Ten Seconds to Hell

TEN SECONDS TO HELL belongs to the short list of movies dedicated to deminers, besides of course Kathryn Bigelow's HURTLOCKER. Maybe there are other ones, but I don't know them. Anyway this is a pure Aldrich high testoterone film as were ATTACK, EMPEROR OF THE NORTH, DIRTY DOZEN, TOO LATE THE HEROES. And the Jeff Chandler-Jack Palance choice was the best one for such a topic. It is gritty, tense and helped by an excellent character study and Martine Carol's presence. Also a bittersweet film but brilliant where American actors play German POWs, very rare and unusual. Among best of Aldrich "men" war, because the director also "women" movies. And I won't say that in this movie Jeff Chandler is the villain, but he is the less "sympathetic", compared to Jack Palance, who used us to less sympathetic roles; see what I mean? So the roles could have been reversed.

Okay there 's only half-a-dozen in this movie and they are not dirty but there's a strong analogy between "ten seconds to hell" and the 1967 work: a group of men,going for broke ,bound to die one after the other. Jack Palance is impressive in a non-villain part,and his character displays tension,emotion and compassion.Jeff Chandler is also very effective .The defusing scenes have a near-documentary side which makes them very convincing .

The main flaw is Martine Carol's part :her character did not seem to appeal to Aldrich and her scenes come at the most awkward moment.This is the umpteenth story of the French girl who loved (and married) a German and now is looked upon as a traitor to her country.This is a man's story which leaves no place for women as "whatever happened to Baby Jane" is an Aldrich woman's film where men have nothing to do with.

I watched this in a colorized version (shudder, I know!), but I guess it's better than nothing!! This is yet another war-themed film for Aldrich but a novel one, dealing with a six-man bomb-disposal unit in Germany after the end of World War II.

As such, it's much closer in spirit to the stark (and often hysterical) ATTACK! (1956) than the sweeping blockbusters - THE DIRTY DOZEN (1967) and TOO LATE THE HRO (1970; see review above) - of the next decade. Indeed, here, Jack Palance is again given a sympathetic role - while Jeff Chandler, uncharacteristically, essays the villainous type. Interestingly, the film was made by Britain's House of Horror - Hammer Films (in association with United Artists) - with shooting taking place at Germany's celebrated UFA studios!

Plot-wise, however, the film is somewhat contrived: Palance and Chandler hate each other's guts but still lodge together and, of course, fall for their attractive - and lonely - French landlady (Martine Carol); by the end, only they have survived their dangerous line of work and the two face-off in a literally explosive climax! While no classic, it's professionally handled and has undeniable moments of power (one of the deaths is filmed in a way that we never see the man's face but, when the remaining members of the group are reconvened, we realize that Wesley Addy is missing; Chandler's story about his uncle teaching him to always look out for himself first and how the latter was the first to suffer for it).

Six nonconformed former German soldiers work for the British occupation forces on defusing blind shells in Berlin. The men, of very different characters, make a bet, that those who stay alive should get half of all their pays. Indeed one after another of them perishs. So it comes to the showdown between Koertner (Jack Palance) and Wirtz (Jeff Chandler), who also compete for the affection of their host Margot (Martine Carol).

This exciting adventure movie is staged carefully by past master Robert Aldrich. He shows in fascinating details bomb deactivation and the atmosphere of Berlin lying in ruins - a striking metaphor for the devastated lifes of the characters! Chandler and Palance are believable in their roles. Psychological it impress through the description of the fatefully scratched squad, whose members are not able to get out of this suicidal job.

In short: A depressing but exciting look on World War II survivors, who battle for the reorganization of their lifes.

I found this film on the shelf at the local video store in a nondescript white box which listed only the title, the two leads, and only mentioned that it was a Hammer film. I had no idea what it was about. But I was curious about a Hammer film that starred Jack Palance and Jeff Chandler, so I decided to rent it. I did not regret it. I at first thought it would be a British crime thriller. Little did I expect it to be a post WW2 drama about a group of former German soldiers in charge of a bomb disposal unit. I won't go any further into the plot since the previous reviewer says most of whats important to know. The first half of this film is a bit slow, but then picks up speed and becomes really interesting. It was also interesting to see a reversal in roles for the two leads; Jack Palance who usually played villains, plays the hero here, while Jeff Chandler, who usually played heroes,plays the heavy in this one.

The one thing that intrigues me about this film, is how an American director, a mostly American cast, ended up making a film produced by a British film company with a British crew, shot on locations in Berlin, with interiors shot at Berlins UFA studios.