Verboten!

Kiellettyä / Förbjudet / Operation Varulven. US © 1958 R.K.O. Teleradio. Premiere 1959. PC: Globe Enterprises. P+D+SC: Samuel Fuller. DP: Joseph Biroc. FX: Norman Breedlove. M: Harry Sukman. Motifs from Wagner, Beethoven. Theme song "Verboten!": Harry Sukman, Mack David; perf: Paul Anka. ED: Philip Cahn. S: Jean Speak. AD: John Mansbridge. Cost: Bernice Pontrelli. Technical advisor: commandant Raymond Harvey. Cast: James Best (sgt. David Brent), Susan Cummings (Helga Schiller), Tom Pittman (Bruno Eckart), Paul Dubov (capt. Harvey), Harold Daye (Franz), Dick Kallman (Helmuth), Stuart Randall (colonel), Steven Geray (mayor), Anna Hope (mother Schiller). 86 min. Vintage print with Danish subtitles, viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 23 Nov 2010. - Revisited the first half an hour of Samuel Fuller's powerful, original vision about the last days of Nazi Germany and the beginning of the reconstruction, viewed through the story of the contradictory relationship between an American sergeant and his German girlfriend. Fuller was a war veteran whose point was never heroism, always devastation. He creates a powerfully human story, showing all kinds of Germans, both true Nazis and decent Germans, and everything in between. At first viewing I was struck by the agit montage technique combined with elaborate long takes and difficult camera set-ups. This time I was struck by the tenderness of the performances. We care for these people, and this is what makes the story so gripping. A good definition of light in the vintage print. Although produced on a small budget the quality of the cinematography is great in the original footage (there is also a lot of stock footage).