Verboten!
Verboten! | |
---|---|
RKO Radio Pictures Globe Enterprises | |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 93 minutes 87 minutes (TCM print) |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Verboten! is a 1959 American
Verboten! was the first of Samuel Fuller's films to be set during
Plot
Near the end of World War II in Europe, American Sergeant David Brent loses two men and is himself wounded while hunting down and killing a sniper in an unnamed German city. He falls unconscious in front of a young German woman, Helga Schiller. When he awakes, he finds that she has tended his wound rather than killing him. She also protects him from her bitter younger brother, Franz. When the Waffen-SS set up an artillery observation post in Helga's building, she hides David to prove she is not a Nazi. Later, the Americans capture the city, and David is sent to a hospital.
After Germany surrenders, David returns to the city and marries Helga, despite being warned by his commanding officer. Because American soldiers are verboten (forbidden) to fraternize with German women, he resigns from the Army and goes to work as a civilian administrator in the Food Office of the Military Government.
One day, Helga spots a friend, returning German soldier Bruno Eckhart. She breaks the news to him that his parents were killed by Allied bombing and his girlfriend committed suicide because she mistakenly believed the Russians were coming. Bruno congratulates her on landing someone she herself calls her "American goldmine". She persuades David to vouch for him, which enables Bruno to get one of the scarce good jobs, as a policeman. What neither Helga nor David know is that Bruno is a member of Werwolf, a Nazi underground organization bent on regaining control of Germany, beginning with sabotage and sneak attacks. Bruno uses his position to infiltrate other Werwolf members into the government and becomes their leader. Franz also joins the organization.
When a food shipment is hijacked by Werwolf, the German civilians blame the Americans and demonstrate in front of the building where David works. David is fired after he foolishly attacks their spokesman and is pummeled by the mob. Bruno turns David against Helga, even though she is pregnant, by telling the American that she married him only for the food and shelter he could provide. When David confronts Helga, she admits that it was true to begin with, but that she eventually fell in love with him; he does not believe her and storms out.
Meanwhile, Franz's conscience begins troubling him after he witnesses an incident at Bruno's secret Werwolf headquarters in a railroad boxcar. After a Werwolf member bitterly protests against the theft of medicine intended for the German people, Bruno stabs him to death. When Franz has a nightmare about the murder, Helga discovers that he is part of Werwolf. Determined to show him the error of his ways, she takes him to the first session of the
Cast
- James Best as Sgt. David Brent
- Susan Cummings as Helga Schiller / Brent
- Tom Pittman as Bruno Eckart
- Paul Dubov as Capt. R. Harvey
- Harold Daye as Franz Schiller
- Dick Kallman as Helmuth Strasser
- Stuart Randall as Colonel
- Steven Gerayas Mayor (Burghermeister) of Rothbach
- Anna Hope as Frau Schiller
- Robert Boon as SS officer
- Sasha Harden as Eric Heiden
- Paul Busch as Gunther Dietrich
- Neyle Morrow as Sfc. Kellogg
- Joe Turkel as Infantryman
Production
In January 1950 the Los Angeles Times reported that the film would be made on location in Germany by Solar Productions, a newly formed company consisting of
However the movie was not made for a number of years. In 1954 the Los Angeles Times reported that Terry Moore wanted to star in the film for Fuller with Howard Hughes to produce.[5] In September 1957 Hedda Hopper announced Fuller would make the film for RKO.[6]
One of the cast, Tom Pittman, died in a car crash in November 1958.[7]
Critical reception
The Los Angeles Times called it "rather potent."[8] The New York Times called it "a fast, unpretentious melodrama... that may lack subtlety but coveys a sharp, uncluttered impression of contemporary European attitudes towards Americans."[9]
Verboten! is held in fairly high esteem by contemporary critics. In his short review for the Chicago Reader, Dave Kehr referred to the film as "sleazy masterwork," describing it as "sweaty, claustrophobic, occasionally frenzied, and often brilliant."[10]
The
Home media
See also
References
- ^ "Verboten!: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
- ^ "40 Acres - The Lost Studio Backlot of Movie & Television Fame - The Later RKO Years". www.retroweb.com.
- ^ Schallert, Edwin (5 Jan 1950). "Drama: Beverly Tyler Signs for 'Challenge;' Dane Clark Launches Company". Los Angeles Times. p. B9.
- ^ Pryor, Thomas M. (3 Aug 1951). "FULLER PLANNING OWN PRODUCTIONS: Fox Writer-Director Has Two Films in Mind, One Dealing With Newspapers Here New Film on Stephen Foster". New York Times. p. 11.
- ^ "Drama: Grace Kelly, Taylor to Costar With Lana". Los Angeles Times. 5 April 1954. p. A16.
- ^ Hopper, Hedda (12 September 1957). "Three Stars Sought for Desert Feature". Los Angeles Times. p. C8.
- ^ "Body of Actor Tom Pittman Found in Car". Los Angeles Times. 20 November 1958. p. 2.
- ^ 'Verboten' Presents Study of Nazi Youth Los Angeles Times 28 Aug 1959: 27.
- ^ Weiler, A.H. (12 July 1960). "The Screen: 'School for Scoundrels': Comedy From Britain Opens at the Sutton Film Based on Books by Stephen Potter". New York Times. p. 39.
- ^ "Chicago Reader: Verboten Capsule Review by Dave Kehr".
- ^ "Verboten!".
- ^ Kehr, Dave (8 July 2010). "Samuel Fuller's 'Verboten!' Makes It to DVD" – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ "WBshop.com - The Official Online Store of Warner Bros. Studios". www.wbshop.com.
External links
- Verboten! at IMDb
- Verboten! at the TCM Movie Database