Cauldron (1950)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Cauldron |
| Original title | Crisis |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1950 |
| length | 95 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Richard Brooks |
| script | Richard Brooks |
| production | Arthur Freed |
| music | Miklos Rozsa |
| camera | Ray June |
| cut | Robert J. Kern |
| occupation | |
| |
Hexenkessel (Originally: Crisis ) is an American political thriller filmed in 1949. Directing debutant Richard Brooks gave Cary Grant , who was previously mainly a film comedian, “the opportunity to prove himself as a character actor. As a US surgeon who is visiting a fictional, tumultuous Latin American country with his wife, he has to choose between professional ethics and his own conscience when he is to perform an operation on the despotic dictator who has a brain tumor. “The story was provided by George Tabori .
action
The American specialist Dr. Eugene Ferguson has made a name for himself as a neurosurgeon who can successfully perform difficult brain operations. He and his wife Helen are on a vacation trip to an unspecified Latin American country when the political ferment there begins and dissatisfied people flock to the streets to demonstrate against the dictatorial ruling President Raoul Farrago. While the situation outside is becoming more and more tense and the regime is proceeding with extreme severity against the revolting citizens, an emissary Farragos appears at Ferguson and asks him to meet with the president. Ferguson is extremely reluctant to accept, as he does not want to interfere in the internal affairs of this country in this politically heated situation, but rather to behave neutrally and not put himself and his wife in danger. Eventually Ferguson agrees after being told that the president urgently needs his medical attention. Farrago is suffering from a life-threatening brain tumor, and only him, the medical luminary Dr. Ferguson, you trust you can save the president. Farrago rejects his advice to go to a specialist clinic in a neighboring country. He doesn't want to leave his country in this tense situation.
The medic is torn this way and that; both sides try to influence him. While the leader of the insurgents, Roland Gonzales, urges him not to perform an operation or to let the dictator die in the process, Farrago's confidants warn the American precisely against such mind games. In the course of the days in which he wrestled with himself, Ferguson witnessed how brutal the regime was against dissenters, especially in the guise of the unscrupulous Colonel Adragon. To increase the pressure on the surgeon, Gonzales has Helen kidnapped; Her husband was supposed to perform the surgical procedure, but let the dictator die because of a "malpractice". Isabel Farrago, the President's wife, hears about it and now in turn presses the US doctor. Dr. Ferguson operates on his Hippocratic oath and the operation is a complete success. With his head bandaged, the dictator wants to go back to work immediately, although his surgeon urgently warns him not to overexert himself so early after the operation. Outside the people are raging, and inside Farrago is trying with all his might to stabilize his regime. He suffers from Dr. Ferguson feared a setback and falls dead. Farrago's regime of terror can no longer hold out, and the revolution is victorious all along the line. Gonzales, believing Ferguson followed his pressure, releases Helen and the American couple can begin their journey home to the United States.
Production notes
Hexenkessel was shot in 1949 and premiered in the USA on July 7, 1950. The film opened in Germany on October 14, 1955; the German television premiere took place on August 31, 1970 at 8:15 p.m. on ZDF .
The film structures were designed by Cedric Gibbons and Preston Ames , and Edwin B. Willis was the set designer . Douglas Shearer monitored the sound. A. Arnold Gillespie provided the special effects.
Production costs were over one and a half million dollars, but Hexenkessel only made a good 1.4 million dollars.
Reviews
The reviews were quite different. Here are five examples:
Bosley Crowther called the film a "dime-book story" in the New York Times , but also wrote that "parts of the film are amusing and the two main characters are good".
"Brooks made a remarkable directorial debut with the for Hollywood's smooth studio system and the Cary Grant subscription to comedies, unusual revolutionary material 'Witches Cauldron', which tells of the ethical conflict of a US surgeon visiting a dictatorship in upheaval."
The Movie & Video Guide found the film “fascinating but slow”.
"A remarkably intelligent political ripper with captivating conflict situations, even if it ultimately doesn't quite find the dramatic balance between idea drama and exciting action film."
Halliwell's Film Guide said the film was "grumpy, intellectual suspense ... well done but cold".
Web links
- Pandemonium in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ The film's great personal dictionary. Volume 3, p. 363. Berlin 2001.
- ↑ Bosley Crowther: The Screen in Review; 'Crisis,' With Cary Grant and Jose Ferrer, Is New Feature at the Capitol Theater . July 4th 1950 (English, nytimes.com ): “With such a penny dreadful story, it is remarkable that Mr. Brooks has been able to get any substance of even passing consequences on the screen. But some of his film is quite amusing and the two main performances are good. "
- ↑ Kay Less : The film's great personal dictionary . Volume 1. Berlin 2001, p. 575.
- ^ Leonard Maltin : Movie & Video Guide, 1996 edition, p. 279
- ↑ Hexenkessel in the Lexicon of International Films , accessed on October 7, 2018.
- ^ Leslie Halliwell : Halliwell's Film Guide. Seventh Edition, New York 1989, p. 233.