Conspiracy of hearts
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Conspiracy of hearts |
| Original title | Conspiracy of Hearts |
| Country of production | United Kingdom |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1960 |
| length | 113 (UK), 108 (in German) minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Ralph Thomas |
| script | Robert Presnell junior |
| production | Betty E. Box |
| music | Angelo Francesco Lavagnino |
| camera | Ernest Steward |
| cut | Alfred Roome |
| occupation | |
| |
Conspiracy of Hearts is a British war film drama directed in 1959 by Ralph Thomas with the two Germans Lilli Palmer and Albert Lieven in the lead roles as antagonists.
action
Italy in autumn 1943: Mussolini was overthrown a few weeks ago, the Allied troops have landed in the country of the former enemy and are advancing north. The German side is now also fighting against Italian partisans and is also planning to deport all Jews who remain in the country . In a nunnery, Mother Superior Katharine has decided to save the Jewish children held in a German reception camp from being attacked by the Nazis. Her plan is to smuggle the children through the enemy lines with the help of the sisters and to hand them over to the care of the Italian partisans or to hide them until they can leave for Palestine. There is disagreement in the monastery about Mother Katharine's daring plan. Some are enthusiastic about the cause, others have concerns and still others like Sister Gerta are strictly against it because they are afraid that this would endanger the entire monastery unnecessarily. Ultimately, the Mother Superior can convince all of her fellow sisters that this is a commandment of charity and thus divine will. The friar Father Desmaines is at your side with advice and action.
Katharine's worst opponent is the strict new camp manager Colonel Horsten, a Wehrmacht officer of old shot and grain, who replaced the previous commander, Major Spoletti, after Italy changed sides. Horsten disapproves of the imprisonment of the children as well as the radical extermination of the Jews and otherwise appears as a cultivated man with excellent manners. But as a soldier he feels bound by the orders he has received and absolutely wants to prevent the partisans who make the area “unsafe” from gaining the upper hand. Caught in this inner conflict, he regularly clashes with the meek but at the same time determined by deep humanism, Mother Superior. Horsten's Italian predecessor Spoletti is a rather soft officer with a southern disposition, who is deeply repugnant and goes against his sense of honor to harass small children. One day he falls in love with one of Katharine's mother novices, Sister Mitya. His opposite is Horsten's right-hand man Lieutenant Schmidt, a brutal, cold-hearted subordinate who has no problems bullying, torturing other people or even sending children to the gas chamber .
Finally, the liberation campaign starts and the nuns smuggle the children out of the reception center to hide them in the crypt of their convent. In order to make the Yom Kippur festival possible for the children , the nuns even allow a rabbi access to their monastery, even if some of the nuns are reluctant to do so, since they consider a Jewish clergyman in a Catholic monastery to be sacrilege. Meanwhile, Sister Mitya develops a particularly close relationship with the sad little Anna and takes care of her lovingly. Finally, the good-hearted Mother Superior also instructs her subordinates in matters of Jewish rituals. Things come to a head when Colonel Horsten and his lackey Schmidt suspect that the missing children are hiding in the monastery complex. Finally, there was a decisive confrontation between the German military and the Catholic nuns. Since Mother Superior Katherine refuses to bring the Jewish children out again, she and two other nuns are supposed to be executed by an Italian firing squad . But the soldiers, even devout Catholics, turn their weapons on the commanding German officer and fire.
Production notes
Conspiracy of Hearts was first shown in England in early 1960; the first demonstrable performance took place in Ireland on March 4, 1960. The film had its German premiere on July 29, 1960.
Earl St. John was in charge of production, while Alex Vetchinsky designed the film construction . Muir Mathieson studied Angelo Francesco Lavagnino's film music and conducted this composition.
Reviews
“According to the bible-contrary principle that the end justifies the means, director Ralph Thomas offers the whole repertoire of cinematic pressure in praise of Christian charity - nuns save Jewish children from the concentration camp: gorgeous nuns in perfect make-up, accusing children's eyes with picturesquely dirty faces , the loving heart under the novice's habit, which someone else strikes against in a rough warrior's chest, and in effective contrast to this the boots of brutal German military force. With a formal smack, the camera appreciates the dying of the villains, whereupon the good guys drive towards the horizon to the sound of angel choirs. "
“The script and the dialogue avoid cheap clichés. Unfortunately, it is always detrimental to such stories to see religious sisters of the beauty of Lilli Palmer, or of the grace of Sylvia Syms; Cosmetically untreated nun faces look different. One is shocked at the sight of the children, who are excellently guided and make the film unforgettable beyond any formal objection. Their eyes conjure up more than ten pages of dialogue. For her sake you should watch this strip. "
The lexicon of international films says: “The realistically meant film is shaped by sentimentalities, distortions and romanticizing improbabilities. The religious elements ooze with pathos or heroic salon drama. The film relies on emotion and not on education. "
“The pathos of young children caught in the agony of war is always a solid foundation for feelings on screen. This has been shown well and touchingly in a number of films. And it is shown one more time with deep sympathy in Conspiracy of Hearts, a British film made on location in northern Italy. (...) It is not an extraordinary film as far as it concerns artistic aspects. The whole thing was set up quite conventionally and "represented" a little too obviously. Robert Presnell Jr.'s script drafts and balances things to the point where a person with some inkling can anticipate any further turnaround. (...) Lilli Palmer is enchanting and serene, and Yvonne Mitchell herself arrogantly portrays it as the nun who initially appears aloof before she melts. Ronald Lewis as the Italian major, Albert Lieven as the Nazi commander and Peter Arne as the brutal lieutenant appear in a corresponding manner. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ Conspiracy of the Heart. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed November 20, 2015 .
- ^ In the original: The pathos of little children caught in the agony of war is always a solid staple of sentiment on the screen. It has been well and touchingly presented in any number of films. And it is offered again with deep compassion in "Conspiracy of Hearts," a British film made on location in northern Italy. (...) It is not an extraordinary picture, in so far as artistry is concerned. It is rather conventionally plotted and a little too obviously "performed." The script by Robert Presnell Jr. contrives and balances things to the point where a fairly knowing person can anticipate every turn. (...) Lilli Palmer is lovely and serene, and Yvonne Mitchell conducts herself with haughtiness as the nun who is aloof before she melts. Ronald Lewis as the Italian major, Albert Lieven as the Nazi commandant and Peter Arne as the brutal lieutenant act according to form.
Web links
- Conspiracy of hearts in the Internet Movie Database (English)