The Fallen Sparrow

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Movie
Original title The Fallen Sparrow
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1943
length 94 minutes
Rod
Director Richard Wallace
script Warren Duff
production Robert Fellows
music Roy Webb
camera Nicholas Musuraca
cut Robert Wise
occupation

and: Bobby Barber , André Charlot , William Edmunds , Bud Geary , Joe King , Stella LeSaint , George Lloyd , Eric Mayne , Frank O'Connor , Lee Phelps , Stanley Price , Cyril Ring , George Sherwood , Margie Stewart

The Fallen Sparrow is an American spy movie from the year 1943 . Directed by Richard Wallace from a script by Warren Duff . The main roles in the black and white film were played by John Garfield and Maureen O'Hara . It is a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Dorothy B. Hughes .

action

"In a world at was many sparrows must fall"

John "Kit" McKittrick had fought in the Spanish Civil War. He was captured and tortured to get a battle standard that the "little man in Berlin" wants back. After he was freed by his friend Louie Lepetino, he was given psychiatric treatment and retired to a farm in Arizona. There he learned that Louie had died at a party in New York because he fell or jumped out of a window. So Kit decided to investigate for himself.

November 1940: After arriving in New York by train and staying with his friend Ab Parker, Kit meets the Norwegian Dr. at a party held by his good friend Barby Tavinton. Christian Skaas and his nephew Otto know. Dr. Skaas is a famous historian who fled Norway shortly before the German conquest. He sits in a wheelchair, but is very interested in modern torture methods and is looking forward to talking to Kit, who has relevant experience, about it. At a reception for Dr. Skaas meets Kit without Ab, who had to go to Washington on business, to meet his cousin Whitney, who, like the Skaas and Barby, was at the party at which Louie died. He also met Toni Donne, the granddaughter of a prince. Soon he is going to another club with Whitney so that he can question her better, but he doesn't learn much either. Together with his friend Jake, he comes to the conclusion that Louie could only have been killed by a woman, since he would never kill himself and would never let a man get close enough to him. He names Toni, Barby and Whitney as possible suspects.

Back at his quarters, Kit notices that his locked suitcase has been searched. He also finds Louie's police badge and the letter he sent him from captivity in his jacket pocket. He is visibly beginning to feel persecuted. After an initially unsuccessful attempt to speak to Toni, he visits Whitney at her accommodation. There he learns from Anton, a musician who works with Whitney. He also hears a man hobbling there, which reminds him of the leader of his torture, whom he has never seen.

So he watches the house. When someone actually hobbles in, he wants to follow him, but does not come into the house, climbs up the fire escape and comes to Whitney. Since he is seen doing it, Anton will soon come with the police. Whitney covers him, however.

At her invitation, he spends the next evening with Toni. She tells him that she gave him the police badge and the letter when they met briefly on the train. She knew that he would come on this train because he was being watched from a spy cell and she had therefore seen pictures of him that he knew nothing about. But it would mean her death if it came out that she had told him this.

Back at Abs's house, Kit meets Anton, who is searching his room. Kit overpowers him and learns that his torturers deliberately allowed him to escape and have been watching him ever since. Kit throws Anton and Roman, Abs Butler, who allowed all of this out, out. Ab comes back that night and is soon shot, causing Kit to wake up. He calls Whitney and tells them to call the police while he gets a medallion that points to the standard the spies are looking for. Since the police assume that Abs has committed suicide, Kit calls Toni, Barby and Whitney together to give Toni the locket on a chain in front of witnesses (Otto is also there). Inspector Tobin decides that Kit will be nervous about the case and takes him into his confidence. Louie had been smuggled into the espionage cell by the police. He also did not die from the lintel, but was shot. Contrary to custom, the body was autopsied and the bullet was found. Kit is called to Toni. She tries to get him to surrender the standard, he has no chance anyway. He, on the other hand, declares that he must resist, no matter what the odds are. She will host him in the evening for a celebration in Dr. Bring skaas. There he wants to search Skaa's room until the limping man comes. He would shoot him, she could tell him that.

Kit is driven to the ceremony by a plainclothes policeman. There he should initially meet with Dr. Drink skaas to success in the new world. Kit insists on adding Dr. To take skaas. Kit later begins a search of Dr. Skaa's room. Soon the limping man comes - it's Dr. Skaas. He says that Kit is just a shadow of a man, that is what he made him do with torture, so he is not able to shoot him as announced. He, Skaas, just wanted to speak to Kit to get the standard. He tells Kit that Otto killed Louie and he himself killed Ab. He and Anton searched the room, but he was able to hide. Ab, who was shocked by the gun, was easy to shoot. Then he walked the exit prepared by Roman. He also gave Kit a drug that breaks the will. He foresaw Kit's precaution and put the drug in his own cup. With these words he prepares a truth drug that he wants to inject Kit. But he can pull himself together and shoots Skaas. After that, when he collapses, he still manages to alert the police officer. He arrests the fleeing Anton. Kit learns from Toni that she is not the prince's granddaughter. Rather, she would have been married to the real Otto Skaas. He was killed in a concentration camp and replaced by a Nazi. You have her in hand because she has a three-year-old daughter in Germany with whom she is being forced to obey. Kit says he will help her, sends Toni to a meeting point in Chicago and lets her go. Toni wants to return to Germany by plane via Lisbon. But she is caught by Inspector Tobin and Kit. He says: "Another sparrow has fallen."

background

RKO Radio Pictures acquired the film rights in 1942 for $ 15,000 to advance Maureen O'Hara's career.

