Reluctant scientist Kirk Douglas and fiery resistance fighter Richard Harris have to overcome their hatred of each other, as well as the Germans, to sabotage an atomic bomb project in this brawny war story set in Norway in 1942. Director Anthony Mann avoids getting bogged down with technical information and sustains a nail-biting tension throughout the daredevil mission. While some in the supporting cast seem disaffected, Anton Diffring convinces as a steely-eyed Nazi officer. The night sequences are particularly striking, although Robert Krasker's photography throughout will have you positively pining for the fjords.

Set in German-occupied Norway, resistance fighter Knut Straud enlists the reluctant physicist Rolf Pedersen in an effort to destroy the German heavy water production plant in rural Telemark.