ruse when the group watches the shore from above and sees him going to the German camp. Instead of heading up the hills to engage with the British and retrieve the General, however, the Germans march into a valley where a partisan ambush is waiting for them. The British and Cretans, along with Kreipe, who has stopped pretending that he was injured, arrive at the beach and finally are picked up by the British ship that is to transport them to Cairo, the Middle East headquarters of British forces. On board the vessel, Fermor and Moss return the items that the General had planted during their trek, comparing them to the "breadcrumbs" left by Hansel in the story of Hansel and Gretel and comparing the Cretan Resistance, once disdained by the General, as the "birds" who take the breadcrumbs in the story. Cast Dirk Bogarde as Major Patrick "Paddy" Leigh Fermor aka "Philedem" Marius Goring as Major General Heinrich Kreipe David Oxley as Captain W. Stanley "Billy" Moss, M.C. Dimitri Andreas as Niko Soldan Emeris Cyril Cusack as Captain Sandy Rendel Laurence Payne as Manoli Wolfe Morris as George Michael Gough as Andoni Zoidakis John Cairney as Elias Rowland Bartrop as Micky Akoumianakis Brian Worth as Stratis Saviolkis Paul Stassino as Yanni Katsias Adeeb Assaly as Zahari Cast notes: Marius Goring had appeared in three other Powell and Pressburger films: The Spy in Black (1939), A Matter of Life and Death (1946) and The Red Shoes (1948). Goring replaced Curt Jürgens, who was the original choice to play the part of General Kreipe. Christopher Lee and David McCallum have small parts: Lee as a German officer in the dentist scene, and McCallum, in his film debut, as a sailor on the ship that picks up the group. Lee's part was edited out of the 1959 American re-release of the film. A "John Houseman" in the cast does not appear to be the well-known actor and director John Houseman. Production Emeric Pressburger had read and bought the rights to W. Stanley Moss's book in 1950, but production would not begin for another six years. Following the success of The Battle of the River Plate (1956, American title: Pursuit of the Graf Spee), The Archers agreed to a one-film contract with the Rank Organisation, but disagreements between Powell and Pressburger over that contract and aspects of the film production contributed to the