The Wasp's Nest (film)

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Movie
German title The wasp nest
Original title Hornets' Nest (Eng.)
I lupi attaccano in branco (It.)
Country of production United States ,
Italy
original language English
Publishing year 1970
length 110 minutes
Rod
Director Phil Karlson
Franco Cirino
script SS Schweitzer
production Stanley S. Canter
music Ennio Morricone
camera Gábor Pogány
cut J. Terry Williams
occupation

The Wasp's Nest is a war film from 1970 that was made in US-Italian co-production.

action

Italy during the Second World War. Captain Turner is supposed to destroy a dam with his unit. To do this, Turner and his men parachute close to the target area. But the Germans learned of the arrival of the enemy and took the parachutists under fire. Only Turner survived the attack and hit the ground seriously injured. He is found by a group of boys led by Aldo. They are the only survivors of a village that was destroyed by the German SS in an act of revenge.

Aldo forces the captured German doctor Bianca to take care of Turner. In fact, the captain will soon be back on his feet. Now he realizes that he cannot achieve his goal alone. Turner insures the boys help and trains them into combat units. Before they move to the dam, however, Aldo wants to take revenge on the Germans and raid a nearby camp. During the attack, the German soldiers are mercilessly cut down by the boys. In his bloodlust, Aldo kills one of his friends without showing remorse, just because he is in the line of fire. Bianca, who has meanwhile fallen in love with Turner, also points a gun at the soldiers.

After the attack, the boys and Turner move to the dam and destroy it. The German commander von Hecht falls into their hands. Aldo wants to kill von Hecht, who was always disgusted with the attacks by the SS, but Turner steps in and has him handed over to the Allies. Towards the end of the film, the traumatized Aldo collapses in Turner's arms and weeps bitter tears for his family and for his friend whom he shot.

criticism

The lexicon of international films describes the film as a "bloodthirsty war" western ", developed implausibly, gag and full of false, pathetic tones."

Roger Greenspun of the New York Times showed understanding that the film is called bad because of the many mistakes in almost every area. Maybe bad, but interesting in character.

background

The film premiered on September 9, 1970 in the United States. In Germany it appeared on December 17, 1993 as part of a TV premiere.

Rock Hudson, one of the top male stars of the 1950s and 1960s, was delighted to learn that his partner would be Sophia Loren . Only at the last minute was Loren replaced by Yugoslavian-born Sylva Koscina, who experienced the war in her home country as a child. Just like Hudson, Koscina had high hopes for this production.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. The Wasp's Nest. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed June 9, 2019 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. Roger Greenspun in the New York Times (Eng.)
  3. ^ Rob Nixon: Hornets' Nest (1970) - Articles. In: Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved June 9, 2019 .