Morituri (1965)

Director:

Bernhard Wicki

Writers:

Werner Jörg Lüddecke (novel)
Daniel Taradash (screenplay)

Release Date:

September 1965 (Austria)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

World War II, Espionage, adventure and human lives have never before been combined so explosively

Plot:

A German living in India during World War II is blackmailed by the English to impersonate an SS officer...

Plot Keywords:

One Word Title | WWII | Pacific | Merchant Marine | Based On Novel

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Marlon Brando	...	Robert Crain
Yul Brynner	...	Captain Mueller
Janet Margolin	...	Esther
Trevor Howard	...	Colonel Statter
Martin Benrath	...	Kruse
Hans Christian Blech	...	Donkeyman
Wally Cox	...	Dr. Ambach
Max Haufler	...	Branner
Rainer Penkert	...	Milkereit
William Redfield	...	Baldwin
Oscar Beregi Jr.	...	Admiral (as Oscar Beregi)
Martin Brandt	...	Nissen
Charles De Vries	...	Kurz
Carl Esmond	...	Busch
Martin Kosleck	...	Wilke
Norbert Schiller	...	Steward
Robert Sorrells	...	German Crew Member
Rick Traeger	...	Crew Member
Ivan Triesault	...	Lt. Brandt
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gregg Barton	...	Merchant Marine (uncredited)
Paul Baxley	...	Crew Member (uncredited)
Hal Bokar	...	Merchant Marine (uncredited)
Eric Braeden	...	Radio Officer (uncredited)
Heinz Brinkmann	...	Crew Member (uncredited)
Gary Crosby	...	Ens. Sloan (uncredited)
Gene Dynarski	...	Merchant Marine (uncredited)
Harold Dyrenforth	...	Cornelson, Ingo Navigator (uncredited)
Horst Ebersberg	...	Crew Member (uncredited)
Harold Goodwin	...	Merchant Marine (uncredited)
James Goodwin	...	Merchant Marine (uncredited)
Sam Jarvis	...	Merchant Marine (uncredited)
Roy Jenson	...	Merchant Marine (uncredited)
Buck Kartalian	...	Merchant Marine (uncredited)
Robert Kino	...	Capt. Hatsuma (uncredited)
Manfred Lating	...	Lutz (uncredited)
John Logan	...	Merchant Marine (uncredited)
Frank London	...	Merchant Marine (uncredited)
Dave Manley	...	Merchant Marine (uncredited)
Keith McConnell	...	Englishman (uncredited)
Rollin Moriyama	...	Japanese Tug Pilot (uncredited)
Marvin Press	...	Merchant Marine (uncredited)
John Regis	...	Crewman (uncredited)
Henry Rowland	...	Crew Member (uncredited)
Roy N. Sickner	...	Crew Member (uncredited)
Norbert Siegfried	...	Crew Member (uncredited)
Gilchrist Stuart	...	Englishman (uncredited)
George Takei	...	Junior Officer (uncredited)
Wilhelm von Homburg	...	Crew Member (uncredited)
Tom Webb	...	Merchant Marine (uncredited)
Rick Weber	...	Crew Member (uncredited)
Gunter Weishoff	...	Crew Member (uncredited)
Rusty Wescoatt	...	Merchant Marine (uncredited)
William White	...	Williams (uncredited)
Robert J. Wilke	...	Cmdr. Kelling (uncredited)
George Zaima	...	Executive Officer (uncredited)

Directed by
Bernhard Wicki

Writing credits
Werner Jörg Lüddecke		(novel) (as Werner Joerg Luedecke)
Daniel Taradash		(screenplay)

Produced by
Aaron Rosenberg	....	producer
Barney Rosenzweig	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Jerry Goldsmith

Cinematography by
Conrad L. Hall		(as Conrad Hall)

Film Editing by
Joseph Silver

Art Direction by
Herman A. Blumenthal
Jack Martin Smith

Set Decoration by
Walter M. Scott
Jerry Wunderlich

Costume Design by
Moss Mabry

Makeup Department
Margaret Donovan	....	hair stylist
Ben Nye	....	makeup artist

Production Management
William Eckhardt	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Silver	....	assistant director

Art Department
Don B. Greenwood	....	property master (uncredited)

Sound Department
David Dockendorf	....	sound
Garry A. Harris	....	sound (as Garry Harris)

Special Effects by
L.B. Abbott	....	special photographic effects
Emil Kosa Jr.	....	special photographic effects

Stunts
Paul Baxley	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bob Herron	....	stunts (uncredited)
Roy N. Sickner	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
William A. Fraker	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Music Department
Arthur Morton	....	orchestrator

Production Companies

• Arcola Pictures (as Arcola-Colony)

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1965) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1972) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:12 (DVD rating) | UK:15 (re-rating) (1990) | UK:A (original rating) | Australia:PG | Norway:16 | USA:Approved (certificate #20855) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15

Company:

Arcola Pictures

Trivia:

In the book Marlon Brando: The Biography by Peter Marso, it states that Marlon Brando was "faced as he was with his still unfulfilled obligation" to "his ten-year old debt to [studio 20th Century] Fox, which would force him to begin shooting Morituri in April 1964." Brando plays a Nazi soldier in this film as he had done so in the earlier The Young Lions (1958) for 20th Century Fox, both movies being filmed in black-and-white and both being for made for the same studio.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Brando (2007) (TV)

Why hasn't anybody ever heard of this movie?

I stumbled across MORITURI in a Virginia Blockbuster; I've never seen it for rent anywhere else. I noticed that it had Marlon Brando and Yul Brynner, so I thought it had to be worth a try. And so I saw what turned out to be one of the top 20 World War II movies I've ever seen. That's right, up there with PATTON, THE YOUNG LIONS, and the like.

Brando plays Robert Crain, who is assigned to go undercover on board a German freighter transporting a cargo of rubber to the war zone. He must impersonate a Nazi to do this, and must face some hard choices as to how cruel he can be to appear realistic. Brynner is Muller, the captain of the freighter who has accepted the job as his last chance to save his career in the German merchant marine. He is fair and compassionate and must rein in the fanatical Nazi second-in-command that his superiors have appointed for him. En route, the freighter picks up the survivors of a U-boat, including Esther (Janet Margolin) a beautiful young concentration camp survivor who is so brimming with hatred and vengefulness that she can no longer even accept human compassion.

Brando is very good in his role, but he is completely upstaged by Brynner, who gives the performance of a lifetime. His conflict, between his patriotism and self-preservation on the one side and the vileness of what the Nazis are doing to him and to his country on the other, is marvelously realized. The movie also features a beautiful exchange between Brando and one of the passengers - "I was a political prisoner." "Falsely accused, of course." "No. Not falsely accused." (smiles). I have a soft spot for movies where adversaries come to respect each other, and MORITURI is one of the best of that type.

Good luck finding this movie. It's a true diamond in the rough.

Rating: ***1/2 out of ****.