Die Stunde der Komödianten

Peter Glenville's "The Comedians" is a very difficult film for the average viewer. Based on a Graham Greene novel, it's about the political atmosphere in Haiti while under French rule. It was a box office flop in 1967 and is pretty much forgotten today.

That's sad, because this is an important film. Since the departure of Duvalier, the film has the added historical value it didn't have in 1967. It is another entry in the canon of Taylor-Burton collaborations. It also may be the only film in which Alec Guinness, Peter Ustinov, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton all appear in together. Plus, how can you trash a film that flaunts its' Haiti exteriors so joyfully?

The vast Panavision photography will be lost on TV screens, especially in the horrific pan and scan format. The best way to see this film is on a big screen and even that may be impossible these days. The title will confuse many (most will think it's about comedians in a comedy club), but it does have a hidden subtext: these people are "comedians" in a sense. They kid each other endlessly to avoid reality. In that context, "The Comedians" succeeds. It could benefit from some trimming, but that's a small complaint. I can't think of anyone else who would even attempt to make such a challenging film in such a chaotic climate.

***1/2 out of 4 stars

Burton, Taylor, Guinness, and Ustinov are a heady combination but I will not remember the film for any one of their "acting" capabilities as much as the four wonderful main characters woven by Graham Greene and Peter Glenville. There is almost an unrecognizable James Earl Jones whose fabulous voice is overshadowed in this film by those of Burton and the suave Guinness.

"I have no faith in faith," rants Brown (Burton) the anti-hero of the film--a typical Greene character (compare with Greene's 'The Burnt-out case'). Cynicism is turned into comedy. The splashes of Catholic motifs made in passing reference ("defrocked priest") hark back to Burton's earlier role in "Night of Iguana." Guinness' reference to looking like a "Lawrence of Arabia" recalls his own role as Prince Faisal in Lean's movie. Not having read Greene's book, I am not sure whether Greene introduced these clever details into the script to suit the actors or whether the details had previously existed in the book.

The gradual unmasking of the Major (Guinness) is a treat creatively captured by Glenville and Greene. The final speech made by Burton to his group of ragged rebels seem to have a common "comic" thread with George Clooney's speech to his soldiers towards the end of the recent Mallick's "The Thin Red Line".

Ustinov's diplomat and Taylor's vulnerable diplomat's wife, who admits to her lover that he is the fourth "adventure," are both comedians--Greene's likable misfits who cannot change their destiny and are strangely reconciled to accept their inevitable end. All the four main characters are "prepared" for their destiny they have designed for themselves as a consequence of previous actions in life. The closing shot of the film is a shot of a suggestive blue sky, redeeming the foibles of the comedians on terra firma.

I admit that when I saw the film some 20 years ago, I did not appreciate the film as I do now. I was missing the forest for the trees. This film does not belong to Burton, Taylor, Guinness, Ustinov, Jones or Lillian Gish. It belongs to Greene, Glenville and the French cinematographer Henri Decae.

I do not imply that Burton was not good--but George C Scott said one should evaluate a performance by remembering the character more than the actor. It is in that context that I remember the four main characters. Burton's kisses are different here than say in "Boom" or "Cleopatra"--only to add detail to the character. Taylor is strangely subdued only to add power to her smoldering role. Guinness gradual unmasking is pathetic yet endearing only to add more substance to the character. Decae's camera captures details that shocks--e.g., empty drawers in desks to collect bribes, public executions of rebels watched by school kids...

I am surprised that this film, to my limited knowledge, has never been taken seriously for what it offers--a superb script, commendable acting, good direction, and some fine camera-work.

When I bought "The Comedians" in DVD, I had never heard before of that movie, although I am a fan of the cinema of the specific era. Moreover, it surprised me I didn't know anything about a film with such an excellent cast: it isn't easy to find Burton, Taylor, Guinness, Ustinov, Gish and Ford in the same movie. And there was something else: it was based on a novel and written for the screen by an author whose work I admire: Graham Greene. Therefore, I was curious to find out why a movie with so many virtues flopped and was so soon forgotten. After watching it, I understood: "The Comedians" is a movie that was made for the general audience, a film that should be fun, fast and easy to digest, a typical Hollywood epic. However, it contains none of the classic ingredients: a) it isn't fun, it is a serious political drama, with a deeply British, cynical and black humour, b) it is not melodramatic enough and the love story between Burton and Taylor evolves quite unorthodoxically, without any clichés, c) it isn't fast at all, it's almost three hours without impressive action scenes and much - quite sophisticated - dialogue, d) it isn't easy to digest, it is a sad and bitter movie with an ambiguous ending. These are the reasons why "The Comedians" flopped, but they are also the reasons that make the film exceptionally interesting. Set in Tahiti during the dictatorship of Francois Duvalier ("Papa Doc"), an ideal location for Graham Greene's stories, it demonstrates the cruelty of the regime, through the story of 6 Westerners and some locals in the background. It is a big, flawless production providing food for thought accompanied by excellent cinematography, professional directing and a slow, but strong and memorable scenario. The claustrophobic atmosphere of the brutal dictatorship is exceptional, the actors give magnificent performances and it is also one of the few films that end without an answer, without a typical happy or tragic ending. I recommend it to viewers that enjoy films that provide more than a pleasant evening.

