The Scarlet and the Black (1983) (TV)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Jerry London

Writers:

J.P. Gallagher (book)
David Butler (written by)

Release Date:

2 February 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | War

Plot:

Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty is a Vatican official in 1943-45 who has been hiding downed pilots, escaped prisoners of war...

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | SS | Beautiful Woman | Scarlet Pimpernel | Rabbi

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Gregory Peck	...	Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty
Christopher Plummer	...	Col. Herbert Kappler
John Gielgud	...	Pope Pius XII (as Sir John Gielgud)
Raf Vallone	...	Father Vittorio
Kenneth Colley	...	Capt. Hirsch (as Ken Colley)
Walter Gotell	...	Gen. Max Helm
Barbara Bouchet	...	Minna Kappler
Julian Holloway	...	Alfred West
Angelo Infanti	...	Father Morosini
Olga Karlatos	...	Francesca Lombardo
Michael Byrne	...	Reinhard Beck
T.P. McKenna	...	Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	Count Langenthal
John Terry	...	Lt. Jack Manning
Peter Burton	...	Sir D'Arcy Osborne

Also Known As:

Scarlatto e nero (Italy)
The Vatican Pimpernel

Runtime:

143 min | Spain:136 min

Country:

USA | UK | Italy

Language:

English | German | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

ITC

Trivia:

General Max Helm, Herbert Kappler's superior officer depicted in the film, is based on the real life character of 'Karl Wolff', Supreme SS Commander for Italy and third in command of the entire SS. Karl Wolff survived the war, was found not guilty of war crimes, and lived to an old age, dying in 1984.

Quotes:

Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty: Colonel, do I get the idea that you're tryin' to put a crimp in my social life?
Col. Herbert Kappler: Damn you and damn your social life, priest!

Movie Connections:

References Rappresaglia (1973)

The Scarlett Pimpernel of the Vatican

Ever since I saw this made-for-TV film when it first aired, and then on video many times, I had wondered about the book on which it is based.

The book is entitled "The Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican," by J. P. Gallagher. It is the story of Irish Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty who was a minor Vatican official during World War II. Right under the noses of Vatican officials who looked the other way, and the German army, he helped smuggle allied soldiers out of Rome to safety in the months before the liberation of Rome. Rome and the Vatican were supposed to be neutral; if the Germans found out that the monsignor was helping the allies, who knows what would have happened.

I was able to find a copy of the book several years ago but have lost it. I do recall though that it had even more incredible stories about how O'Flaherty helped allied soldiers. One of the best (that is not in the movie) was about one American soldier whose appendix burst and he needed it removed. O'Flaherty dressed him as a German soldier, called the German army, they came and took him to their hospital - and O'Flaherty managed to get the soldier out before he even woke up because of the general confusion in the military hospital.

The Scarlett Pimpernel reference, is of course, to the British spy who helped save people from being beheaded during the French Revolution. That's another good book and the movie, with Anthony Andrews and Jane Seymour, are both excellent (though the movie changed the ending...).