Counter-Attack (1945)

Most of "Counter-Attack" takes place in a collapsed factory building in which 2 Russians and 7 Germans are trapped. Ordinarily, in a picture of this type, the action comes to a screeching halt and the film becomes a talkathon. But the story benefits greatly from the presence of Paul Muni, one of America's great actors, as the Russian soldier who is holding the 7 German soldiers captive until rescuers arrive.The Russians are trying to drive the Germans from Russian soil, and have sent a handful of paratroopers ahead to gather information on troop movements, and the group is trapped after an explosion at a factory doubling as a German messaging outpost. That the film does not perish from Death by Dialogue is a tribute to Paul Muni's superior acting ability as well as an excellent script. If it comes on soon, catch it and see if you don't agree.

An engrossing WW2 film set somewhere on the Russian Front with Paul Muni as a member of a Russian assault team who is trapped in a collapsed building with seven German soldiers, one of whom is an officer. Along with him is Margarithe Chapman as a Russian partisan. His character is in the lead part of a big Russian counter-attack that is to be launched across a river on a bridge that's being built eighteen inches under the surface of the water. The setting in the collapsed building with the German soldiers whom he has captured and is trying to extract information from is beautifully done with tension and humor amidst fading light, all captured by cinematographer James Wong Howe, one of the greats of B&W photography (and color, too if you've seen Picnic). Maybe Muni was a tad bit better in I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang, but he's awfully good here as a crafty Russian fighting sleep deprivation and fading light. The Germans are great as well, each getting enough lines to establish himself. Margarithe Chapman's part as Muni's comrade captures the idea of equality in the ranks among men and women. She's tough but tender.

Not much a "counter-attack" but a "stuck behind enemy lines" movie. I also saw this on Turner Classic Movies and that's probably the only place you'll ever see this movie as it has little main stream appeal. Think of this as a remake of "Sahara" without all the cool action, just the constant diatribe dialog. Released (according to IMDb) less then one month before the fall of Nazi Germany, this movie was clearly a propaganda war movie among all the rest to motivate the masses in America. Except I question who or even where this film would have been shown to. I guess like where most of the previous reviewers here live, it was shown in the North East (mainly New York City) and probably in Chicago. Since Communism was still a slightly mainstream political movement in America, I guess it was also made for those people in America to help support the war effort more. In only about one year things would dramatically change starting as soon as only a few months when Russia would not declare war on Japan until less then a month before the A bomb and total surrender so they could take part of the spoils. Then of course the Iron Curtain would go up and well, I'm sure surprised this film was even found in the vaults after all this time. One chilling scene if I can just point it out, is when the Leader says that a word does not exist anymore and that you cannot find it in the dictionary anymore, and Muni crosses out that word in his pocket dictionary. This would be reprised in the movie "Alphaville" where the society's leader erases words and the people can no longer use the word "love". It's hard for me to root for one s-bag group that is only slightly less s-bagish then the other group. Anyway, I like Muni and I liked Korda in some of their other works and I like war movies and had never seen this one, so I gave it a try. It's not out of line with anything else done at the time, it's just that there aren't many good war movies made during the war because they are all done for propaganda. 5 of 10, I see many others enjoy this but they are probably Travelers so take that into account.

Seldom does a film capture the tone of the moment of significant historical events. This movie indeed does. One of the most dramatic events of World War Two was the counter attack by the Soviet troops against the Nazi invaders. The power of it all is beyond comparison to this very day. This film gives the audience a good account of the action, the drama, and the sense of just how far the Russians would go to drive the German army from its land. Paul Muni is extraordinary, and his acting gives meaning to the theme of this film that "there is no such word as impossible." In this movie, the heroic revenge of the Russians is exceeded only by the terror of it all.