The Heroes of Telemark (1965) - Excitement abounds in boy's dream K. Douglas war adventure

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A fabulous painted poster full of scenes of drama and action for Anthony Mann's The Heroes of Telemark

The story of how the German lead on the nuclear front during World War II in their hydro plant in Norway was stopped in the last second by Norwegian resistance fighters and British soldiers.

 

The Heroes of Telemark is written by Ben Barzman (Oasis (1955)), Ivan Moffat (Giant (1956)) and Harold Pinter (Reunion (1989)), based on the novels Skis Against the Atom (1953) by Knut Haukelid and But for These Men (1962) by John Drummond, and directed by Anthony Mann (Dr. Broadway (1942)).

Kirk Douglas (Spartacus (1960)) is a fantastic scientist/old pig here, who only thinks of himself, but who (of course) transforms into the greatest hero of the Telemark nonetheless. (Telemark is a region in Southern Norway.) As a Norwegian he is, naturally, incredibly unbelievable, and his greased-up hairdo doesn't move a quarter of an inch throughout the truth-based action adventure.

At one moment black and white footage of planes are placed in the film in what comes off as a silly ploy. But otherwise this is a highly thrilling war movie in the vein of The Guns of Navarone (1961) and Where Eagles Dare (1968). It may be second to those films, but The Heroes of Telemark has a rare and exciting cross-country skiing chase that puts the nerves on alert!

 

Related posts:

Anthony Mann: El Cid (1961) - Charlton Heston unites Spain in Mann's glorious epic 

Cimarron (1960) - A fine epic western settler adaptation 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 5-5.6 mil. $ (different reports)

Box office: 1.65 mil. $ (North-American rentals; according to Variety, 1967)

= Uncertain

[The Heroes of Telemark premiered 23 November (London) and runs 130 minutes. Shooting took place from November 1964 - ? in England and Norway, including in Oslo. The North-American rental gross listed above says little about the actual box office gross. The film was among the 15th highest-grossing of the year in the UK. William Darby's Anthony Mann biography records that the film made "modest box office business". Mann returned with A Dandy in Aspic (1968). Douglas returned in The Lucy Show (1966, TV-series) and theatrically in Cast a Giant Shadow (1966); Richard Harris (Ravagers (1979)) in The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966). 7.1k+ IMDb users have given The Heroes of Telemark a 6.5/10 average rating.]

 

What do you think of The Heroes of Telemark? 

Giant (1956) - Stevens' great-looking Texas epic

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Three attractive super-stars top a blistering landscape on this poster for George Stevens' Giant

We meet a marriage in Texas between a woman and a man who owns a quarter of a million acres of land there. An unloving marriage, which also turns problematic when employee Jett inherits land with oil.

 

Giant is written by Fred Guiol (The Nitwits (1935)) and Ivan Moffat (Bhowani Junction (1956)), adapting the same-titled 1952 bestseller by Edna Ferber (Saratoga Trunk (1941)), and directed by Californian master filmmaker George Stevens (The All-American (1932)), whose 23rd feature it was.

Elizabeth Taylor (Malice in Wonderland (1985, TV movie)) and James Dean (Studio One in Hollywood (1952-53)) are incredibly beautiful in this huge epic, and they act well, but Giant is a film that drifts aimlessly and quietly forward, as decades pass in the story, and the actors get grey or bluish hair, and their aging process makes one wonder.

Giant is a bit about racism; a bit about alcoholism; a bit about marriage. - Potent topics that are nevertheless presented without great weight. The photography, by William C. Mellor (Back from Eternity (1956)) and the production are nevertheless breathtakingly gorgeous. Giant is not a bore. But it also is not particularly exciting.

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 5.4 mil. $

Box office: 35 mil. $

= Huge hit (returned 6.48 times its cost)

[Giant premiered 10 October (New York) and runs 197 minutes. Ferber's novel was based on an actual Texas ranch and its owner, as well as an oil tycoon she had once met.  Taylor was paid 175k $ for her performance; Hudson 100k $; Dean 21k $. Shooting took place in Texas, Virginia, Arizona and California, including Los Angeles, from May - October 1955. Dean passed away in a racing accident before the film was released. Different reports say that the film made 12 mil. $ in rentals in North America, and a 14 mil. $ domestic gross, while a third source lists its domestic gross at 32.6 mil. $. The 35 mil. $ total may be incorrect, but seems to back up that the film was largely an American crowd phenomenon, though it did generate 3.7 mil. admissions in France, where it was the 9th biggest seller of the year. It was nominated for 10 Oscars, winning one for Best Director. It lost Best Actor (Rock Hudson (All that Heaven Allows (1955)) and Dean, (his second posthumous nomination) to Yul Brynner in The King and I, Supporting Actress (Mercedes McCambridge (Medical Center (1970, TV-series)) to Dorothy Malone in Written on the Wind, Art/Set Direction - color to The King and I, Costume Design - color to The King and I, Editing to Around the World in 80 Days, Drama/Comedy Score (Dmitri Tiomkin) to Victor Young for Around the World in 80 Days, Picture to Around the World in 80 Days, and Adapted Screenplay to James Poe, John Farrow and S.J. Perelman for Around the World in 80 Days. It won 1/3 Golden Globe nominations and a David di Donatello award, among other honors. The film was distributor Warner Bros. highest-grossing until Superman (1978); and it inspired Dallas (1978-91). Stevens returned with The Diary of Anne Frank (1959). Taylor returned in Raintree County (1957); Hudson in Battle Hymn (1957); Dean in The Big Story (1953-57); Giant was his last theatrical performance. Giant is certified fresh at 95 % with a 7.76/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Giant?