FAQ

Yes, Darren really did the singing. The song was "Yialo Yialo" which has an interesting story behind it and the Greek government.

In 1943 Italy surrendered so both the Germans and Allies raced to seize the islands in the Eastern Mediterranean which they garrisoned. The Germans rapidly achieved air superiority in the area as their bases were much closer and most Allied airpower was deployed aiding the campaign on the Italian mainland. This caused terrible losses to Allied naval forces and therefore left thousands of British troops stranded on isolated islands, forced to surrender once their ammunition and other supplies ran out. This film explores the concept of an Allied naval task force using the cover of darkness to protect themselves from air attack whilst rescuing one such besieged unit but needing the radar guided naval artillery of the title destroyed in order for them to do so.

The Allies staged numerous special operations in the area, perhaps the most similar the kidnapping of the German general commanding the garrison on Crete. They were subsequently pursued through the mountains by huge air and land forces, bluffed their way through checkpoints disguised as German officers and were eventually successfully evacuated by sea.

Chicago American, Tuesday, June 17, 1958:

LOUELLA O. PARSONS

Carl Foreman's visit to Hollywood lengthened to almost a week instead of two days as he had planned. That's because he has been negotiating with Cary Grant about playing the lead in h is next picture, "Guns of Navarone."

Carl brought both the book and script to Cary to read, and hopes to get the valuable Grant name on a deal before he joins his wife, who is vacationing in Italy.

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Chicago Sun-Times, Thursday, June 15, 1961, p. 52, c. 1:

KUP'S COLUMN

The Massive Power Failure that blacked out new York the other day almost caused producer Carl Forman and three top Manhattan movie critics, to black out, too. Foreman was screening his movie, "Guns of Navarone," for the critics. In one of the last scenes of the film, a German officer gives the command to a battery of cannon to fire at the approaching six destroyers in the Navarone channel. The officer gave the command, the cannons boomed--and, presto, everything went black!

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