La rivière du hibou (1962)

Director:

Robert Enrico

Writers:

Ambrose Bierce (story)
Robert Enrico (writer)

Genre:

Short | Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Thriller | War

Plot:

During the Civil War, a Southern civilian is about to be hanged for attempting to sabotage a railway bridge. When the execution takes place from the bridge, the rope breaks and he begins his escape toward home.

Plot Keywords:

Escape | Civil War | Art | Execution | Safe Return Home

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

Roger Jacquet	...	Peyton Farquhar
Anne Cornaly	...	Mrs. Farquhar
Anker Larsen
Stéphane Fey	...	Union Officer
Jean-François Zeller
Pierre Danny
Louis Adelin

Also Known As:

An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge (USA) (actual spelling)
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (USA) (orthographically correct title)
Incident at Owl Creek

Runtime:

28 min

Country:

France

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Filmartic

Trivia:

Aside from the shouts of the soldiers and the song that plays as the prisoner floats to safety, there is no dialogue (not counting the edited Twilight Zone version's narration by Rod Serling). This is significant because the original episode of The Twilight Zone was also almost completely devoid of dialogue.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Ropes can be seen pulling the gates open as Peyton arrives at his home.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Directors: The Films of Adrian Lyne" (????)

Excellent film of one of the greatest short stories ever

I am a high school English teacher, and this film is absolutely perfect for classroom use. At just over 20 minutes, it is exactly the right length to show in an 11th grade class - it holds the students' attention and is short enough to keep them from getting bored. It is also an extremely faithful representation of the story, which helps students visualize and reinforce what they have read. To the teacher who posted earlier, who had to keep warning his students about "being bored for 20 minutes," I'd suggest that he's established a self-fulfilling prophecy: if you think it's boring, and you tell them it's boring, don't be surprised if they act bored.

Beyond the classroom applications, this film is just plain good and will prove a real treat for all lovers of film and/or The Twilight Zone.