This WWII movie takes place on somewhere in Greek islands during 1944 , a misfit prisoners group(a stoic David Niven,a two-fisted Richard Roundtree, among them) are scheming escape from the concentration camp and at the same time the robbing in an Ortodox monastery at the top of the island's mountain. At the bunch appear a distinguished David Niven(whose son David Niven Jr is producer),an Italian cook(Sonny Bono),a member of the Greek Resistance(Telly Savalas),a prostitute( beautiful Claudia Cardinale) and among Nazis are a former Viennese art merchant(likable Roger Moore) and a cruel Nazi(Anthony Valentine).The gentleman Nazi officer Moore is stuck with the outfit of goof-offs as they search for the Greek treasure.

Basically an amusing action filled /wartime/and comedy set during WWII. It's a crossover among the rogue soldiers from ¨The Kelly's heroes(Brian G Hutton)¨, the getaway from ¨The great escape(John Sturges)¨ and the humor included in ¨Hogan's heroes¨ taking parts here and there. This wartime picture which is short in realism instead we have far-fetched but moving blow up, shoot'em up, fighting , it should please most adventure-action-comedy buffs.Middling screenplay by the prestigious Edward Anhalt.Some characters aren't credible in 1944 setting , neither the Nais soldiers dressed in black when parade along with the secret German rocket installation.Roger Moore is miscast as an Nazi official and Elliott Gould as a hippie-alike sound embarrassing. Cameo by William Holden as prisoner smoking a cigar in prison camp and he appears uncredited. Luminous and shimmer photography by Gilbert Taylor. Stirring and military musical score by Lalo Schifrin. This improbable motion picture is professionally directed by George Pan Cosmatos. Although the movie has some aspects a little tough to take , this caper film still has its moments.This large-scale and lavishly produced pic attempts a bemusing atmosphere with regular results.

It's really tough to make a comedy out of a POW movie, and it's even tougher to make the most predominant Nazi character likable. Somehow, Escape to Athena manages to do both.

Elliott Gould and Stephanie Powers are American entertainers, taken to the famous Stalag 17 prison camp, where veteran residents David Niven, Sonny Bono, and Richard Roundtree show them the ropes. It turns out, the gang is only pretending to behave and cozy up to their captors; they're involved in a secret plot to liberate the camp, with outside help from Telly Savalas and Claudia Cardinale. By far, my favorite part of the movie is when Elliott and Stephanie arrive. They walk past some prisoners outside in the fenced yard, and Elliott gives a double-take to William Holden. "You're still here?" he asks, referencing Bill's Oscar-winning performance in 1953's Stalag 17.

Even though the movie can feel a little strange at times-Roger Moore plays a Nazi and he frequently jokes around with the POWs, and he treats Stephanie like a girlfriend instead of a prisoner-it's actually pretty good. There are some tense moments when the gang takes steps in their master plan of escape, and there are some pretty cute moments of camaraderie. If this type of quirky comedy appeals to you, you'll probably like it. It's not one I'll watch over and over again, but I did enjoy it.

This rather feeble wartime thriller attempts to mix together fairly disparate elements: the liberation of a Nazi prisoner of war camp; the smuggling of fine Greek antiques; the development of a new Nazi ultra-weapon and an Allied invasion. It sounds all over the place and it is: the film adopts a jokey, lighthearted tone in spite of the subject matter that reminded me of KELLY'S HEROES – although this is far less successful.

When the film's most memorable scene sees Stefanie Powers performing a striptease to a bunch of sweaty Nazis you know you're in trouble. Roger Moore, miscast as the world's most unconvincing German, doesn't help either and his supposed romance scenes with Powers felt sleazy rather than sweet. There's a past-his-prime David Niven looking desperately like he wishes he was elsewhere and Elliott Gould overacting as the token humourist. Richard Roundtree's presence is never quite explained and as for the pathetic Sonny Bono, the less said the better. The only one who comes out of this with any credit is Telly Savalas as the tough resistance leader; I loved his Greek dancing at the climax.

On the plus side, the film's structured fairly well, with a series of increasingly fraught missions occupying much of the running time. It does take a while to get going, though. There's a claustrophobic motorbike chase about halfway through that marks a definite highlight, featuring some exceptional photography as the machines ride down narrow streets and alleyways. George Pan Cosmatos handles the proceedings with a certain efficiency to stop this from becoming a total dud, but it's still a disappointment.