Seven Thunders (1957)

Many films have ambiguous titles, but why "Seven Thunders"? Was this the title of the book from which this film was derived? Can anyone explain? Did I miss something in this slow and ponderous film? The whole storyline did not ring true. Where were the escapees going to from Marseilles? Spain would seem the obvious choice. Was this in fact an actual escape route for Allied POWs from Italy? The film was interesting from the fact that a lot of it was shot on location, but overall it was a very disappointing use of a talented cast! Interesting to see Stephen Boyd in an early screen role. Sad that his career appeared to peter out and that he died young.

Steven Boyd and his friend, Tony Wright, have escape from a German POW camp during World War II and have made their way to Marseilles, where they find temporary shelter in the shabby apartment of a sympathizer. The apartment is shabby because it's in the Old Quarter of Marseilles, and ALL of the Old Quarter is made up on tiny crooked streets and decrepit buildings.Boyd and Wright are initially intent on getting out of Marseilles and back to their own lines but things get a little complicated when Boyd takes up with a sassy blond a la gamin and Wright strikes up a friendship with a middle-aged married lady who is, like Wright himself, a Londoner. The Nazi occupiers mostly avoid the Old Quarter because it's corrupt and dangerous. Too many soldiers sneak off to the whorehouse or decide to desert or simply disappear. Boyd and a fat, ugly, unambiguously mean Nazi soldier have a clumsy fist fight on the slate roof top and somebody falls to his death. Not even THAT scene is well handled. The decision is made by the Gestapo to remove all the residents and blow up the Old Quarter with dynamite. How can Boyd, Wright, and the blond escape? DO they escape when the buildings start to blow? Guess.That's narrative thread Number One, and it's neither exciting nor suspenseful. There's a lot of banter and flirting. An air of pointlessness seems to hang over the story of Boyd and Buddies. Why don't they get on with it? Narrative threat Number Two occupies much less screen time but is far more interesting, a kind of horror story embedded in this otherwise dull production. An elderly Jewish dentist is marooned in Marseilles. He roots around and finds an entrepreneur, James Robertson Justice, who promises to see that he reaches a free country, and there will be no charge for the service. But the dentist must convert all his currency (quite a lot, actually) into gold and bring it with him for safe keeping.The old dentist does as he's told and shows up at the appointed time with a bag full of savings in Justice's apartment. All along, Justice has been brusque but now he offers his guest a glass of cognac in celebration of the occasion. Finally relaxed, the dentist asks conversationally what Justice does for a living. Fregonese's camera dollies in to make sure we realize how important this revelation is when Justice replies, "I am a murderer." Justice then explains that, having drunk the wine, the old Jew is expiring even now. He's the 96th victim. He'll be buried in the cellar in a pit of lime and will be forgotten shortly, while Justice will keep the gold and be eight thousand pounds richer. With an evil grin, Justice asks if he might hasten the dentist's inevitable demise and offers him more of the poisoned wine. A chilling scene.But the two narrative threads hardly touch one another. Boyd and troupe do the expected -- barely -- while Justice dies without adumbration in a stupid car accident.A lot of people seem to have enjoyed this rambling tale with its slight point, so you might want to give it a try.

What a pleasant find this movie was in a 10-movie set, called British War Cinema. It's not a combat film, nor an espionage or resistance film. At its core, it's a film about the hiding and freeing of two escaped British soldiers who wind up in Marseilles in 1943. Around that core story are four or five more stories, and the writers and director weave these nicely into a taught film with intrigue, betrayal, evil and romance. I won't divulge the plot here, but say that it includes French underground people and others who risk their lives to help people fleeing the Nazis. It also shows the dark side of those who took advantage of the plight of war. The romance is one of the more believable ones I've seen in war movies. And, this film shows something of the life in the seedy area of the Old Port, under Nazi control. The directing, acting, cinematography and music are all excellent. The destruction of the Old Port is shown with very good film footage from some source. I'm not aware of any other film that covered this war-time incident. The movie is based on a novel by Rupert Croft-Cooke. I didn't read the book and don't know if it's still available anywhere. So, I don't know how much the movie follows the book. But, based on the incidents in the film, the movie comes very close to some things that actually happened during that time. It thus has some historical value as well.The film opens in the Old Port area of Marseilles in 1943. The so-called Battle of Marseilles, or Marseilles Roundup in the Old Port took place on January 22 – 24, 1943. It was under the Vichy government at the time, and more than 12,000 French police were involved with the Nazis. We see very few policemen in this film – could it be because of sensitivities in 1957 when this movie came out? Surely, there would have been many thousands of people living in France then who had collaborated with Nazi Germany but were never prosecuted for it. Anyway, the roundup that took place was to arrest Jews. It resulted in more than 2,000 people being sent to death camps. The Old Port neighborhood was also considered a terrorist nest and seedy area, as depicted in the film. So, after the roundup, the authorities razed the entire Old Port, displacing some 30,000 people. The author and/or screenwriters added the character of Dr. Martout to the events in Marseilles, based on a real-life person who "operated" in and near Paris before and during the war. Dr. Marcel Petiot (1897- 1946), known as the "Butcher of Paris," was executed in 1946 for the killing of 26 people. He was suspected to have murdered more than 60 people. He supposedly had an escape underground operation for those fleeing the Nazis. In reality, it ended in the death of those who put their trust in him, as shown in the film. "Seven Thunders," had a more apt title, I think, with its first release in England – "The Beasts of Marseilles." I highly recommend this film for any war film aficionados and for any historical film library.

Not a stiff upper lip to be seen. Instead, French bordellos, bread sticks, wine, lust and seething emotions are on the menu as two British escapees from a German POW camp try to hide out in the occupied port city of Marseilles while waiting for a boat back to England.I say `try' to hide out, because their presence soon becomes an open secret - the Germans seem to be the only ones not in on it. And with all those friendly locals around, that's where the lust and other emotions come in – after all what's a chap to do while sitting around in a lively French city?As well as the highly original story line, other very striking features of this movie include the superb black & white filming which lovingly captures the teeming bohemian district of Marseilles. Also one can't help being struck by the astonishingly handsome cast of relatively obscure leading actors. The two British escapees in particular could have stepped straight out of a Mr Universe competition. The better known James Robertson Justice plays only a minor but memorable role.Just for sheer imagination, style and novelty, this movie stands out as a welcome variation on the wartime escape theme. By the way, don't switch off early because the Nazis provide a spectacular surprise ending.