Hill of Terror
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Hill of Terror |
| Original title | The Angry Hills |
| Country of production | United Kingdom |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1959 |
| length | 105 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 18 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Robert Aldrich |
| script | AI Bezzerides based on the novel of the same name (1955) by Leon Uris |
| production | Raymond Stross |
| music | Richard Rodney Bennett |
| camera | Stephen Dade |
| cut | Peter Tanner |
| occupation | |
| |
Hill of Terror (original title: The Angry Hills ) is a British war drama directed by Robert Aldrich from 1959. The main roles are played by Robert Mitchum and Elisabeth Müller .
action
Greece 1941. The American writer, reporter and war correspondent Michael Morrison traveled to Greece to inherit there. The documents are signed and everything is settled when Morrison is asked to take a letter to a friend, in truth: the British secret service , to London on his return flight . This contains a list of names of patriotically minded Greeks who would join the resistance in the event of a German invasion . And what was feared actually happens: The German Wehrmacht invades Greece to avert an impending defeat for the Italian allies and to forestall a landing by the British. Resistance to the occupiers quickly formed. Morrison is now stuck in Athens , but is of eminent importance to both the Greeks and the German occupiers. Morrison destroyed the letter, but made a note of the list of names. Communist resistance fighters , the Gestapo in the form of their Athens boss Konrad Heisler, and local traitors are constantly pursuing him, who was betrayed to the Nazis by the Greek collaborator Dimitrios Tassos . After the American narrowly escaped several times, Morrison settles in front of his pursuers in the mountains around Athens, which for him soon become hills of terror.
There, in a small village, Morrison, who was wounded in a bomb attack, is hidden. The young Eleftheria takes loving care of him. An attempt to acquire weapons for partisan warfare comes to a bloody end. Soon there is a showdown: in addition Heisler the equally cold as cultivated manners of the day laying German SS - Colonel Oberg, a hypochondriac who constantly ailing to himself, his schärfster opponents. Heisler chases Morrison from village to village and soon gives him an ultimatum under the blazing sun. The seductive Eleftheria, which seems to ensnare the American, leads Morrison into a monastery hideout to protect him. Does she have more in mind or is she even acting on behalf of the Germans? Morrison is no longer sure who he can trust anymore. From there, Morrison, who began to be interested in the attractive Greek woman, went to Piraeus, from where Morrison was supposed to be taken out of the country. The young widow Lisa Kyriakides, a brave and decent-looking woman, is supposed to help him escape to Egypt. But can you at least trust her completely? Soon one of the two women turns out to be Heisler's lover and confederate. Oberg and Heisler, who had previously threatened the shooting of hostages, are tightening the network around Mike Morrison and soon everything seems to indicate that Lisa is actually on the road as a double agent ...
Production notes
Hill of Terror was created in Greece from June to December 1958 and premiered on July 29, 1959. The German premiere took place on October 22, 1959.
The film structures were designed by Ken Adam , and Victor Lyndon was in charge of production.
Clark Gable and Alan Ladd were originally intended for the Mitchum role, while Pier Angeli was supposed to take on the Müller part. Elisabeth Müller had, as she confessed to the film scholar Kay Less in a personal conversation, because of Mitchum's persistent bad behavior, had no good memories of the shooting.
The film wasn't a huge success. The cost of manufacture was $ 1,190,000 and the revenue was only $ 1,285,000.
Reviews
The national and international film critics were very disappointed with the tired result in view of the fact that Aldrich (director) and Mitchum (leading role), two experienced action specialists had been involved in this film.
“ The Angry Hills … squandered a capable, cosmopolitan cast led by Robert Mitchum, plus some beguiling backgrounds from Athens and the local landscape. The Greek upholstery looks authentic; Obviously, the entire production (by Raymond Stross) was filmed on site. (…) Unfortunately, a listless script and awkward direction by Robert Aldrich allows some Greek patriots (in 1941), Nazis and collaborators to wander around everywhere and really get nowhere. (…) The hollowest part of this film - Mr. Mitchum's battered interaction with some brave mountain guerrillas - should have been the strongest. Instead he falls off (...) The film has two excellent acting performances from Stanley Baker and Theodore Bikel. In the role of the main pursuer of the hero you see Great Britain's Mr. Baker, who does his best film work so far as the killer of the quiet tones, who lets himself be tricked by the woman he loves. He and the serious Miss Mueller share a very moving scene towards the end of the film. "
"In a World War II action film, Mitchum shows Schneid as a war correspondent planning his escape with valuable information for the Allies."
"Laborious war melodrama with pretentious dialogue but little character drawing."
"No time picture, but an inappropriately staged adventure story with partly brutal action and partly erotic means of tension."
Individual evidence
Web link
- Hill of terror in the Internet Movie Database (English)