other notable turns were in the films "the sandpiper", in which he played a supporting role as elizabeth taylor's character's former lover, opposite richard burton; "the nun and the sergeant", in which he played the lead; "the dirty dozen", where he played a general who disliked the character portrayed by lee marvin; a sadistic lowlife encountered by paul newman in the anti-hero detective drama "harper"; a hitman in sam peckinpah's "bring me the head of alfredo garcia"; and a killer in the dean martin spy spoof, "the silencers". other notable films in which webber appeared include "the great white hope" (1970), "midway" (1976), "revenge of the pink panther" (1978), "private benjamin" (1980), "s.o.b." (1981), and "wild geese ii" (1985). several of the films were directed by blake edwards.