An art professor from America (Clint Eastwood) finds himself pulled back into his past life as a government assassin to complete a couple of assignments before he can retire. One of these tasks requires an ascent of The Eiger, a mountain in Switzerland, so he needs to train at a resort in Arizona with the help of a friend (George Kennedy). Thayer David portrays the leader of the mysterious organization while Jack Cassidy appears as a somewhat pretentious adversary during the desert training. "The Eiger Sanction” (1975) is an adventure/thriller centered on secret agents, and it doesn’t reach the level of extravagance seen in James Bond films. The filmmakers used handheld cameras and specialized gear to capture the climbing sequences, with Eastwood performing his own stunts under potentially dangerous circumstances. A British climber, 26 year-old David Knowles, tragically died on The Eiger during filming. Climber Chic (Charles) Scott was consistently unhappy about almost every aspect of shooting those perilous scenes, and you can find his complaints online. (The saying “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen” seems to fit here). The film has a decent female cast including Candice Rialson as an art student, Brenda Venus as a fitness instructor, Heidi Brühl as a questionable wife of one of the climbers and Vonetta McGee as another agent. Eastwood was at his peak during this time, embodying effortless charisma that draws these women to him. The landscapes in Monument Valley, Utah, and Switzerland are beautiful enough to justify seeing the movie, and there are also several amusing or interesting moments sprinkled throughout. The score by John Williams is generally good, but some parts feel out of place for a secret agent thriller (for instance, the unusual calm music during the climax and end credits). There’s something peculiar about the overall production that sets it apart within Eastwood's filmography and might be why it isn’t as well-known. The movie has a runtime of 2 hours and 8 minutes and was filmed in California (Los Angeles, Universal City and Carmel-by-the-Sea), Arizona (Monument Valley), Utah (Zion National Park) and Switzerland (Zurich, Kleine Scheidegg and Eiger/Bernese Alps). GRADE: B

Source on TMDB