familiar faces in the background of the scene set at the Mandrakos café. There’s a reason why. On the day it was shot, members of the Greek Royal Family visited the set and were invited to appear in the film as extras!