The parts of Mallory and Miller are played by Robert Shaw (who died before the film was released), and Edward Fox, succeeding in the roles originally portrayed by Gregory Peck and David Niven.
It was directed by Guy Hamilton and also stars Harrison Ford, Carl Weathers, Barbara Bach, Franco Nero (in a "plastic surgery" role previously played by Tutte Lemkow), and Richard Kiel.
They are joined by Weaver, an U.S. Army Medical Corps sergeant who was arrested by the Military Police and escaped, only to be shot down by the Luftwaffe.
Only Barnsby, Mallory, Miller, Weaver, and Lieutenant Doug Reynolds make it out and escape the crippled plane in a crash landing.
The survivors come upon a band of men they believe to be the Yugoslavian partisans, but the unit is later suddenly trapped and surprised as their helpers reveal themselves to be pro-German Chetniks, led by Captain Drazak.
Mallory and Barnsby meet another patrol of Yugoslav partisans led by Lescovar, who has gained Petrovich's trust, and are taken to their camp, which lies near a hydroelectric dam.
Mallory convinces Petrovich to mount a rescue mission of demolitions expert Miller back at the Chetnik camp, using Lescovar and Marko, another loyal partisan.
Schroeder and Reynolds are killed in a gun battle, but the others escape with a badly hurt Maritza and with the recovered explosives.
Maritza catches Lescovar in the act, but he kills her before she can warn the others, and German planes bomb the illuminated drop zone.
Angered by the botched air drop, Petrovich orders the men to be sent to partisan commander Tito's headquarters for transport back to Italy.
Accompanied by Lescovar and Marko, the team instead infiltrates the German railroad marshaling yards to steal explosives there.
Lescovar initially denies the accusations, but gives himself away and is shot dead by Barnsby, who then asks Mallory to return the favour by helping him accomplish Force 10's original mission.
As the closing film credits roll, the men begin a strenuous journey back to friendly territory.
In April 1967 Foreman announced he would make After Navarone with Anthony Quinn, Gregory Peck, and David Niven reprising their roles and J Lee Thompson returning as director.
[6] Filming, however, did not proceed: MacLean decided to develop the screen treatment as a book; he published Force 10 from Navarone in 1968, and the novel became a best seller.
"[8] In September 1976 it was announced Foreman, Oliver Unger and the German finance company, Mondo Films, had acquired the screen rights to the novel and screenplay Force 10 from Navarone.
AIP provided $2,104,942.93 to Navarone Productions and subsequently spent an additional $97,109.15 to produce a U.S. version of the film.
[12] By the time film was to start, 17 years after the original, Peck and Niven were considered too old and the decision was made to recast.
By October 1977 the main cast had been settled: Robert Shaw, Edward Fox, Harrison Ford, Franco Nero, Barbara Bach.
[20] Shepperton Studios outside London were used for most indoor scenes and included a full-scale mock-up of a Lancaster bomber, while scenes were shot around the Đurđevića Tara Bridge, Montenegro, and Jablanica Dam on Jablaničko Lake in Jablanica, Bosnia and Herzegovina with the assistance of Jadran Film.
Scale models of the dam, the valley and the bridge were constructed at the Mediterranean Film Studios in Malta.
President Tito of Yugoslavia authorised his government to assist the production, including providing 2,000 soldiers as extras as well as uniforms and equipment and several Yugoslavian army T-34 tanks.
During a shot of the railway carriages the letters PSTO(N) can be seen, this stands for Principal Supply and Transport Officer (Navy), and is on Jersey in the Channel Islands.
Following a May 2008 trial in the New York Supreme Court, a judgement awarded the producers more than 30 years of funds withheld by Columbia Pictures.