Der schwarze Jack

George Sanders has a ship, and smuggles. He also offers suggestions to Marcel Dalio on transporting refugees if they can afford it. One refugee he's willing to take for free is Patricia Roc, who develops a wary relationship with him. Sanders is looking to make up for lost time, lost money, the lost girl, all gone in the War. He's got a big deal coming along. After that, he plans to be honest once again. But Herbert Marshall seems to be involved in government affairs, and Agnes Moorhead seems to be looking out for herself.

It's watchable until the very poor ending, but it's the worst movie directed by Duvivier I've ever seen. There are flaws in character, in story logic, and the fight sequence with Dalio, which should have been delightful, is stupid. Clearly the intention was to make a Bogey and Bacall movie, but this one not only lacks the star couple, it lacks sense, particularly at the end.

This movie has a peculiar pedigree: shot in Mallorca, Spain, by a French director, with an English-speaking cast in the main roles. Also it has never been remastered for a DVD release and the current prints are not in such a hot shape. Nevertheless, if you hold on for a rough start, it becomes more involving in its 2nd half as it springs a couple of genuine surprises on the viewer. Agnes Moorehead steals the show. Unfortunately, the ending conforms to censorship rules. **1/2 out of 4.

An early production effort by the Salkind brothers (Superman) this uneasy mixture of neo-realism and and standard actioner was plagued with production problems. Location filming on Majorca dragged on for an incredible seven months. Rushes had to be sent to the mainland for processing so it was impossible to view progress on a daily basis. Some of the post-synching in outdoors scenes is muffled and doesn't seem to match the actors voices in studio sequences.The photography is also uneven, even though the cinematographer Andre Thomas was married to leading lady Patricia Roc some of her close ups are less than flattering. The climax of the film set on two boats is so badly edited that you have a job working out what is going on. George Sanders is completely miscast in an Errol Flynn role whilst poor Pat Roc struggles with an unevenly written part as a Swedish refugee, seeming constantly on the verge of hysterics for no good reason. The technical shortcomings sink a potentially enjoyable film

I saw this film when it was released to the minor cinemas in the UK some 50 years ago; and the memory remains of a great musical score, and the tragedy of the storyline. I saw it again on video recently. The sound track was poor and the picture grainy; but it is one of two films that I saw again the next day, the other being Gladiator. The music theme is intensely tragic, and from the outset one knows that it heralds failure or death. Certainly one of George Sanders best performances; as a man working the black market to get pay back for what he lost in the war, but nemesis waits; Patricia Roc plays a refugee from Eastern Europe eaten with despair. He is attracted to her, selflessly wants to help her, and then falls in love with her, but she is too proud and hurt to accept help. Their love destroys him, and inevetably the girl and the doctor (Herbert Marshall), who brought the nemesis. The storyline is of complex intertwining destinies, where subsidiary characters are not who they appear to be. This is as a film, which diappointed the critics and struggled at the box office; but for the adolescent who saw it, and the retired gentleman who saw it again it is one of the greatest films (taking into account its age)whose story is more akin to an opera.

This was the first time I have seen this European produced 1950 title starring George Sanders, Patricia Roc, Agnes Moorhead and Herbert Marshall.It has a lot of locational shots set in Mallorca, some spoken Spanish and throughout French sub titles apart from the aforementioned actors speaking English. so it was produced for a European audience in all those countries.This desire to be all things to all people makes it lose focus & definition and I therefore only scored it 6/10.The rather convoluted story concerns George Sanders who plays Mike Alexander who trades in drugs, guns, illegal immigrants and other contraband using his yacht "BlackJack".He meets a wartime army pal, Herbert Marshall, who is actually employed as a U.S.narcotics agent using his medical background while under the guise of setting up a tropical medicine & research unit.Agnes Moorhead is well cast playing villainesses, she had plenty of practice in her films.Here she poses as an empty brained millionairess Mrs Burg travelling the world, whereas she is just a crook who is trying to relieve Mike Alexander of his ill gotten booty despite claiming police credentials.Finally we have Pat Roc as innocent Ingrid Dekker who has been befriended by Mrs Burg and who seems to have ambivalent feelings for Mike Alexander.

There is some pleasant flamenco dancing and singing in the style of Manitas de Plata and an unscrupulous captain Nicaresco whose ship the "Chalcis" contains the illegal immigrants who are soon to be sacrificed and cheated by Nicaresco.The artificial love affair between George Sanders & Pat Roc did not convince neither did his vow to wholly renounce crime.I will not divulge the ending or provide a spoiler but the film ends with the question, will Mike Alexander be able to escape Spanish territorial waters by outrunning the shore patrol authorities in his yacht "BlackJack" and therefore be outside Spanish jurisdiction?