Harrison's Reports (1961)

2 HARRISON'S REPORTS January 7, 1961 "General della Rovere" with Vittorio de Sica, Hannes Messemer, Sandra Milo, Giovanna Ralli (Continental, current; time, 149 min.) Excellent. From Italy comes this expertly written, directed and performed suspense-charged drama, set in that country's World War II German occupation, and dealing with a con man who turns into a man with a conscience. There is a good amount of humor in this lengthy English-dubbed Italo-Frcnch coproduction which rates among director Roberto Rossellinfs all-time best efforts. The acting of Vittorio de Sica as the gambler-swindler who, to save his skin, impersonates an Italian hero general (Della Rovere) for the Nazis, is prizeworthy. As the German SS commander in Genoa who out-cons De Sica, German star Hannes Messemer does a brilliant job. The scenes are unbelievably realistic which should impress those who like their pictures true to life. Camerawork with black-and-white film is brilliant: — The year is 1943. The Germans occupy all of Northern Italy. In Genoa, Vittorio De Sica is busy extracting money from the families of captured Italian partisians by pretending to be a colonel with influential contacts who can help free their imprisoned relatives. De Sica's pretty young mistress leaves him after he has pawned much of her jewelry and has given her a fake sapphire. He is a gambler on a losing streak. When the local German SS commander, Hannes Messemer, discovers De Sica's practice, he forces him to do undercover work, with the threat of death as an alternative. The heroic General della Rovere is killed by an over-zealous soldier just after he is smuggled into the occupied zone by a British submarine for the purpose of contacting Fabrizio, the assumed name of an important partisan leader. Few know that the general has been killed. Those that do are transferred. Messemer has De Sica impersonate the dead man, sending the swindler to a political prison at San Vittore, where the inmates soon accept him as the war hero he pretends to be. Fabrizio (Giuseppe Rossetti) is one of nine brought to the prison, but Messemer does not know which of the nine. The German is sure that the Italian partisian leader will try to contact De Sica. The latter tells Messemer that he agreed to be a decoy, not an informer. Messemer promises De Sica a million lira and safe conduct to Switzerland if he points out Fabrizio. Hysterical during an air raid, the cowardly De Sica, let out of his cell, remembers his role, speaks words of courage and comfort to the prisoners. Finally Fabrizio sends him a note through a prisoner, Vittorio Caprioli. De Sica gives the message and Caprioli's name to Messemer, whon then has De Sica give a note to Caprioli to be delivered to Fabrizio. An alert guard intercepts the note after De Sica hands it to Caprioli. Messemer then has Caprioli tortured when the prisoner won't reveal Fabrizio's identity. Caprioli is returned to De Sica's cell after the beating. Caprioli commits suicide rather than risk talking during another such session. De Sica tells Messemer his fellow prisoners will probably kill him now. Messemer has De Sica brutally beaten so that he returns to his cell a victim and a hero. De Sica genuinely starts to assume the real general's charac ter. A letter that the Contessa della Rovere wrote to her husband is given to him and De Sica takes new courage and faith from the pride and devotion she has for the General. In a last, desperate attempt to use De Sica, Messemer has him placed with a group of 20 prisoners, 10 of whom are to be executed the next day in retaliation for the assassination by the partisans of the Fascist Party leader in Milan. Fabrizio finally makes himself known to De Sica, in' spires the former swindler to the point that when his name is called, he spurns Messemer's offer of freedom in exchange for identifying Fabrizio. De Sica goes to his death knowing that Fabrizio has been saved and that he is dying a patriot. An Italian-French co-production of Zebra Film, Rome, and S.N.E. Gaumont, Paris. Morris Ergas was executive producer; Roberto Rossellini directed from a screenplay by Sergio Amidei, Diego Fabri and Indro Montanelli, from an incident suggested by Montanelli. English subtitles by Herman G. Weinberg. Adults. "Rue de Paris" with Jean Gabin, Renee Faure, Claude Brasseur, Marie-Jose Nat, Roger Dumas (Lopert, current; time, 90 min.) Fine. A highly realistic, touching, humor-filled drama from France about an elderly widower's problems with his three children — a cycling champ, a cover girl and a sullen, pugnacious lad whom he did not father. As the construction foreman who sees his athlete son "throw" races, his beautiful daughter run off with an aging tycoon and his other son expelled from school, Jean Gabin renders a magnificent performance, being very human, forthright and sympathetic. Claude Brasseur, Rober Dumas and Marie-Jose Nat provide talented enactments as the children. This art theatre attraction is extremely frank in its treatment of sex. There is sufficient suspense in the compact plot. Black-and-white cinematography is firstclass: — Jean Gabin returns home to Paris in 1942, after two years in a prison camp, and learns his wife recently has died in childbirth. He makes no attempt to learn the circumstances of the adultery. He now has three little children instead of the two he left behind. Several years later we find him a construction foreman, proud of his own two children, Claude Brasseur, a champion cyclist, and Marie-Jose Nat, who leaves her job in a shoe store to become a success as a photographer's model. The third child, Roger Dumas gives Gabin very little to be proud of. Dumas is sullen, anti-social and tew quick to start a fistfight. After Dumas is expelled from school, Gabin reluctantly places him in a boardiing school. Meanwhile, success has gone to the heads of Marie-Jose and Brasseur. She becomes the mistress of of a tycoon in his fifties, Roger Treville. Brasseur is involved in fixed races. When Gabin accuses his daughter of being a prostitute and his son a swindler, the two leave home. Next, Dumas run away. When Dumas punches a policeman, he is picked up by a young streetwalker who reports him to the police when she learns he is only 17 and has run away. When Dumas punches a policeman, he is arrested. In court ManeJose and Brasseur, aided by