Controspionaggio

"Betrayed!" is just a bit above average World War II film in the espionage genre. Even though I can't help watching it every once in a while I'm not really sure where its attraction is for me. Perhaps it is that I like World War II espionage films and so I don't get too demanding with movies that deal with such matters.

Considering that in my opinion this product has an interesting story about courage, love and mainly treason, lots of action sequences, beautiful outdoor locations in Holland and two important stars in the male and female leading roles (Clark Gable and Lana Turner) I must agree with one reviewer here that thinks the flaw is in the direction work. Gottfied Reinhardt was a not very prolific and average director whose best work was probably the interesting "Town Without Pity" (1961). In "Betrayed!" he doesn't succeed with a movie that had chances of delivering more impact and strength; none of the main actors look too enthusiastic about their characters and it shows.

Gable doesn't add much to his brilliant career in his role as a Dutch intelligence officer though his impressive screen presence always helps him. Lana Turner looks beautiful as a brunette in spite of the just standard performance she delivers as an infiltrated spy for the allies. Victor Mature as a partisan chief ("Scarf") is the only one that shoes interest in what he is doing as usual, but he also overacts terribly as usual. Anton Diffring is also there in one of his nasty Nazi officer roles he played so well.

My feeling about "Betrayed!" is that a better film could have been made with a more strong and imaginative directors, but as it came out this picture is just for fans of the genre.

I've always been very found of this movie. As another reviewer wrote, the screenwriters did a good job of blending the facts of Operation Market Garden with the fictitious story. I liked the role of the dashing "The Scarf" and Victor Mature's portrayal. Most of all, I like this as the last paring of Gable and Turner. Their first was HONKY TONK in 1941 when he was still the sassy, scowling rascal of GONE WITH THE WIND and IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT, and she was young, soft, delicate and alluring. By 1954, his scowl and sass were long gone as the result of the loss of his wife, Carole Lombard, and of the war which had made sass seem frivolous. He was older and thicker, but still a commanding screen presence. She was older, more experienced as a character and as an actress, and still alluring. When they slowly walk arm and arm, going in the wrong direction, through a line of soldiers singing "Bless Them All," this older and wiser pair had come full circle.

The surprise here is the Victor Mature's character, very unusual for him. A good movie from a director mostly known for TOWN WITHOUT PITY, excellent drama. This is a rather forgotten film, speaking of WW2, but it is worth watching, because engrossing enough to keep you glued to it. Not so many films evoked the Dutch element in this war, except THE BLACK BOOK and SOLDIER OF ORANGE from director Paul Verhoeven. However, some Tv movies were made about it, mostly underrated. But without the Victor Mature's character - I won't say more about it, not to spoil - I would have probably watched it only once, despite Lana Turner and Clark Gable. It is more espionage than purely gritty "front line" war feature, but why not? War was not only a matter of explosions and bombardments.

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!