Film Record—by Gordon Mirams

Radio Record, 5 August 1938, Page 25

Film Record—by Gordon Mirams

"German, Italian and Spani h ’Rebel_ ‘agents issued warnings thi it some-'

thing drastic "might.-.result if; Wanger released "Blockade,"

Nis melodrama Or the Opan-` isk War;; elm: doinar o

show it the way I filmed it," replied Wangerthe result is a film that maces -someAcem-> promises, : chut.im the!) main is. agraphicéSereen}! attack: on the bombing " and . starvation! ,.0:f: to Chythiangs oy uit

66 BLOCKADE 95 `

Hollywood Producer Dares The Dictators

{"Blockade,’ Walter Wanger--United Artists. Directed by William Dieterle. Starring Madeleine Carroll, Henry Fonda. First release: Wellington, August 12.]

HE most exciting thing I have seen on the screen for several months is a glimpse of a cargo of bread and a cow being landed from a dirty old tramp steamer. Under normal circumstances there could hardly be anything. more dully prosaic; but this par-_ ticular scene acquires extraordinary romance and excitement as the climax of Walter Wanger’s Spanish Civil War drama, "Blockade." For weeks the seaport town of Castelmare has starved, ringed in by enemy forces on three sides, its only outlet heing the sea. But in the sea there are submarines, whose mission it is to torpedo the food ships that try to run ‘ the blockade and bring new life to’

the men, women and children of Castel-° mare. Hour after hour the wives and mothers. wait in queues. for. the food that is not,-there. . .:. With pinched faces they gaze, out forlornly -toward the sea from whence cometh. their hope. « Babies wail piteously in their cradles. .., In the churches there are prayers. ... But there is no talk of submission to the enemy. Relief At Last ND then at last, on the horizon is seen the ugly hulk that is the most: beautiful sight in the world to the starving people of Castelmare. Yet the crowd that lines the waterfront is silent, hardly daring to: hope. A periscope breaks the surface, a terpedo speeds to, its target; and the food that was.to feed hungry: babies sinks slowly to feed the fishes, If you have any imagination it is not hard to feel the emotional tension of these scenes, Nor is it hard .to- rejoice when it transpires that.the torpedoed vessel was only an empty decoy, and the real food ship steams triumphantly jnto port. That is why I say that the sight of a cargo of loaves and a cow being uhloaded is- the most exciting screen experience I have had for months, __ .

To } be’ quite teiante T went +0" seg "Blockade" expecting" to’ "pe" dis-appointed-and’ was -. very: "agreeably surprised. TFor ‘overseas’ néwspapers , had told’ us about the ‘intetnatiohal: ruffle caused by a -Holiywood producer daring to make ‘a film which might be construed as criticising -the Fascist eonduct: of the Spanish ‘War. Imme-" diately "Blockade" -.was. completed, Walter Wanger began receiving the’ unweleome attention ‘of foreign ems hassies. He was warned that Genéral:: franco was in-a position: to secure the. help of Mussolini and Hitler in: making" things hot for his pictures,’ ~ Defiantly Wanger replied.:.. "I'm " g0eing to release this Spanish picture as it is, and if it’s banned ‘in Hnurépe rl have to take my logs," ~~ ' Compromise HETHER he stuck firm to that re- ° solution I don’t know. There -is no doubt that the war in "Blockade" , is the Spanish war, but the town of Castlemare you will not find..on any map. Nor could you conscientiously say that the uniforms and salutes of | the soldier characters are recognisable as those of either party in the struggle. To this extent there is. compromise. Yet although Castelmare is mentioned . as being a. Méditerraiédn port; it re ¢

quires no great imaginative feat to identify it with one of the Basque. provinces, nor the ship that finally runs the blockade with the exploits of Cap: tain "Potato" Jones and his fellow-ad- 3 venturers. I The Cap Fits EACTION to a film like this is pecu- . liarly persona: and partisan. While rejoicing that Walter Wanger had enough intestinal fortitude to brave the dictators as mucn as he has, I must admit that I should not be nearly.so enthusiastic about "Blockade" if the emphasis had beer in the other direc: tion. Of course, it is possible that Franco’s admirers on seeing the film will be able to look upom the heroes of the piece as Nationalists and not as Re publicans; though in this connection it would be relevant to ask whether the Republicans have ever been guilty of blockading ports and submarining food ships. Apart from this. however, most of the special _propaganda -in.-"Blockade"’.is of the "Gf-the-ca p-fits-wear-it" . type... But ° there, is. also a -kind of, general. propa-ganda-in the picture that. goes rather beyond partisanship and. becomes an indictment of any kind of war that makes

victims .of.civilian. populations, In this aspect, vigorously: and. graphically. presented, the film is‘at its best. ~ The Beautiful Spy (QTHERWISE it is not so memorable. Faced with the difficult position of blending realism, impeachment -and melodrama, Walter Wanger has fallen back on the somewhat familiar story of the beautiful female spy in love with the man who is bound by duty to track her down. As this heroine, Madeleine Carroll continues. the cinematic vocation of fishing for trouble in international waters which she began in ‘The 89 Steps" and ‘The Generai Died at Dawn." While it is something of a re ‘lief to rest one’s gaze upon Miss Carroll’s patrician beauty among all those starved and desperate Spanish faces. Hollywood bas made her too much the Park Avenue blonde for her to be convincing as the "femme fatale" of "Blockade." Henry Fonda’s Chance Wits Henry. Fonda it is very .dif-. ferent. . This: very:able, hitherto. young man-at Jast gets the chance he-deserves, > It will,.I.am afraid, always: be: his misfortune to suffer on the screen--he has that kind — of face-but in everything except his American accent he strikes meas being an excellent choice for the:idealistic, deeply: sensitive young Spanish farmer who rallies the: peasants: to defend their land, and later becomes. an.intelligence offieer, -. The other leading characters need © not bother us long. In the circumstances. Leo Carillo probably does the best he can with the job of’ providing light relief. John Halliday pops up te complicate the plot at awkward moments in ‘his role of ‘the soldier-of-. fortune who betrays his friends with an Oily smile on his face. He is thea- . trical-sometimes almost ‘ludicrous, ° But the minor ty pes are well chosen, the settings . for ‘the most part good, If the film is slow to get under way, that is largely because of. the producer’s desire to present a sharp. contrast between Spain at peace and Spain at war; Less successful are the interjections' of comedy." melodramatic double-crossing and romance. This-Is Not War! ON the whole, "Blockade". is note .. worthy and impressive not only be . eause it is the first real drama of the Spanish war, but also’ because, whenever possible, it does not. pull its punches. It is notable also for substituting for the conventional fade-out embrace the following broadside from fighting Fonda: "Peace! Where ean you find it? Our country has been turned into a battlefield. There’s no safety for old people and children. .. . Women can’t keep their families safe in. their houses -they can’t be safe in their own fields, Churches. schools and hospitals are targets. . . It’s not war-war is between soldiers-it’s murder! Murder of innocent people. There’s no sense to it. The world can stop it-WHERE’S THE CONSCIENCE OF THE WORLD?" . In justice to myself for repeating | it, I think it shouid be mentioned that that stark appeal was greeted with -ap--

plause-an almost unprecedented Te . ception from a preview audierice;* .\ .But it could also be méntiofed J overheard one cynic remark: "Where's. the conscience of the ‘world? "Ins ‘its Pockets, of course 1" 3 . . a 7 on ‘ ee eee

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