We were strangers
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | We were strangers |
| Original title | We Were Strangers |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1949 |
| length | 106 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | John Huston |
| script | John Huston, Peter Quarter |
| production | Sam Spiegel |
| music | George Antheil |
| camera | Russell Metty |
| cut | Al Clark |
| occupation | |
| |
We were strangers , better known under the original title We Were Strangers , is a 1948 political and revolutionary thriller with adventure and romance elements by John Huston . John Garfield and Jennifer Jones as well as Pedro Armendáriz play the main roles as both opponents. The novel Rough Sketch was delivered by Robert Sylvester in the same year .
action
The story is based on the revolutionary processes that shook Cuba in 1932/1933, resulted in numerous deaths and ultimately led to the escape of the dictatorial president Gerardo Machado . At the center of the plot are revolutionaries from a radical opposition group that is organized under the abbreviation ABC. These are the most diverse citizens of the country who all have one thing in common: They want to overthrow the country's corrupt Machado system. The government is harassing the people more and more: Suddenly, gatherings of more than four people in public are prohibited. At the center of the action are the young, actually apolitical bank employee China Valdez, whose brother Manolo, who is critical of the government and distributing leaflets, was murdered in front of her eyes on the steps of the university in Havana as part of a state secret service operation, and the American Tony Fenner, a friend of the deceased. He advises China to join the underground fighters of the ABC instead of starting a personal vengeance campaign against Armando Ariete, a corrupt police officer who also murdered his brother, as she planned.
Tony, who as a native Cuban Antonio Ferrer fled to the USA from Machado's regime, learns that China's house is near a cemetery. The American suggests digging a tunnel there to place a huge load of explosives under the family grave of a brutal Machado confidante named Vicente Contreras, who had recently been murdered by Tony's men. Several high-ranking members of the government have announced their funeral, all of whom could be killed in this explosion. And so a number of underground fighters set out to dig, including men as diverse as a dock worker, a bicycle mechanic, and a college graduate. Among them, the meaning of the planned action is hotly debated, after all, among the dead there will also be numerous innocents who have nothing to do with government policy. This dichotomy makes one or the other doubt what he is doing. At the same time, the influential and powerful police officer Ariete China ceaselessly pursues and begins to be suspicious of Fenner, whom he believes to be a competitor in love.
Shortly before the end of the earthworks, another attack occurs in which an important minister of the country loses his life. China, Tony and the other men now want to go through with their assassination attempt when they find out that Contreras' funeral should not take place in the family grave at the family's request. The assassination plans have thus become obsolete. Ariete also learned a lot about Tony Fenner's Cuban origins. The now highly endangered Fenner should therefore be taken out of the country immediately before he can be arrested. China can withdraw the necessary funds from Tony's account in their bank. Fenner is very angry about the whole development of the last few days, he doesn't want to leave the people who are fighting for their freedom here in the lurch. China, which has fallen in love with Tony, sends a bank colleague to Fenner with the money, as Arietes people are now following her every step of the way. But Tony doesn't want to run away and certainly doesn't want to go without China. And so he returns to her house to get her to come along. There it comes to a dramatic exchange of fire between all those involved, the starting shot of a general popular uprising against the hated rulers. But Fenner becomes one of the first victims of this revolution ...
Production notes
We Were Strangers - the German-language title We were strangers can only be proven at the Austrian premiere on November 8, 1957, a German premiere cannot currently be proven - was made on location in Havana , Cuba and had its world premiere on April 27, 1949. Production costs were around $ 900,000. The film, a side work by Huston between two major works ( Gangster in Key Largo and Asphalt-Jungle ), was not a great success for artistic and political reasons (see under " Reviews ").
The buildings were created by Cary Odell , the costumes by Jean Louis . Jules Buck was the production manager, Morris Stoloff the musical director. Ernest Gold , who was still very young at the time, was involved in the orchestration of George Antheil's composition. Lawrence W. Butler took care of the special effects.
Co-screenwriter Peter Viertel , who has been a close friend of Huston's for some time, reported in his book “ Dangerous Friends ” how he and Huston met Ernest Hemingway while filming in Cuba . Hemingway advised them to shoot a realistic film ending that corresponds to the true events of 1933: With the death of all revolutionaries. This seemed detrimental to the film's success with American audiences, especially to the unnamed co-writer Ben Hecht , and he wrote a more conciliatory ending.
Gilbert Roland sings the song "We Dig All Day We Dig All Night".
Historical background
Since the early 1930s, there has been increasing resistance in Cuba by the opposition, which is part of the organization ABC. Originally, this consisted mainly of intellectuals and workers, but soon also encompassed large parts of the bourgeoisie. In 1932, the President of the Cuban Senate, Clemente Vazquez Bello, was assassinated, and President Machado was also a target. Under pressure from the US government and the events in the country, Machado had to leave Cuba on August 11, 1933.
Reviews
In view of its critical attitude towards US interference attempts in Latin America and the politically pro-left issues at the time of its premiere in spring 1949 - the Cold War ( Berlin blockade ) was at its peak at the time - this film met with sharp rejection at the US criticism. Purely cinematic issues were also criticized.
"The real emotional tinder that is scattered in this episode is never swept up in a pyramid and set off with a quick, explosive spark."
"A shameful handbook of Marxist dialectics ... the most indigestible dish of red theory ever presented to an audience outside the Soviet Union."
"Well done, but very pessimistic adventure story, too bleak to be exciting."
“Well staged by Huston. Garfield is good, but Roland "steals" the show from everyone as one of the revolutionaries. "
Paimann's film lists summed up: "An action story wrapped in a historical cloak, with memorable actors in less varied but well-characterized locations (1933) dealt with hopelessly gloomy."
Individual evidence
- ↑ The experienced screenwriter Ben Hecht wrote the unnamed end of this story, which has been rewritten by a number of authors who are not named
- ↑ cf. on this by Kay Less : Das Großes Personenlexikon des Films , Volume 8, p. 181, Berlin 2001
- ^ Peter Viertel: Dangerous Friends: At Large with Huston and Hemingway in the Fifties. NA Talese Publishing House, University of Michigan, 1992
- ↑ We were strangers to each other on Paimann's film lists
Web links
- We were strangers in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- We were unfamiliar with Rotten Tomatoes (English)