Avant que vienne l'hiver (1969) is a 1969 British comedy-drama war film
directed by Oscar®-nominated J. Lee Thompson (Les Canons de Navarone (1961)), from a screenplay by Andrew Sinclair. Screenwriter Sinclair says David Niven insisted on a title change as he did not play the interpreter. The screenplay was based on the short story "The Interpreter" by Frederick L. Keefe in The New Yorker (10 Dec 1966).
Location scenes filmed near Salzburg, Austria.
Avant que vienne l'hiver (1969) was an early screen role for Topol, who had become famous playing "Fiddler on the Roof "on stage in London. J. Lee Thompson called Topol "the Frank Sinatra of Israel, rugged, handsome, a Clark Gable type or a European version of Burt Lancaster.