Die jungen Liebenden

(The quote above is from a review of a concert where Robert Shaw conducted Bach's mighty B-Minor Mass, then followed it with some spirituals for encores.)

A lot of water has crashed over the dam in sexual relationships since this movie was released 53 years ago. Yes, the sexual frankness is a bit higher than we expect, about at the level of "West Side Story" (a woman in her slip sitting up in bed), but the notion that two people can simply fall in love and move mountains to maintain that love seems pretty quaint to us today. You will groan at some of the clichés the lovers spout in the process.

And speaking of "West Side Story", oh, my, there's a lot of "Romeo and Juliet" here as well. There's also a bit of "A Farewell to Arms", but I won't specify what, so's not to spoil.

Well, the film satisfied a craving in the audiences of its day, and we can watch it even today with interest, though it's not particularly compelling anymore. There's good pacing, good film-making, very plausible visuals, and a great crescendo of almost Hitchcockian excitement toward the end, but the plot also depends on some very weak twists to pull it through, I'm afraid.

I stopped the film about ten minutes from the end, and asked myself, "It appears they'll either make it, or they won't. Do I care?" And yes, I had to admit, I was invested in it at that point. I cared. And so I played it, willingly, to the end.

This is one of the many films that have a promising synopsis and fail to really engage.

It's the story of two young lovers who meet at the ballet in London. One works in the code room at the US Embassy, the other the daughter of the Soviet ambassador. They decide that love transcends politics and run away together. They have an unconvincing escape across the channel during a violent storm and are last seen sailing away together (to where no-one is sure).

All the potential for drama and conflict between the two bitter enemies is lost and the actors themselves seem unconvinced.

Billed as a romantic drama, this film starts out as a very touching, "Romeo and Juliet" style love story, with the star-crossed lovers coming from opposing sides of the Iron Curtain. It then builds up into a suspenseful, cold war thriller, finishing with a thrilling chase across England through railway stations, boatyards, and small towns, with Metropolitan Police, MI 5, CIA, and KGB agents in hot pursuit of the runaway lovers.

As other reviewers have noted, the ending seems to be quite open ended, leaving a lot to the cinema audience's imagination.

However, David Kossoff gives a strong political speech towards the end of the film when reading aloud his daughter's farewell letter, with social comments about the futility of the enmity between East and West, saying that it will one day be the downfall of both sides.

The uncredited performances read like a Who's Who of the British Cinema with actors such as: Robin Bailey, Dora Bryan, Joan Sims, Betty Marsden, the ubiquitous Sam Kydd - and am I the only one who noticed Raymond Francis in a similar role to what he played in No Hiding Place as Chief Inspector Lockhart?

Probably captured the mood of the times but looking extremely dated now. This was made at the height of the Cold War,so presumably people were hoping for a raproachment. Whereas attitudes of the two countries involved would have been far more cynical.

Trust me, it is well worth watching! 2 young people meet at the ballet and start a romance, but politically, they can not be together. He is on one side, she the other, and "there is no 3rd side". Yet they defy everyone and continue to see each other, playing a very dangerous cat and mouse game with their superiors.

The movie itself seemed either very pre-code, or very modern, with the details of their relationship and eventually the news that Anna is to have a baby; when of course she is not married to Ted!

Overall I gave it a 10. It held my interest for the entire time, it was happy, sad, heartwarming and heartbreaking, and some of the suspense would have made Hitchcock proud.