Command of conscience
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Command of conscience |
| Original title | The Fugitive |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1947 |
| length | 104 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | John Ford |
| script | Dudley Nichols |
| production |
Merian C. Cooper , John Ford |
| music | Richard Hagemann |
| camera | Gabriel Figueroa |
| cut | Jack Murray |
| occupation | |
| |
The Command of Conscience is a 1947 American drama directed by John Ford starring Henry Fonda . The plot is based on the novel The Force and the Glory (1940) by Graham Greene .
action
The place: In a fictional Latin American country, in which revolutionary activities have created a massively anti-clerical and anti-Catholic mood and where the government massively persecutes church dignitaries. The situation: All church activity has been banned. In view of this situation, a nameless priest sees himself in a situation that seems hopeless to him and, like many of his fellow believers, is on the run after breaking the ban. One day an infamous crook named "El Gringo" comes into town. The name is deceptive, he is not a Mexican bandido, in truth "El Gringo" is an American city gangster who hides here.
He and an Indian team up to help the priest escape. In safety, the fugitive priest is whispered by a devious police spy that he should return to his hometown because his helper "El Gringo" is dying and wants to receive the sacraments from him. As expected, the state forces arrested him on his return and the priest was sentenced to death. As a devout Christian, he forgives the police spy who handed him over to his executioners. In view of the barking shots from the firing squad, the execution leads to a clear expression of mourning among the villagers. Only now does the state realize that they can never escape the fire of religion as long as it is deeply rooted in people's hearts. And a successor to the fusilized priest has already arrived ...
Production notes
Command of Conscience was filmed in Mexico in the first half of 1947 and premiered on November 3, 1947. The film could be seen in Mexico from March 27, 1948. In Germany, the strip started on June 16, 1950 and was shown for the first time on television (ARD) on October 1, 1962.
The cost of production was about $ 1.5 million.
The famous Mexican director, screenwriter and actor Emilio Fernández was in charge of production. Dolores del Río and Pedro Armendáriz , Mexico's most famous film actors at the time, who had shot several times in their Mexican homeland under the direction of Fernández in the 1940s, including both the greatest domestic film success Maria Candelaria (1943), appeared together again in front of the camera and this time for the first time in an American production.
The buildings were designed by Al Ybarra . 1950s star Mel Ferrer , who had previously tried his hand at directing , made his acting debut in front of the camera in a tiny role and also assisted director Ford. Jesse Hibbs was assistant director on the second team. The Mexican actor Rodolfo Acosta , who was to work regularly in Hollywood since 1952, made his English-speaking debut here.
At the Venice International Film Festival in 1948, John Ford was awarded the international prize.
Reviews
"The script, prepared by Dudley Nichols based on a novel by Graham Greene, is an expert blueprint for action ... All the appearances are superb, from the excruciating effort of Henry Fonda as the priest to Ward Bond's callous arrogance as an American gangster on the run . Dolores Del Río is a warm glimmer of devotion as the Indian Magdalene and Pedro Armendáriz burns with cooking passion as the chief of the military police. Richard Hageman's music is a tinge of eloquent sounds. "
“A neat, but at times pathetic staging by John Ford. The film does not reach the level of its 'westerns', but at the time of its creation it was considered an exemplary religious film. "
"Brooding drama (...) superbly photographed by Gabriel Figueroa."
"Ford's attempt to make a Mexican Traitor is pretty slow and boring, but the pictures are nice to look at even though the original novel was completely emasculated."
"Motivated by the novel ' The Power and the Glory ' by Graham Greene, Ford made a film with passion and pathos in suggestive black-and-white images, which certainly reaches the ethical disposition, but not the artistic and spiritual rank of the original."
Individual evidence
Web links
- The Fugitive in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- extensive film review in the New York Times