La vingt-cinquième heure (1967)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Henri Verneuil

Writers:

François Boyer (writer)
C. Virgil Gheorghiu (novel)

Release Date:

24 March 1967 (Finland)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Peasant | Nazi | WWII | Based On Novel

Cast

Anthony Quinn	...	Johann Moritz
Virna Lisi	...	Suzanna Moritz
Grégoire Aslan	...	Dobresco
Michael Redgrave	...	Defense lawyer
Marcel Dalio	...	Strul (as Dalio)
Jan Werich	...	Sgt. Constantin
Harold Goldblatt	...	Isaac Nagy
Alexander Knox	...	D.A.
Liam Redmond	...	Father Koruga
Meier Tzelniker	...	Abramovici
Kenneth J. Warren	...	Insp. Varga
John Le Mesurier	...	Tribunal president
Serge Reggiani	...	Trajan Koruga
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Ayres
Robert Beatty	...	Col. Greenfield
Stojan Decermic	...	Marcou
Raoul Delfosse	...	L'huissier
Jean Desailly	...	Cabinet minister
Rada Djuricin	...	Juliska
Marius Goring	...	Col. Muller
Drewe Henley	...	Capt. Brunner
Valentino Macchi
Jacques Marbeuf	...	German officer (as Jacques Marboeuf)
Jacques Marin	...	Le soldat chez Dobresco
Paul Maxwell	...	Photographer
Dara Milosevic	...	Madame Koruga
Paul Pavel	...	Prisonnier dand le camion
Jacques Préboist	...	Prisonnier dans le camion
Albert Rémy	...	Joseph Grenier
George Roderich	...	Goldenberg
Françoise Rosay	...	Madame Nagy
Olga Schoberová	...	Rosa
Viktor Starcic	...	Hurtig
Hénia Suchar	...	Nora
David Summer	...	Ghitza Ion
Wolfgang Völz	...	Soldat allemand au camion

Also Known As:

La venticinquesima ora (Italy)
The 25th Hour (International: English title)
The Twenty (USA) (informal title)

Runtime:

130 min | USA:121 min (TCM print)

Country:

France | Italy | Yugoslavia

Language:

French | English | Romanian

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Norway:16 | Finland:K-12 | Spain:18 | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

Studios de Boulogne-Billancourt/SFP - 2 rue de Silly, Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Jan Werich is dubbed.

This Euro WW-ii theme is still relevant.

This movie's about a simple individual who gets changing labels of friend and foe stuck on him, and is a victim of the way society works. Although set in the epicenter of war in Europe during the 40's, the story contains a timeless theme: A man is known by the company he keeps. First as a Romanian peasant Johann was taken to be of inferior race: Jewish, a "non-Aryan", and thus put in a POW camp by the Germans. But then by scientific observation, the Germans come to recognize Johann to be equal and even superior to themselves: Indo Aryan; that is from an original direct lineage of their own Aryan forefathers in India. Johann plays along and enjoys the perks of his newfound social status, creating confusion amongst his fellow family, and eventually amongst the Allies as they free the POW camp. The social dilemma is clear. The "soldier" is so well camouflaged and undercover that even his "own side" fails to identify him correctly. So Johann gets judged by his appearance or the Germans he associated with. Never mind, that he had the good interest of his fellow prisoners in mind! I, being of Indian descent and raised in Europe, recognize this contradiction whenever I come across racists or neoNazis. That's why I enjoyed this movie when I watched it on TMC-Europe. This movie gives valuable insight to both perpetrators and victims, and even to fighters against similar evils.