Wonderful Movie

Too much of everything

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Director: TERENCE YOUNG. Screenplay: Robert Carson. Based on the 1955 novel by James Wellard. Photographed in Technicolor and CinemaScope by Desmond Dickinson. Film editor: Frank Clarke. Art director: Scott MacGregor. Music: Humphrey Searle. Sound recording: Sash Fisher. Producer: Kenneth Harper.Copyright 1957 by Loew's Inc. A Claridge Film Production, released through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. New York opening at Loew's neighborhood cinemas as the lower half of a double bill with "Jailhouse Rock": 19 November 1957. U.S. release: August 1957. U.K. release: 22 September 1957. Australian release: 21 November 1957. Running times: 97 minutes (Australia), 93 minutes (U.K.), 91 minutes (U.S.A.). SYNOPSIS: Hero enlists Albanian bandits to help rescue the heroine's dad from a Communist jail.COMMENT: This is a review of the original 97 minutes version: Very attractive location photography distinguishes this somewhat slackly acted and none too briskly directed adventure yarn. In fact, the movie rates as somewhat disappointing, considering the talents involved. Both the screenplay and the movie itself probably really needed even sharper editing than that given the 91-minute American version. This said, however, the editing needs to be carried out with considerable care. Simply deleting whole scenes – as happened in this case – is generally NOT the way to go! Not only do you risk confusing audiences by deleting important information, but you often end up throwing away some poor actor's whole role. And if the poor actor's name is Sean Connery, for example, you're in real trouble! Mind you, I've not seen the U.S.A. version and I don't know for sure if Sean is still in the movie or not, but it's a risk that – if I was the producer – I'd be most unwilling to take!

Many people believe that Sean Connery made his movie debut in a 1958 film entitled Another Time, Another Place, the poster of which prominently displayed the words "Introducing Sean Connery". In truth Connery had already done supporting acting in a handful of small films, one of which was Action Of The Tiger. The actual star of Action Of The Tiger is Van Johnson, sorely miscast as a tough-talking but soft-at-the-centre pirate smuggling political prisoners out of post-war Albania. There are rumours that the leading female, Martine Carol, suggested on several occasions during the shoot that Connery himself would have been better in the lead role – it's certainly an interesting notion, and the more one cringes at the embarrassing efforts of Johnson the more one wishes someone had listened to her advice! Shortly after World War Two, blonde bombshell Tracy (Martine Carol) approaches a pirate/mercenary/adventurer named Carson (Van Johnson) with a dangerous assignment. Her brother is trapped behind the Iron Curtain in Albania, and she is keen to get him out while he is still alive. Carson initially hates the job but for all his hard words and stubborn protests, his weakness for beautiful women and ready money gets the better of him. After numerous close calls, Carson and Tracy find the endangered brother but learn that he is now blind. They strike out across rugged Albanian wilderness in the direction of the Greek border, but their quest is made doubly difficult when they are persuaded to take a bunch of kids with them. Seems the kids' parents are scared that their youngsters will face a future of poverty, torture and persecution under the Communist rule and want Carson to smuggle them to safety. The road to the border is fraught with danger, so much so that Carson has to rely on the aid of a passionate freedom fighter named Trifon (Herbert Lom) to negotiate the final few miles.The film is poorly scripted by Robert Carson, working from a forgotten novel by James Wellard. The action progresses predictably and in uninvolving fashion from one scene to the next, and by the climax one can barely remember what the film was about. Give it a fortnight and you might have forgotten altogether that you've ever seen the film! Johnson, as noted, is not cut out for this kind of tough-guy action role, while Carol ludicrously maintains perfect hair, perfect lipstick and an overall air of glamour, even whilst fleeing from Communist pursuers in the middle of remote Albania! The only actor who successfully crafts a lively and enjoyable characterisation is Lom as the resistance fighter, but he arrives too late in the story and has too small a role to save the film. It is directed, strangely enough, by Terence Young (who would go on to make three of the first four Bond films with Connery), but in this one Young's direction lacks a sense of pace and purpose. Apart from Lom's forlorn efforts, the only other praiseworthy aspect of the film is Desmond Dickinson's pleasant photography which captures the barren landscapes (Spain standing in for Albania) rather spectacularly.

Action of the Tiger is a very ordinary anti-Communist film that benefits from a location shoot in Greece (filling in for nearby Albania). The woefully miscast Van Johnson plays Carson, an amoral American smuggler who agrees to help blonde bombshell Martine Carol rescue her brother from the bondage of Enver Hoxha and company. Herbert Lom and Sean Connery provide assistance for Johnson, whose part really should have gone to someone with a little more gravitas, perhaps Sterling Hayden or Richard Widmark. Instead, our lead tries to prove his masculinity by wearing sweaters that are much too tight, a less than pretty sight. Desmond Dickinson's cinematography is uniformly good, especially in exterior setups, but the script is undercooked and ultimately unbelievable, as our heroes end up rescuing a motley assortment of Greek children and outwitting those dumb commies. Action of the Tiger is also of minor interest for Connery fans, as the Scots actor would reunite with director Terence Young for a little film called Dr. No five years later.

This movie by Terence Young is the typical adventure-movie of the fifties. The action in Albania is well described with the Albanian resistance against communism and the double-spy colonel Stendho. The battles - horses against jeeps - are realistic and the Albanian family-life and the Countess Valona is also realistic with the remembrance of the past (Italians, Geeks). Martine Carol is wonderful and she does everything to save the children and her brother. Captain Carson is the typical American smuggler of the Mediterranean Sea and he falls in love with Tracy Malvoisie (Carol). Good script, good family-movie.