The Fallen Sparrow

Thank you Turner Classic Movies and Robert Osborne for introducing us to this excellent specimen of film noir. What is obvious to John Garfield fans is his passion and energy that he pours into his characters. Along with his performance, Maureen O'Hara is in an unusual role as the mysterious girl friend. A thriller!

Tortured by Fascists during the Spanish Civil War, veteran John Garfield (as John "Kit" McKittrick) returns to find the policeman who helped him escape has supposedly committed suicide by jumping, or accidentally falling, from an open window. Smelling a rat, Mr. Garfield immediately realizes his friend was murdered. With the New York police seemingly in on the cover-up, Garfield begins investigating alone. The first suspects are three beautiful women - presumably red-haired hat clerk girl Maureen O'Hara (as Toni Donne), brunette ex-girlfriend Patricia Morison (as Barby Taviton), and blonde songstress Martha O'Driscoll (as Whitney Parker).

As he relives psychological trauma incurred during his imprisonment, German Nazis close in on Garfield. Wheelchair-bound doctor Walter Slezak (as Christian Skaas) oozes suspicion. "The Fallen Sparrow" lacks some plot development, perhaps because the entire storyline from Dorothy B. Hughes' novel couldn't be included - and, at least one of the villains isn't too difficult to identify. Still, the film is very neatly directed by Richard Wallace, with editing by Robert Wise, black-and-white cinematography by Nick Musuraca, and "Academy Award"-nominated music by Roy Webb. And, as you'll see, Garfield and three beautiful women go a long, long way.

******** The Fallen Sparrow (8/19/43) Richard Wallace ~ John Garfield, Maureen O'Hara, Walter Slezak, Patricia Morison

This is an extremely powerful film noir in the guise of an espionage mystery. It contains what may well have been the finest performance by John Garfield in his brief career (he died aged only 39 of congenital heart disease in 1952, though he had by then appeared in 32 films). Garfield plays a man who had fought on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War but had been captured, imprisoned, and sadistically tortured by Nazis involved in supporting the Franco side. He was held for two more years in prison after that war ended because they were trying to find out from him where he had concealed something. After escaping, he made his way back to America, where he was followed, and Nazi spies continually monitor him and kill his best friend. An ambiguous femme fatale provides the love interest, played with menace and studied elegance by Maureen O'Hara. Is she a Nazi spy or is she not? She tells Garfield she loves him. It is amazing how rapidly film stars fall in love on the screen, in a matter of sentences. Very effective use of sound occurs in this film, the sound of a crippled man dragging his bad foot is continually heard at moments of Garfield's greatest stress, as it was the same sound made by the Nazi official who came once a month to Spain from Berlin to supervise Garfield's torture. Is this man now in New York? Has Garfield met him? Can he survive such a confrontation? The suspense is thick, and Garfield's portrayal of a tough idealist who is on the verge of cracking up under the strain is horrifyingly real. What actor ever twisted his face up as well as that before or since, without looking silly? But we believe Garfield, because he is so convincing and genuine about it. The film is expertly directed by Richard Wallace, a highly talented though uneven director who is insufficiently recognised today. He directed the pathos-ridden SEVEN DAYS' LEAVE (1931, see my review), the impressive THUNDER BELOW (1932) with Talullah Bankhead, Katherine Hepburn in J. M. Barrie's THE LITTLE MINISTER (1934), and the forgotten film noir PAULA (1947) with Glenn Ford and Janis Carter, which has never had a modern release, but should. (He also directed a Shirley Temple film and numerous other light-weight comedies and adventure films.) This film is particularly noted for the sinister and powerful performance by Walter Slezak as 'Dr. Christian Skaas', ostensibly a Norwegian, but as we discover, really someone and something else. He has 'a hold over' O'Hara. Is he really holding her daughter captive somewhere, or is that just a story? As Garfield sweats it out, gun in pocket, sweat on brow, he tries to find the answers, and that ain't easy.

Lushly mounted espionage thriller that rivets the eye even when the narrative meanders. It's the great RKO artistic team of Musuraca, Silvera, and D'Agostino setting the stage for noir's post-war golden period, foreshadowed here by the rich b&w landscape. Garfield's a shattered veteran of the Spanish Civil War, tortured by the fascists and a mysterious limping man. Now he's back in New York trying to regain stability and find out who killed his best friend. Along the way, he meets up with sinister European types and the beauteous O'Hara looking like she stepped off a 1942 Vogue cover. Turns out everybody, including the limping man, is trying to get possession of a regimental battle standard whose whereabouts only Garfield knows. Needless to say, at times the storyline could use a road map to follow. But that's okay because the appeal lies elsewhere, as in the shadowy characters and photography.

Note how effectively Garfield's moments of derangement are highlighted by the musical score and the astute close-ups. Those penetrating few moments are hauntingly expressed as they reach into Kit's (Garfield) tortured "subjective" reality. The actor delivers in spades in a difficult role requiring that he be in about every scene. The movie's also an eye-full for the guys with three knockout leading ladies. However, despite her looks, I think the normally vivacious O'Hara is miscast, a little too stiff and impassive for the subtleties required by her character. On a different note, the limping man's dragging foot adds a creepy sound to the sinister atmosphere and is what I remember most from seeing the film as a kid. Anyway, the movie's an unusual thriller with a really great "look" that stands up well over the decades.

Long before the "method" style "invaded" the acting profession, there were many equally fine performers which came before the mid-'50s "movement."

These "predecessors" didn't wear their craft-on-their-sleeve as much; in fact, many (like Tracy, Ryan, and Cagney) behaved so naturally, it was as though they were speaking their own lines. One such earlier talent was John Garfield.

A consummate performer, Garfield could seemingly do no wrong--not make one false move. In film after film, he didn't appear to be acting; rather he was just "being" the character.

Although "The Fallen Sparrow" isn't one of Garfield's greatest parts or films, he's on target in every scene. Yes, it's called "talent, star quality," and Garfield's got "it."

With a respectable "noir" script, and peopled with a solid cast of leads and supporters, "Sparrow" manages to engage the attention and create genuine interest throughout. A good looking, sharp and crisp, black-and-white production design enhances this presentation, which also features the always dependable Maureen O'Hara and Walter Slezak.