Der goldene Salamander

While the poor casting in "Golden Salamander" might surprise you, it it STILL worth seeing. It begins with a British man, David (Trevor Howard), driving along some very, very wet roads at night in Tunisia. Eventually, he pulls off the road--and stumbles on some guns that have fallen out of a crate. Soon, some folks return to retrieve the guns--and David runs, as he's pretty sure these are smugglers. However, he does NOT report this to the authorities.

His job in the town is to pack some antiquities for transport to a British museum. During the time he's in the town, he falls for Anna (Anouk Aimée). He also soon realizes that Anna's brother is one of the smugglers. What's he to do? And, just how deep does this conspiracy go?

This is a nice action-romance. As I mentioned above, the casting was odd, as Howard was almost two decades older than his love interest. I also was dumbfounded when there was the HUGE fight near the end...and Anna just stood there watching (even though if the wrong man wins, she will die!). Despite these problems, the film is exciting and has a very good plot...and it's well acted as well.

When I saw the cast for this, I figured the movie would either be very good or awful. Luckily, it was the former. Good acting, great cinematography, editing and a convincing character path make this movie a real classic. Of course there are the "exotic" Arabs, but their depiction is not as offensive as in most films of its era. The somewhat dazed performance by Anouk Aimee leads one to believe that she either had a lot of trouble with the English language, or overplayed her depressive qualities. The boar hunt sequence brings to mind the conclusion of the book "The Alexandria Quartet." Aside from these minor quibbles, I recommend The Golden Salamander to anyone with an interest in character development, intrigue, and film noir that isn't about people unjustly accused of criminal action, innocent people led into same, and heists gone wrong.

In a movie that suffers from to many unanswered questions, too many loose ends, and far too much coincidence, there is one constant which merits mention: the acting of Anouk Aimee. From the moment she enters the as a bar maid she becomes a force in the film, since she is simply a more dominant presence on the screen. The other roles are pretty much clichés. In fact so much so that one expects Howard to really be a secret British agent. And the piano player in the bar drinks as much as he plays. The villains seem much too superficial. The problem stems from a seeming attempt to reproduce World War Two Bogart films, an attempt which is historically out of step with he Cold War of 1950. Does anyone really care about gun running in Tunisia?

To me, Anouk Aimee gives a more convincing performance than does Bergman in CASABLANCA or Bacall in TO HAVE OR HAVE NOT. Bergman seems out of place in Rick's, and Bacall's quips appear contrived. Aimee seems natural throughout, and her lines are appropriate. Her performance is reason enough to see this film.

Trevor Howard, past his prime, is a plucky archaeologist matching wits against gunrunners in North Africa and falling in love with Anouk Aimee.

This post-war British thriller suffers from an almost terminal stiffness of the upper lip, but it offers an intelligent, no-nonsense script and several notable performances, particularly among the villains (Howard's principal adversary is a young and menacing Herbert Lom.

The story was adapted from a Victor Canning novel and filmed, to excellent advantage, on location in Tunisia.

When I first heard of Ronald Neame's name, it was for POSEIDON' S ADVENTURE, back in 1972, the same for his pal John Guillermin, in 1975, it was this time concerning TOWERING INFERNO, both disaster seventies films, commercial, and not "author" features. I really discovered the authentic, genuine filmographies of those British movie makers much much later, and it was far more interesting, with not necessarily gross intentions, at least not as much as for the seventies Hollywood stuff. This one GOLDEN SALAMANDER, is pretty good, exciting, with a terrific Herb Lom in a character that suits him like a glove. The plot is unfortunately predictable but the directing, and photography purely stunning.