The Passage

...I managed to pack into a dozen scenes with the whole period of Nazi tyranny in a convincingly evil way." - Malcolm McDowell about his work in The Passage.

When I saw The Passage back in 1981, in Moscow, I had no idea that it had been a big flop in the USA where it only lasted a week upon theatrical release, that it was considered a bad movie a failure. It would be much later that I recognized very famous and talented actors who were in the film, James Matson, Anthony Quinn, Christopher Lee, and Patricia Neal. The film was directed by J. Lee Thompson, the Oscar nominated director of highly successful The Guns of Navarone (1961). By the time I was watching The Passage at the theater, I had not seen Stanley Kubrick's A Clock Work Orange or notorious Caligula, and I did not know what Malcolm McDowell was capable of as a screen villain. I did know McDowell from the Lindsay Anderson's O Lucky Man that also had been released theatrically in Moscow several years prior The Passage. O lucky Man had left a deep impression on me and huge part of it was McDowell's performance as Mick Travis, the young naive man with the most charming smile who wanted to succeed in this world. Watching McDowell in The Passage playing the psychotic obsessed Nazi chasing the family of the anti-fascist scientist across the Pyrenees I was horrified and genuinely scared. Every time he would enter the screen, I felt physically sick anticipating some horror act to follow and McDowell never disappointed. I won't argue that the movie may not be a great or even a good one but I do remember McDowell's performance all too well, and I could not forget him in the movie for 28 years. Now, after I've seen so many movies and memorable performances, I realize that McDowell was over the top and judging by his own words, he knew it very well and did it on purpose:

"I played this real nasty Nazi who was chasing these people across the Pyrenees. We all knew real early on that the movie was not going to be any great work of art and so I was determined to have some fun with it. My attitude was that if I was going to play a Nazi, I was going to take it totally over the top and do it right. I ended up playing the character like a pantomime queen. What I was doing was so far out that James Mason turned to me one day and said, 'That's wonderful dear boy, but are you in our film? You seem to be doing something different from the rest of us'..."

If after so many years, one performance in a supposedly bad movie stands out and you can't get it out of your mind, and you remember the exact day when you saw that movie, who you saw it with and how you felt, for me it means that the movie was not bad at all.

This is a rare example of a World War II film from the late seventies. This was a period when the traditional war film was going into a decline, as was the traditional Western. There were several causes for this decline, but one was that so many war movies, and so many Westerns, had been made during the period 1945- 1975 that it was becoming increasingly difficult to say anything original in either genre.

"The Passage" does at least have a reasonably original storyline. A Basque shepherd is asked by the French resistance to help Professor Bergson, a scientist, and his family escape across the Pyrenees into neutral Spain. Bergson has certain scientific knowledge- exactly what is never specified- which would be helpful to the German war effort. (I had assumed that the Bergsons, who have the same surname as the great French philosopher Henri Bergson, would be French, but in fact they turn out to be American. How they came to be in Nazi-occupied France is never explained). Unfortunately, the Germans learn of the plan, and a party of soldiers, led by a sadistic SS officer, pursue them into the mountains.

The film was directed by the experienced J. Lee Thompson and starred a distinguished cast, including Anthony Quinn, James Mason, Malcolm McDowell, Patricia Neal and (in a cameo) Christopher Lee. It is not, however, nearly as good as that line-up might lead one to think. Even while it was still being shot, Mason predicted that it would be a failure, and he was to be proved sadly right. The film performed badly at the box-office and was savaged by most of the critics.

One of those critics called Thompson "possibly the worst experienced director in the world today". That is probably unfair, but it would be true to say that he was a director whose work varied widely in quality. He was responsible for films as good as "Ice-Cold in Alex", "Tiger Bay" and the 1962 version of "Cape Fear", but also for ones as bad as the seriously weird "Country Dance" and the ludicrous "King Solomon's Mines", and "The Passage" was another occasion on which his touch deserted him, although it must be said that he had a dull, lacklustre script to work from.

