A gritarle al diablo

As a World War One naval buff, I enjoy this film on one level. As a film enthusiast, I enjoy it on another, all the more so for it being based on fact.

The actual story of the Koenigsberg is actually far less glamorous than the fate of the Blucher in this film but no less enthralling. After the ship was destroyed, her crew joined the German land forces under Count Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck and, together with their few thousand fiercely loyal African troops, fought 1 million British soldiers to a standstill for 4 years until, after the Armistice, they surrendered to the Portuguese, undefeated and proud. A tale well worth reading, far better than the fiction.

Back to the film. The central character is one Flynn O'Flynn, a thoroughly disreputable character, played by Lee Marvin. Always good value for money, he merely reprises Ben Rumson in Africa - no effort required! Roger Moore, aged 49, plays the 'young' interest! Mind you, he don't look bad for it! He is married to the delectable Barbara Parkins, Flynn's daughter Rosa, really the only female character in the film, a grim role she carries off to perfection. Fleischer, the evil German, the exact opposite of von Lettow-Vorbeck, is brilliantly overplayed by Rene Kolldehoff - he really is unlikeable! Also look out for Ian Holm as the mute Arab servant Mohammed.

The film has great pace, really rolling along, well shot in wonderful scenery. It has been well researched too. The Blucher, an actual German cruiser, has been pretty accurately recreated. The whole film has a very genuine feel.

I can see why it's not popular with female viewers. It's quite bloody, very cruel and Barbara Parkins character has a dreadful time of it. The scene in which the farm is burned is quite harrowing.

There are plenty of laughs too. Flynn O'Flynn has all of Ben Rumson's comic characteristics. The big fight between Marvin and Moore is very funny. And then there's Roger Moore blacked up as an African porter - he's about as convincing as I would be - and I'm blond!

If you're a fan of Ripping Yarns, then this one is for you. If not, then I wouldn't bother.

Shout at the Devil finds Lee Marvin in sub Sahara Africa in 1914 just before the start of World War I. He's a rollicking, live by your wits character named Flynn, very much similar to Humphrey Bogart's Charlie Allnut in The African Queen. Marvin takes up with an Englishman played by Roger Moore who's been stranded in Africa on his way to Australia.

Marvin has a running rivalry with the local German governor played with Teutonic relish by Reinhard Kolldehoff. He's the Road Runner to Kolldehoff's Wily Coyote. During the first half of the film, it plays just like a road runner cartoon.

When war is declared however, Kolldehoff crosses into British territory where Marvin has operated with sanctuary and exacts a terrible vengeance for being constantly made a fool of. On Marvin, on Moore, and on Barbara Parkins, Marvin's daughter who Moore has now married and had a child with.

This is World War I so the Germans aren't behaving like the Nazis of the second World War. But Kolldehoff you can see a potential recruit for Hitler in the post war years. In fact I don't think it's an accident that Kolldehoff and his character Fleischer look very much like German Field Marshal Ludendorff who was sympathetic to the early Nazi party.

Shout at the Devil is a broad comic adventure for the first half and turns serious in the second half. Moore and Marvin have a nice easy chemistry between them, Marvin is reaching back to his Cat Ballou days and the bag of scene stealing tricks he used to get an Oscar. Moore is hard pressed, but does keep up.

And who doesn't like a live road runner cartoon.

This is, as other positive reviewers have noted, a well told adventure story (based on real WWI events) with s strong, realistic script, excellent performances by Marvin, Moore and the wonderful character actor Ian Holm in an unusual role as a mute Muslim servant to Marvin's character. The female ingenue is played with charming demureness and grace by Barbara Perkins, who btw, is an absolute doppelganger for the American actress Joan Hackett. The Kaiser-era Germans are well portrayed as equally cruel and at times restrained as no true villians (or heroic characters for that matter) are simply all good or evil. And the near final scene where Marvin's character uses the film's title to quite meaningful effect (don't wish to spoil the ending), is poignant and deeply bittersweet. All the superhero films so popular today are fine, but if you wish to see genuine heroic characters struggling with not only difficult circumstances but there own all too human frailties, see this both thrilling and perceptive adventure tale.

I feel I should mention that the version of "Shout at the Devil" that I watched was the full length 150 minute version. When the movie originally played in theaters, it had been cut by about half an hour. Normally, I feel that the original full length version of a movie is the version to see, but in the case of this movie, I think that the edited version might play better. I'm not saying that the full length version is bad, but I'm saying that it's too long for its own good. There is quite a considerable amount of padding on display, and as a result the movie moves quite slowly at times. There are some good things along the way all the same - there is some good action and suspense, the African backdrop is colorful and catches the eye, and it's fun to see Lee Marvin and Roger Moore paired up and generate considerable chemistry. So it's nowhere near a total loss. All the same, I think a more snappy pace would have helped things considerably.

I liked Shout at the Devil" it is a big, dumb, sill y movie that's impossible to dislike. It's so cheerfully corny, so willing to involve its heroes in every possible predicament, that after awhile we relax: This is the kind of movie they used to make, back when audiences were supposed to have the mentality of a 12-year-old. It's great to be 12 again. The movie involves the exploits of an Irish-American drunk and a proper Britisher who find themselves in German East Africa just before World War I. The boozer (Lee Marvin) has promised to bring a load of ivory out of the interior. He needs help to get it past the German occupying forces, led by a comic Teuton named Fleischer. So he arranges that the Englishman (played by Roger Moore,) will have his money and passport stolen. Since Moore has to stay in Africa, Marvin suggests, why don't they team up?