Tout près de Satan

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.

To put this in context, I saw this in an outdoor theater at the Marine base at Camp Pendelton, California in 1959. I can't tell you how many movies I have seen in my life time, and how very few I remember. This is the movie that came to my mind when I read of Jack Palance's death. It was a guy film all the way, I mean Jeff Chandler and Jack Palance in the same flick? Too much. After nearly 50 years, I still remember so well how the film had me sitting on the edge of my seat. The suspense related to "will this bomb go off and kill the guy" was tremendous. Remember that in it's original form the film was black and white. I can still remember the details of the defusing of the bombs, and how sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. A fine movie in it's time.

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 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.

The concept is utterly outstanding; the narration (at the beginning and the end) is rather unfortunate - Michael Pate's delivery is so exuberant, more appropriate for an educational short than a post-war drama, that one is surprised he doesn't conclude sentences with "And how!" I'm also a little surprised by the tone that the picture adopts generally, though I suppose it's reasonable after all given the wry, morbid, fatalistic sense of levity the characters bear in accordance with the scenario. Mind you, with that tone established early on, every instance of more dour eventfulness becomes all the more striking for the disparity, and moreover, the picture becomes more serious in little time at all. I don't think it's perfect, nor an essential must-see, but 'Ten seconds to hell' is a broadly strong, engaging title, and worth checking out.

It never fails to catch my eye to see Hammer Films associated with a title that's not a horror flick, but as this is a joint venture with UFA and Seven Arts, and produced by Michael Carreras, that's just what we get. Whether one wishes to attribute the excellence herein to that involvement or otherwise, I'm quite pleased with the production design, art direction, and effects, and the original music, and these facets alone manage to inculcate an unexpected level of uneasy atmosphere, tension, and suspense as the picture advances. Factor in Ernest Laszlo's capable cinematography, and Robert Aldrich's firm, steady direction, and I think it's safe to say the feature is rather pleasing, and an easy viewing experience. The narrative and scene writing are also fantastic, serving up one moment after another that's primed for explosive (sorry) storytelling potential, and by and large that potential is unquestionably realized with the terrific contributions of all on hand. That includes a splendid cast, not least chief stars Jack Palance, Jeff Chandler, and Martine Carol, who get the most time on-screen and who especially bring their characters to life with wonderful, subtle personality and nuance. Again, this is a smooth and readily digestible movie, and every detail lends to that.

Setting aside Pate's narration and the tonal matter, the primary issue with 'Ten seconds to hell' is a decided unevenness in how it's written. Oh yes, it's swell overall - but the characters and dialogue simply aren't as convincing, which unfortunately means that the less scenes are centered on the core notion of bomb disposal, the weaker they are. The romantic aspect thusly seems a trifle by comparison, and for as important as the characters and their personalities theoretically are to the tableau, those scenes where we learn more about them don't feel like they specifically add to the plot. Such inclusions could have been reduced to their barest element, in the process reducing the runtime, and nothing would have really been lost; an unfortunate reflection on the title yes, but at least, not its chief focus.

The good news is that any subjective flaws don't wholly detract from the viewing experience, and far more than not this is solid. The cast is quite fine, all the contributions of those behind the scenes are dandy, and the storytelling around the root premise is superb. If it falters slightly in writing and execution, well, I've seen other pictures go a lot more wrong than this. 'Ten seconds to hell' might not be quintessential, unless perhaps you're a diehard fan of someone involved, but by all means it's an enjoyable, generally satisfying movie that still holds up pretty well. Maybe don't feel like you need to go out of your way for it, but if you have the chance to watch, this is worth ninety minutes of your time.