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If you take Brass Target as a re-imagination of the situation in post-WWII Europe, similar to "Inglorious Basterds"©, this movie is easier to accept. However, any similarity to "Inglorious Basterds"© ends there. I feel this is a film made due to contractual obligations and maintaining SAG membership. The only reason I ever watched this film is because I was an extra in it, and even actually appear on screen for a second. Other than that, I MAY have been tempted to watch it once by some of the names, in particular Patrick McGoohan and George Kennedy, but other than my own one second of film glory, I wouldn't own it. The plot is completely implausible. I feel the actors make the best of it out of sheer professional pride. Here's a trivia point for you IMDb© keepers out there: Many of the extras are actually U.S. Army personnel recruited from troops serving in Munich at the time the movie was shot.

In this one, george kennedy is patton. Some other big names here... sophia loren and john cassavetes! Robert vaughan, patrick mcgoohan, max von sydow. After world war two, the shipment of gold the nazis had amassed is ordered back to frankfurt. But a corrupt group of united states military officials decide to take the gold and knock off patton. Can they take him out before the investigation uncovers the details of the heist? And how does mara fit in ? How much does she know? Directed by john hough. Novel by fred nolan. It's pretty good. Not the tightest script, but we get the idea. Patton died in december of 1945, and the gold was never recovered, according to the film itself.

I remember watching this as a kid when it first came out. And it stuck in my mind. More than 40 years later, I still remember the intricacy of the assassination plot against Patton. "Just make it look like an accident, 007" - well, this scenario does just that. Max von Sydow was in his prime as an unassuming hit man, who could wear any disguise and pull it off spectacularly. That it still sticks to my mind 40 years later is a testament to how impressed I was with the movie.

Fun little 70's "what if?" movies that ties in two unrelated things and tries to connect them, and then tries to invent conspiracy theories. It's like Inglorious Basterds 1970s style. There's a plot out to kill Patton (played rather George-Kennedishly by George Kennedy) and it's up to John Cassevetes and Sophia Loren to stop it! Oh yes, there's a gold theft in there somewhere as well, as well as the story of the assassin too. Somewhat hard to follow, but enjoyable nevertheless. Max Von Sydow is so smarmy and greasy here, he steals the show. OH RIGHT, there's also the amazing Robert Vaughn, playing WAY over type, playing a general with a secret gay boyfriend. So good!

Brass Target has as its plot premise the fact that George S. Patton's automobile accident which left him paralyzed with a broken neck that eventually killed him was really an assassination. For the more traditional view I suggest you see Patton: The Last Days which starred the most famous Patton of all George C. Scott.

250 million dollars in gold bullion from the Third Reich is robbed and the perpetrators are a group of OSS men headed by Robert Vaughn. These guys were doing this sort of stuff during the war and apparently saw no reason that they shouldn't pull one last job with a heist that would certainly insure them a comfortable old age. The problem is that a whole train load of GIs are killed in a tunnel during the heist.

Which brings in John Cassavetes late of the OSS who was the author of a heist plan that was a dead ringer for what the robbers used. Which gives Cassavetes a good head start in an investigation, but not exactly a smoking gun.

After George S. Patton played here by George Kennedy is called out by the Russians for his laxity, that's something no one can accuse Patton of. He takes personal charge of the investigation and puts himself in an assassin's cross hairs.

I think a lot of good players got wasted here in a film that didn't make sense many times. You have to fill in a lot of gaps. Sophia Loren is in the film, top billed in a supporting role that doesn't make any sense. Max Von Sydow is the professional hit man that Vaughn and company hire sight unseen though on strong recommendation. Von Sydow was interesting and clever and is the best one in the film.

This is one urban legend that truly is a legend. As a film Brass Target is hardly legendary.