The acting contributions are a curious mixture of the overdone and the underdone. Anthony Quinn as the Basque shepherd (we never learn his name) is not too bad, but Mason never puts much into his role. His Bergson never seems too worried about the plight that he and his family find themselves in, greeting the prospects of an arduous mountain trek in winter and of being captured and tortured by the Nazis with the same stoical detachment. If Mason underacts, however, Malcolm McDowell as the SS Captain, von Berkow, overacts with a vengeance. Even by McDowell's eccentric standards- he played the leading role in Tinto Brass's "Caligula"- this is a bizarre performance. More camp than a row of tents, and more ham than a delicatessen counter. The most surreal moment in the film comes when he strips off to rape Bergson's daughter and reveals that he is wearing a pair of swastika underpants.

McDowell allegedly called the movie "utter rubbish" and said that he only took the part "because I needed money to pay my taxes". Well, it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good. At least the British taxman derived some benefit from "The Passage". Whether anyone else did is another matter. 3/10

A goof, or at least a plothole. We learn at the end that the Basque shepherd lives on the Spanish, not the French, side of the mountains. Which means that the Resistance men must have crossed the mountains in order to contact him, and then crossed back again into France. So if the Resistance knew themselves how to cross the mountains, why did they need his assistance? Couldn't they have escorted the Bergsons themselves?

The film talks upon a Basque shepherd (Anthony Quinn) whose assignment results to be the leading a family (James Mason , Patricia Neal , Kay Lenz and Clemens) through the Pyrenees mountains (France) until Spain . But they are relentlessly pursued by an evil Nazi officer (Malcolm McDowell) .

The movie is set in Second War World when Hitler invaded France and ruled the collaborating government from Vichy under command of general Petain .

In the flick there are shocks , action , thriller , shootouts , drama and deal of violence and tortures in charge of Malcolm McDowell .

Acceptable acting with all-star-cast . Anthony Quinn and James Mason are good and give nice performances ; also Christopher Lee acting as an agreeable gypsy , changing his usual villain role .

Malcolm McDowell's interpretation is overblown , he plays as an evil , sadist , wry and murderer Gestapo officer .

The final confrontation between the starring family , the Basque and the Nazis across the snowy landscapes is breathtaking .

The flick was regularly directed by J. Lee Thompson .

The yarn will appeal to suspense , emotions enthusiasts and WWII buffs .

Rating : 5.5/10 , mediocre .

United Artist must have lost a bundle back then, when this film only lasted a week in all screens in Seattle when they released this film. The film is "R" rated, violent and brutal! McDowell plays a psychotic WW2 Nazi Captain who is in pursuit of a doctor (Mason) and his family (Neal, Lenz, Clement) who is on the run from the Nazi's, and is helped by a Basque guide (Quinn) and two agents (Lonsadale/Bouzuffi) to take them across the mountain to safetly. McDowell turns into a Nazi Caligula as he do sick things and plays it almost in a camp like fashion like wear a chef hat and chops off Lonsndale fingers while cooking and saying "chop chop, chop chop!", Burn a gypsy (Christopher Lee) alive saying "I'm send him exactly where he told me to go....HELL", and rapes Kay Lenz as he wears a Nazi symbol on his underwear! McDowall also places a black comb under his nose to look like Hitler in one scene! This film is beyond what McDowall did in CLOCKWORK ORANGE! This is a performance that Mike Myers should look into remaking! The ending is incredible, but I can't give it away, but the bad guy's death doesn't involve a gun. Not recommended if you hate this sort of entertainment, despite the fact this is one of those all star cast international co productions, but the TV print cut out of most of the nasty stuff, so check out the TV print instead if you are a fan of the 70's interantional all star cast epics! Others beware! Great score by Michael J Lewis though!

Okay, So this is an awful movie in the grand scheme of things - but its highly entertaining none the less, and also is quite compelling. McDowell over acts - but is watchable, Lenz is also watchable, and most of the other acting is fine too. The script lends itself to to a poor mans WW2 movie from the 60's, say a B movie - but otherwise there's good stuff along the way! This film is different, therefore worthy of a watch. A notable film score by Michael J lewis boosts it along and makes it feel 'bigger' than what it actually is. Not so bad. Watch it for entertainment value only, and you may not be too disappointed after all.