Watch Now: MURPHY'S WAR

For the development of Murphy’s War, a war film based on Max Catto’s 1969 novel of the same name and set in South America as World War II was about to finish, nothing short of an all-star crew got together. Peter Yates in the director’s chair, three years upon shooting Bullit; Stirling Silliphant (In the Heat of the Night) penning the script; the great Douglas Slocombe of the first three Indiana Jones films behind the camera. And the legendary Peter O’Toole in the lead role, playing opposite his then-wife Siân Phillips. Their combined effort resulted in an entertaining war adventure story about a stubborn man passionately dedicated to revenge, even at the cost of further tragedy.

Back in 1969, Murphy’s War was considered to be Frank Sinatra’s next starring project, but the plans fell through. Peter O’Toole, however, dominates the screen as the sole surviving member of a merchant ship destroyed by a German U-boat. Barely making out of the underwater massacre alive, he gets obsessed with the idea of sinking the Nazi submarine, unwilling at any cost to let this fixation disappear. The spectacular action in the film is even more impressive given that O’Toole performed most of his own stunts. A (not so) hidden gem lies in the film’s very title: not only does Murphy’s War indicate we’re about to watch an individual-centric action film, but it also foreshadows the level of success of such a war, as it cleverly plays with the notorious notion of Murphy’s Law.

Watch Now: MURPHY'S WAR