Funeral in Berlin.

Review #2562: Funeral in Berlin.

Cast: 
Michael Caine (Harry Palmer), Paul Hubschmid (Johnny Vulkan/Paul Louis Broum), Oskar Homolka (Colonel Stok), Eva Renzi (Samantha Steel), Guy Doleman (Colonel Ross), Hugh Burden (Hallam), Heinz Schubert (Aaron Levine), Wolfgang Völz (Werner), Thomas Holtzmann (Reinhardt), Sarah Brackett (Babcock), Günter Meisner (Otto Kreutzman), and Herbert Fux (Artur) Directed by Guy Hamilton  (#280 - Diamonds Are Forever, #289 - The Man with the Golden Gun, #291 - Goldfinger, #293 - Live and Let Die, #612 - The Devil's Disciple, #2019 - The Ringer [1952])

Review: 

Yes, I suppose it makes sense that Guy Hamilton would be brought in to do work on a Harry Saltzman production with Funeral in Berlin (as based on the Len Deighton book of the same name), which was released the year after the success of The Ipcress File (1965), which Sidney J. Furie had managed to craft a pretty decent spy movie. And yet, Salesman apparently didn't like what Furie did to the point where he went with a familiar face to deliver another Palmer movie. In his 1993 autobiography, Caine described the movie as one where he doubted that the filmmakers managed to capture the "special atmosphere" of the city of Berlin, stating that Hamilton seemed more at home with the Bond movies (hey, I think Goldfinger was the best of the first few of the movies, at least until say, 1969) rather than the "gritty realism" attempted with the Palmer movies*. From 1964 to 1974, Hamilton worked with Saltzman on six films (The Party's Over, released in 1965, was the lone exception of that time period). Interestingly, Hamilton actually had served in a secret unit of the 15th Motor Gunboat Flotilla that brought over agents into France and send down pilots back to England in the second World War (for which he went through certain danger on one occasion) The screenplay was written by Evan Jones, who previously had adapted works into film with The Damned (1962) and Modesty Blaise (1966). The third and final feature film with Caine as Palmer came out with Billion Dollar Brain (as directed by Ken Russell) the following year.

There are aspects that are pretty interesting in dry charm, at least. Sure, it has pretty evident charms and flaws, but it is fairly likable with Caine at the helm with a locale in Berlin that at least seems like a useful capsule for its time. Undeniably, the movie is plagued by basically being a cipher in actually getting to the point of the "intrigue", because it muddles itself for 102 minutes with only a moderately interesting supporting cast and motivations that just aren't as sleek or as icily effective from before. So, what's it all about? Well, through a bit of loitering in the streets of Berlin, one sees an array of not-quite defections, Israeli agents* on a trail, and a motivation to keep some things buried from the light (the title here refers to the would-be smuggling scheme: getting out of East Berlin in a coffin). Caine coasts with the irreverent mannerism of coasting through the machinations of people who all look to get one over another (as if the spy game really is just a game of cons). This was the international debut for Renzi (cast over Anjanette Comer, apparently), who had one other film credit (Playgirl [1966]) to her name, but apparently she was dubbed. So it goes, I guess, because she basically drifts through the film anyway*. Homolka might actually be the most interesting presence in the exuberant, seasoned presence (sure, it's not his story, but, well...). Hubschmid is probably the bigger cipher of the film, trying to be elusive to hide the movie eventually getting to the point (Germans) that is only mildly interesting when paired with Caine. The movie sometimes is interesting with its locale and the bleak scenarios that creep around the corner for a feel that you just wish was a bit tighter with its globe-trot in Berlin. You just want a little more energy amidst the gloom, as one basically drifts through it all. However, if you prefer to see what a spy movie from Hamilton looked like that wasn't merely James Bond, this might be up your alley.

 

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Song of the day!

*Caine also noted in one instance that they were filming near the Wall on a sunny day and border guards with nothing better to do shone mirrors in the lenses that led to the filmmakers moving somewhere else.

*Israeli agent, you say? Don't worry, I don't think I would say anything that would get someone to whine about anti-semitism. Free Palestine?

*Comer married Hubschmid the following year but didn't exactly take off as an actress, even rejecting a role in You Only Live Twice.

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.

Review #1899: The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.

