Stalag 17.
December 1944. 630 US Air Force Sergeants occupy the German prison of war camp, Stalag 17. Manfredi and Johnson, two such prisoners from Barracks 4, attempt an elaborate escape during the night through a trapdoor and tunnel system their comrades helped establish. All of the occupants of Barracks 4 are optimistic of the two escapees chances, with the exception of the cynical Sefton, who is willing to bet against them. When they discover the following day that, not only were Manfredi and Johnson shot and killed trying to escape, but that the overseer of the camp, Commandant von Scherbach, is aware of the trapdoor and tunnel, the men believe that a saboteur has betrayed them. Suspicion immediately falls on Sefton, the arrogant prisoner who bet against their survival, who lives a relative life of luxury by trading his earnings from his various prison enterprises with the German guards. Someone is relaying messages to their amiable, sympathetic guard, Schulz, but is Sefton really the German informant? Adapted from Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski’s Broadway play of their own experiences as prisoners of war, director and co-writer Billy Wilder dusts Stalag 17 with handfuls of his signature wit to create a film that is both a serious drama and a darkly humorous comedy. Absolutely absorbing entertainment. A proper classic movie.
Él.
During a Christian Holy Week foot washing ceremony, bourgeois bachelor Francisco notices an onlooking woman; having silently rejected him after the ceremony, the woman is pursued by Francisco until he loses sight of her. Returning to the church days later in the hope of seeing the woman, she is indeed there though Francisco is yet again rejected but again he attempts to pursue her after she leaves. Francisco invites an old friend, Raul, to a dinner party the day before Raul is due to oversee construction on a dam that will take several months, to which he accepts on the condition that his fiancée, Gloria, and his soon to be mother-in-law are are also present. Francisco’s motive for inviting Raul, however, is less than benign: Gloria is the object of his obsession and he attempts to win Gloria over, believing it to be love at first sight. Months later, Raul, returning from his dam project, happens upon Gloria in the street, she has since called off their own engagement and married Francisco, a decision she appears to regret as she recounts her honeymoon and Francisco’s jealous, possessive, spiteful, self-centred behaviour. Luis Buñuel’s captivating anti-romance tragedy, Él, tells of a man driven insane by paranoia and his own fear of rejection. Progressive for its time, Buñuel highlights sexism and male dominance (through the sympathy Francisco receives despite his obvious delusions and Francisco’s decision to fire the maid, Martha, because his butler, Pedro, constantly harasses her therefore distracting him from his work) in an underrated film with hints of the director’s signature surrealism.
The Wages of Fear.
French ex-gangster, Jo, rolls up in the poor, isolated South American town of Las Piedras. He encounters Mario, another Frenchman, who has lived in the town for some time and is beaten down by the heat and poverty of Las Piedras; since the town is surrounded by a desert wasteland, the only means of escape is by aeroplane, but the tickets are far too expensive. Though he gives the impression of being well off, Jo reveals to Mario that he is broke and, apparently, on the run. The only source of employment in the town is from Southern Oil Company, an American business who operate the nearby oilfields. After an oil well explosion that kills four workers results in a raging fire, the SOC hatch a plan to extinguish the blaze: trigger another explosion to cap the well and blow out the flames. The job involves transporting a ton of highly volatile nitroglycerin 300 miles from the SOC headquarters to the inferno without proper safety gear; it’s considered far too dangerous for the unionised SOC employees, but many of the desperate townspeople are lured into volunteering for the relatively high pay of $2000, enough to finally escape the wretched place. Mario and Jo, as well as Mario’s hardworking, albeit naïve, roommate Luigi and strong but silent Bimba, are chosen for the mission; Mario and Jo in one truck followed half an hour later by the other two in another. The true characters of the drivers are revealed and their friendships tested when confronted by mental and physical obstacles and the constant threat that the slightest bump in the road could spell their doom. An absolutely enthralling, suspenseful thriller with existential questions abound, The Wages of Fear is a classic of world cinema who’s influence can still be seen today.
I Vitelloni.
A summer storm disrupts an Italian seaside town’s Miss Mermaid beauty contest as young, local woman Sandra is declared the winner; she subsequently faints after being mobbed by the congratulating public, leading to speculation she may be pregnant. The rumours are true, womanising Fausto is the father but, wanting to do the right thing but feeling unable to, he intends to leave for Milan; Francisco, Fausto’s traditionalist father, demands that his son marry Sandra, to which he eventually agrees. After Fausto and Sandra depart for their honeymoon, Fausto’s “vitelloni” (young, unemployed and living off their middle class parents) friends: Alberto, a vulnerable, lazy mother’s boy; Leopoldo, an intellectual playwright; Moraldo, Sandra’s brother and youngest of the group, harbours dreams of escaping; and Riccardo, a tenor whose unrealistic ambition is to sing and act professionally; wander across empty beaches, frequenting cafés and bars, killing time until next summer. Approaching 30, each must decide who they are going to be in life, whether they are happy living the pampered, promiscuous adolescent existence they’ve led up to that point, or whether they will try to make something of themselves individually. Writer and director Federico Fellini’s semi autobiographical depiction of 1950’s Italian culture whereby young men leach off their families while offering nothing in return, remains as poignant and relatable as ever. Wryly humorous, desperately sad and faultlessly charming, I Vitelloni is a Fellini’s first masterpiece.
From Here to Eternity.
Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. 1941. Private Robert E Lee Prewitt transfers from Honolulu to a new outfit on Oahu due to perceived nepotism that forced him into playing second bugle, despite his superior talent. Knowing the private’s accomplished history as a boxer, Captain Holmes attempts to recruit Prewitt to his team for the upcoming championship in the hope that a win will see him promoted; Holmes’ offer is rejected by the hardheaded Prewitt since he has given up the sport after he blinded his friend in a sparring session, leading to the Captain and officers on the boxing team making Prewitt’s life a misery. Captain Holmes’ marital life, meanwhile, is suffering; his wife, Karen,’s notorious infidelities with other officers do little to deter the Captain’s second in command, Sergeant Warden, from pursuing and ultimately falling in love with her. Prewitt finds a woman of his own when he and best friend Maggio join a private social club, where hostess Lorene is paid to fraternise with the male clientele. She sees something in Prewitt as the two become romantically involved, though their future, and that of Warden and Karen, seem hopelessly uncertain. The utterly compelling dialogue and flawlessly superb acting by a terrific cast of Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed and even Frank Sinatra, yields a classic wartime romantic drama. Daring and even controversial at the time of release, modern sensibilities have not diminished what is one of the true greats of the golden age of Hollywood.
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