Initially, there were political concerns about the story, fearing problems with Spain. William Gordon, a manager at RKO, even suggested replacing Spain in the film with Germany-occupied France. Joseph Breen of the Motion Picture Association of America had strongly recommended RKO to keep Spain out of the film. But producer Robert Fellows ignored this.

The Fallen Sparrow was filmed between late January and early March 1943.

The editor of the film was Robert Wise , who started his successful career as a director shortly afterwards.

occupation

RKO struggled to find the right actor for the lead role, and the search took six months. James Cagney turned down the role, as did Cary Grant , Randolph Scott and George Brent . Finally, John Garfield could be borrowed from Warner .

World premieres

The Fallen Sparrow had its world premiere on August 19, 1943 in New York City . There was no German version.

The film was released on DVD on May 5, 2009.

The film was distributed by RKO Radio Pictures .

reception

criticism

TS called The Fallen Sparrow in the New York Times a "strange and restless melodrama" that is far from being flawless. Above all, the skill of director Richard Wallace to depict the psychological stress kits with the help of a camera and soundtrack lift the film beyond the mere far-fetched and macabre. However, this only worked because of Garfield's almost consistently convincing and reliable portrayal. Maureen O'Hara is strong in the important moments, but otherwise wooden. In its review in the Motion Picture Herald , EAC said that "it is often difficult to follow the story," but that the enjoyment of the hunt and the increasing excitement provide ample entertainment. He also likes John Garfield's portrayal, but says that Maureen O'Sullivan's role leaves little room for more than good looks.

Craig Butler said the film would be a classic if the script wasn't so confused and vague. He also finds the direction remarkable and mainly determines how the camera is used. He is downright enthusiastic about John Garfield, but also certifies that Walter Slezak is in good shape. Maureen O'Hara, on the other hand, is simply wrongly cast. Dennis Schwartz sees it similarly. He thinks the film would be a much better psychological thriller if the plot wasn't so vague. Otherwise he praises Walter Slezak and especially John Garfield.

Emanuel Levy found that John Garfield's intense portrayal, the film noir-like optics and mood improved the melodrama. And that Maureen O'Hara's non-type casting surprised many viewers. Leonard Maltin found the film "entertaining but somehow vague" and noted that the promising material never really developed.

Glenn Erickson is much more critical of The Fallen Sparrow . The film jumps too much for him "from cocktail parties in nightclubs to hotel rooms" and the suspects are presented so quickly that one can hardly tell them apart. The objects in question are also so opaque that he asked himself whether “the Maltese falcon would have a surprise appearance”. Walter Slezak is just like Sydney Greenstreet , just less impressive, Maureen O'Hara looks good, but appears weak in her role and Hugh Beaumont is so badly cast that it can only be explained by RKO's austerity measures. Only John Garfield saved the film, and that was hard work.

Gross profit

The Fallen Sparrow grossed $ 1,500,000 in the United States and Canada in 1943. The film made a profit of $ 710,000.

Awards

At the Academy Awards in 1944 , Roy Webb and Constantin Bakaleinikoff were nominated for their work in The Fallen Sparrow in the category Best Film Music (Drama / Comedy) . The Oscar went to Alfred Newman for the film The Song of Bernadette .

aftermath

The Fallen Sparrow was broadcast as a radio play version on February 14, 1944 at the Lux Radio Theater . Maureen O'Hara and Walter Slezak spoke their roles from the film.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Fade in directly after the opening credits. Translated for example: "In a world at war, many sparrows must fall"
  2. ↑ a b c The Fallen Sparrow. In: American Film Institute. Retrieved February 26, 2017 (English).
  3. ↑ a b c Andrea Passafiume: The Fallen Sparrow (1943). In: TCM. Retrieved February 26, 2017 (English).
  4. ^ The Fallen Sparrow (1943). In: Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 26, 2017 (English).
  5. ↑ TS: At the Palace . In: The New York Times . August 20, 1943 (English, online [accessed February 26, 2017]).
  6. ↑ EAC: The Fallen Sparrow . In: Motion Picture Herald . August 21, 1943, p. 1494 ( online at Archive.org [accessed February 26, 2017]).
  7. ↑ Craig Butler: The Fallen Sparrow (1943). In: AllMovie. Retrieved February 26, 2017 (English).
  8. ↑ Dennis Schwartz: Fallen Sparrow, The. In: Ozus' World. November 24, 2004, accessed February 26, 2017 .
  9. ↑ Emanuel Levy: Fallen Sparrow, The: Espionage Melodrama Starring John Garfield and Maureen O'Hara. In: EmanuelLevy.com. February 13, 2013, accessed February 26, 2017 .
  10. ^ Leonard Maltin: Leonard Maltin Ratings & Review. In: TCM. Retrieved February 26, 2017 (English).
  11. ↑ Glenn Erickson: The Fallen Sparrow. In: DVD Talk. March 13, 2010, accessed February 26, 2017 .
  12. ↑ Top Grossers of the Season . In: Variety . January 5, 1944, p. 54 ( online [accessed February 26, 2017]).
  13. ^ Richard B. Jewell: Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures . University of California Press, Oakland 2016, ISBN 978-0-520-28966-6 , pp. 17 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed February 26, 2017]).
  14. ↑ lux radio theater (426) the fallen sparrow. In: Old Time Radio Downloads. Retrieved February 26, 2017 (English).