Cast: 

Paul Hubschmid (Professor Tom Nesbitt), Paula Raymond (Lee Hunter), Cecil Kellaway (Dr. Thurgood Elson), Kenneth Tobey (Colonel Jack Evans), Donald Woods (Captain Phil Jackson), Ross Elliott (George Ritchie), Steve Brodie (Sgt. Loomis), Jack Pennick (Jacob Bowman), Michael Fox (ER doctor), Lee Van Cleef (Corporal Jason Stone), and Frank Ferguson (Dr. Morton) Directed by Eugène Lourié.

Review: 

The creature feature is a fun one to think about in the Atomic Age, considering that you had films that ranged from ones attacking Tokyo to ones involving irradiated ants or octopuses. Sure, there were movies you might call "monster movies" beforehand such as The Lost World (1925) or King Kong (1933), but you have to consider how the dawn of nuclear paranoia with the 1950s made for a whole new element of creature terror, primarily as B-productions...and this one came in 1953, before Godzilla (1954) and others of its ilk.  The film is loosely based on the short story "The Fog Horn", written by Ray Bradbury (you may remember Bradbury as the writer of numerous short stories and novels such as Fahrenheit 451). That story involved a lighthouse with a horn that attracts the attention of a lone sea monster. The studio bought the rights to the story when the screenplay was in development, probably because of the lingering similarities between sea monster and creature from beneath the sea (besides, who wouldn't want to say they were based on a Bradbury work?). The screenplay was done by Fred Freiberger, Eugène Lourié, Louis Morheim, and Robert Smith. The career of its director is a bit fascinating. This was the debut of Lourie, who directed just three more films after this one: The Colossus of New York (1958), The Giant Behemoth (1959), and Gorgo (1961). The Russian-born Frenchman was first inspired by film when he saw his first cinema theater in 1911 as a six-year-old, and he even appeared as a bit player in films starting in 1919. By the 1930s, he would do work as an art director that spanned numerous directors such as Jean Renoir and Clint Eastwood. Of course, he noted later in life that he was typecast as a director of science fiction because of his work with this film (incidentally, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects on Krakatoa, East of Java in 1969).

Incidentally, Bradbury was a long-time friend of Ray Harryhausen. The Los Angeles native had an interest in animation since seeing King Kong (1933) numerous times, and he would study at the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California to hone skills in arts and sculpture. He would get a chance to work with his mentor Willis O'Brien as a technician on effects with the Academy Award awardee Mighty Joe Young (1949). When it came time for Fathoms, Harryhausen would get his first chance to do a film with himself in charge that saw him pioneering "Dynamation". The process required split-screen, rear projection, multiple pieces of glass between camera and screen with paint to black out the part that are meant to be in front of the creature required to be seen before using one that blackens out the reverse of the first glass. This required less building of miniatures that were apparent for stop-motion that could have a bit more interaction between creatures and actors. In total, Harryhausen would use the process for fifteen films from 1953 to 1981 as one of the most distinct effects people of the last half-century.

For an 80-minute movie made for roughly $200,000 (as produced by former Monogram associates in Jack Dietz and Hal E. Chester that saw distribution by Warner Bros.), it was a clear-cut success with audiences. It is a fun movie in its construction that pulls off spectacle with careful patience that never sells out for simply being a mash movie with no substance to it. Any movie that takes a little bit of time to cover how a nuclear weapons test goes. Sure, the actors aren't exactly doing stand-out performances, but making sure to not look goofy in the face of what is meant to be refreshing entertainment is something to give credit to, particularly since a handful of the actors were part of other monster movies besides being usual veterans of the screen, such as Tobey or Elliott. Hubschmid makes a solid lead in trying to make others believe a monster lurks while Kellaway works his charm in the "let's capture it alive" type to go with a soothing Raymond. They keep the edges at a fairly rounded level to make the scenarios work, whether that involves sharpshooting isotopes or trying to make people believe a monster exists. The effects are dazzling and effective in the moments required in making a capable threat, one seen terrorizing streets and even a lighthouse and rollercoaster ride with believability. My favorite part is the idea that the people can shoot the creature, which works for them shooting a hole in it before they find that the blood coming out from it is getting people really sick. That's one interesting way to have a scary monster that moves on four legs, one that can snatch police officers and chomp them and also get you sick if someone tries shooting holes in it. With a smooth monster, it is no wonder how this movie worked so well with audiences, because it is a fair treat that fit its era like a glove, pulling off entertainment with resourceful craftmanship fit for everyone.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.