Victory at Entebbe (1976)

An operation without precedent in military history took place with dramatic effect in July 1976 when 103 hostages of Palestinian and pro-Palestinian German (Red Army Faction) terrorists were freed at Entebbe airport in Uganda, Africa.

The event stirred the world to new depths of inspiration, struck a blow against world terrorism and exalted a group of Israeli commandos to the heights of heroism. The story was retold in the made-for-television movie Victory at Entebbe. 

The real-life roles ranged from the fear-ridden hostages to the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (Anthony Hopkins), from the towering figure of Idi Amin (Julius Harris), the tyrannical president of Uganda, to the courageous Air France pilot (Christian Marquand), from the calm teenager (Linda Blair) to the spirited 73-year-old female passenger (Helen Hayes) who had been taken to a Ugandan hospital and was killed in retaliation for the Israeli rescuers killing Ugandan troops who were protecting the terrorists.

These characters were all portrayed here by a formidable group of international stars headed by Linda Blair, Kirk Douglas, David Groh, Helen Hayes, Anthony Hopkins, Burt Lancaster and Elizabeth Taylor.

Burt Lancaster portrayed Shimon Peres, Israel’s Minister of Defence, whose responsibility it was to solve the paralysing crisis. Elizabeth Taylor was Edra Vilnofsky, a mother who brought her daughter’s plight directly to the Prime Minister’s desk.

The film showed the political leaders of Israel deciding whether to submit to terrorist blackmail or to mount an attack to save the lives of the hostages held 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometres) away.

Surrounded by armed terrorists and Ugandan soldiers and ringed by boxes of explosives, the hostages tried to sleep on the cold and dirty floor of the Entebbe air terminal and think about their fate.

The world watched and waited – and then cheered as Israeli commandos carried out the rescue of the hostages in one of the most successful Military operations in history.

During a 35-minute battle (codenamed ‘Operation Thunderbolt’), 45 Ugandan soldiers and all seven hijackers died, along with three hostages.

The leader of the assault force, Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan “Yonni” Netanyahu (Richard Dreyfuss), was shot dead by a Ugandan sentry. During the rescue, the Israelis destroyed 11 Russian-built MiG fighters, which amounted to a quarter of Uganda’s air force.

Victory at Entebbe was one of four movies made about the hijacking. The others were Raid on Entebbe (1976), Operation Thunderbolt (1977), and 7 Days in Entebbe (2018).

Godfrey Cambridge was selected to play the role of Idi Amin but died on the set from a heart attack early in the filming. Julius Harris took over the part.

Wilfried Böse
Helmut Berger
Chana Vilnofsky
Linda Blair
Hershel Vilnofsky
Kirk Douglas
Colonel Yonatan ‘Yonni’ Netanyahu
Richard Dreyfuss
Etta Grossman-Wise
Helen Hayes
Shimon Peres
Burt Lancaster
Edra Vilnofsky
Elizabeth Taylor
Yakov Shlomo
Theodore Bikel
Benjamin Wise
David Groh
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
Anthony Hopkins
Captain Dukas
Christian Marquand
Nomi Haroun
Jessica Walter
General Dan Shomron
Harris Yulin
Nathan Haroun
Allan Miller
President Idi Amin
Julius Harris
General Mordecai Gur
Stefan Gierasch
Aaron Olav
David Sheiner
Moshe Meyer
Severn Darden
Yaakobi
Ben Hammer
Gamal Fahmy
Anthony James
Jaif
Victor Mohica
Nan Peyser
Samantha Harper
Colonel Bar-Lev
Philip Sterling
Claudine
Kristina Wayborn
Dr Ghota
Austin Stoker
Captain Abi
Jenny Maybrook
Rabin’s Aide
Than Wyenn

Director
Marvin Chomsky