The Comedians one of the many films that starred that legendary screen team of the 60s, husband and wife Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor is set in that troubled stepchild of the western hemisphere Haiti. At the time Haiti was mired in the worst poverty on this side of the globe with the overwhelmingly brutal dictatorship of Papa Doc Duvalier. Duvalier and his family are gone now, but the brutality and poverty remain.

The title from the original Graham Greene novel refers to the various white people here who are very different, but who handle what they see in Haiti by making a lot of bad jokes. Whatever else this is, The Comedians is not a comedy.

Burton and Taylor play the owner of a hotel in Port-Au-Prince and she is the wife of an ambassador from some foreign country unnamed. They're having an affair, she's married to Peter Ustinov. Paul Ford and Lillian Gish are a husband and wife and he once ran for president on the Vegetarian Party ticket. He wants to start a business, a vegetarian resort of sorts. These two are totally clueless, but so are the Haitians they deal with, they actually treat Ford like a big deal.

Alec Guinness plays a part similar to the part David Niven had in Separate Tables, he's an arms dealer who's been dealing with someone now out of favor with the regime. But while at first he's clapped in prison Guinness makes a deal with another faction who think he's a big deal with his heralded background of being a war hero in the Burmese campaign in World War II. If you've seen Separate Tables than you can equate Guinness with Niven.

These name players however take a back seat to some of the black performers in The Comedians. Roscoe Lee Browne, Cicely Tyson, Gloria Foster, Georg Stanford Brown all are different types of Haitians from different levels of society there. But the guy to really watch is Raymond St. Jacques. As a captain in Duvalier's police he is one truly malevolent being. St. Jacques steals all the scenes he's in.

Of course Papa Doc didn't allow The Comedians to be shot in Haiti, but the country of Dahomey one of the new African Republics served well as a place with a poverty level similar to Papa Doc's little satrapy. The Comedians which was not a big hit at the time is maybe more relevant today as we can see things there without the filter of the Cold War between two superpowers.

Liz and Dick did a good one here, one for the ages.

A ship of fools docks in Port-au-Prince, and the disembarking passengers include a local businessman, an idealistic former U.S. presidential candidate and his wife, and a self-confident British major. The film's credentials are incredible; the cast includes Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Alec Guiness, Peter Ustinov, Lillian Gish, and James Earl Jones; Graham Greene wrote the script from his own novel; and Peter Glenville provided the taut direction. Given the talent involved, perhaps expectations raised the bar for "The Comedians" too high for any film to reach. Although the results do not represent a pinnacle for any of these artists, "The Comedians" is an engrossing tale set against the nightmarish backdrop of Papa "Doc" Duvalier's repressive regime in Haiti. A thick tense atmosphere envelops the film from the outset. Arrests, beatings, corpses, intimidation, bribes, murders, and threats paint Duvalier's Haiti in shades of blood and terror. In 1967, the Taylor-Burton romance was still in the tabloids, and the film's illicit romance depicted by the world-famous pair was still titillating. However, time has dimmed the scandal, and the film has benefited. Greene's story and the acting talent are no longer over-shadowed.

The still ravishing Taylor, who affects a German-accent as the wife of Ustinov, a cuckolded foreign ambassador, is involved with Burton, a local hotel owner. While arguably the least-interesting aspect of the film, their liaison is integral to the story. Meanwhile, Paul Ford and his wife, Gish, seek to establish a vegetarian center in Duvalierville, a never-will-be Utopian community, and a shady braggart with the wrong connections, Guinness, attempts an arms sale to Duvalier's henchmen. The visitors, the diplomats, and their local connections are embroiled in Haitian political conflicts and dangerous encounters with Duvalier's thugs, the dreaded Tonton Macoute.

Greene's script is literate, and the performances are effective. The bevy of international stars is enhanced and ably supported by such pros as Paul Ford, Cicely Tyson, Raymond St. Jacques, Roscoe Lee Browne, and George Stanford Brown. Although short on action, "The Comedians" is long on suspense and tension. While the film certainly remains a staple for fans of Taylor and Burton, Glenville's fine production deserves to be seen and appreciated, not only for its lustrous stars, but also for throwing a spotlight on Haiti's nightmarish past.