Voyage au-delà des vivants

"Betrayed" stars Clark Gable in his last film for MGM, after which his contract was not renewed. I love the way these studios managed to forget the very people who made them great and kept them solvent during some hard years, but there you go. Gable deserved better for his last film - though it is beautifully photographed in color on location and has a star cast, he doesn't really have much of a role.

With Gable is another star on unsure footing at MGM - Lana Turner, who by 1954 had committed the unforgivable sin of being over 30 and therefore on her way out as far as Dore Schary was concerned. Victor Mature and Louis Calhern round out the all-star cast. Turner, as the widowed Carla van Oven, is sent into Holland as a liaison between a resistance fighter, The Scarf (Mature) and the British. When it becomes apparent that someone is betraying the resistance, Deventer (Gable), who trained Carla and fell in love with her, begins to suspect she's spying for the Nazis.

The story gets a little confusing but all in all, it's fairly routine stuff, and all these actors have appeared in stronger vehicles. It is lovely to look at, however. And Turner, as a brunette, looks beautiful and, though it's wartime, has some glamor moments as well. Gable at 53 was probably a little past it for his role, but he has a commanding presence. Mature does a good job as the wild resistance fighter.

Clark Gable and Turner both gave MGM their best years. "Betrayed" turned out to be an apt title for both of them.

In the opening credits for "Betrayed," MGM states clearly that the movie is fictitious, with the standard disclaimer. That being the case, the writers did a marvelous job of tying it to some real history. First, the Dutch resistance and underground, including incidents of traitors. Second, the rescue of the 2,500 plus men of the British First Airborne division who had been surrounded and cut off near Remagen in Operation Market Garden. The movie, "A Bridge Too Far," gives a fairly detailed and accurate portrayal of that operation, including the rescue of the men who were cut off.

In this film, of course, the incidents that lead to the rescue are fiction, but the movie does a good job of linking the fictitious story to real events of the time and place during World War II. That lends it that much more of a sense of reality. Along with that, most of the film was shot at locations in The Netherlands. Some scenes show the unmistakable lowland countryside. One very poignant scene shows Carla and The Scarf driving to his mother's home. They are on a long Holland dike that separates the open sea from an inland body of water.

The cast for this film is excellent. The main leads have about the same amount of film time. Clark Gable is Col. Pieter Deventer, a member of the Dutch army in exile and the head of Dutch intelligence working with British intelligence. Lana Turner is Carla Van Oven, a notorious black-market operator in Holland whom the British recruit and Deventer trains for espionage work. Victor Mature is The Scarf, a free- wheeling leader of a resistance faction. He resists coordination with the British and seems to enjoy the killing and destruction of German facilities. A fine supporting cast includes well-known British actors, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Louis Calhern and Ian Carmichael.

Other reviewers note that this is the last film Gable made with MGM, ending a 24-year contract under which he was its prime male star for much of the time. He made nine more films before his death from a heart attack in 1960. All of them were box office successes, and some are excellent films and highly regarded. Turner was active in films into the early 1970s, after which she turned to TV series until finally retiring in 1985 at age 64.

This film has some good action scenes along with the espionage intrigue. And, of course, the Gable and Turner characters fall in love for the Hollywood romantic aspect. While the story and movie are very good and interesting, this isn't a model production. The direction seems to be weak. The film editing is not what it could be. The movie is choppy in places, and at times, some of the actors seem a little wooden.

Still, it's an interesting wartime espionage and action thriller that most people should enjoy.

"This dog just does not hunt." Not just that it is contrived and unbelievable in places.....the characters are not believable, none of them. Clark Gable is aging and looks and sounds totally American. Not at all like a Dutch intelligence officer who's still on his game. Lana Turner sounds American though she too is supposed to be Dutch. In her case, we are supposed to believe that being stuck in hiding for days in a windmill with no amenities or frills, or trekking through rough countryside, she still has perfectly coiffed hair and red lipstick that never wears off even a little, the entire time.

And then we have the third lead, Victor Mature, also sounding very American. At least Wilfred Hyde White and Louis Calhern and the wonderful, not well known Ian Carmichael sound British and are supposed to be, in the film. I just think having all three leads being so apple pie American pretending to be Dutch who have never set foot in America, is too much to impose on the viewer's "suspension of disbelief." Victor Mature's character development (want to avoid spoilers) that affects the plot heavily also seems "a bridge too far."

Many, many better spy films out there!

Despite good performances from Lana Turner, Clark Gable and Victor Mature (in a colorful role as "The Scarf"), and some pretty location photography of Holland (filmed in Eastmancolor), there are script problems that render BETRAYED a contrived spy tale about the Dutch underground resistance to Nazis.

As one reviewer noted, "at times it is hard to tell who Clark Gable, Lana Turner and Victor Mature are spying for" -- and the revelation that there is a traitor among them comes as no great surprise.

Still, the story moves at a fair pace, Lana looks gorgeous even with a brunette hairdo, and the aging Clark Gable gives a quietly underplayed performance in his final role at Metro. Victor Mature comes off best in a colorful pivotal role. Wilfred Hyde-White, Louis Calhern and Roland Culver are wasted in supporting roles.

All in all, an average spy melodrama bolstered by some fine location photography.

For more about the film and Lana Turner, see my article on LANA TURNER: DANGEROUS CURVES in the Spring Issue 2002 of FILMS OF THE GOLDEN AGE magazine.

Before I say anything else, I need to talk about the film score. While one reviewer pointed out how they liked it, I found that after what seemed like the 800th repetition of the same calliope music, I was ready to scream! I truly hated the music and it really didn't seem all that appropriate to the film--sounding more like circus or organ grinder's music than something for a WWII flick.

Now apart from all that, the film was a reasonably competent film and Gable, Turner and Mature all did fine. However, being a die-hard Clark Gable fan, I really wish he had more to do in the film. While Victor Mature got 3rd billing, he really seemed much more the star in the film and he definitely came off best of the three.

Apart from the acting, the film technically seemed only okay. Not bad, but certainly not good either. The biggest problem is that although the film was made on location in Holland (a big plus), the actors never sounded or acted Dutch in the least. Case in point, Lana Turner calling a young Dutch lad "Jan"--with a j-sound. It should have been pronounced "Yan"--and those responsible for the film should have noticed or cared. But, in the end it looked and sounded like hardly anyone connected with the film was Dutch--very strange indeed when it is a location shoot! As for the plot, it seemed to drag a little bit but was also pretty unusual and interesting--and it's because of that the film managed to score a 6.