Ora X - pattuglia suicida

HOUR X: SUICIDE PATROL, despite the title, has to be one of the most boring Italian WW2 flicks out there. That's despite a cast containing some of the most familiar Italian genre actors out there, and a plot - concerning the Nazi invasion of a Greek island and an allied effort to destroy their radio, behind enemy lines style - that promises excitement.

The opening of the film is pretty special, a riff on THE DIRTY DOZEN as each of the patrol are introduced in turn. Actors include the ubiquitous Luciano Catenacci and former muscleman Gordon Mitchell, the latter playing a hilariously tough sergeant. It's a pity that the lead was played by Pierre Richard, who displays a singular lack of charisma; I think Mitchell would have been much better in the part.

Sadly, the middle of the film is where this gets deathly dull, involving a plot with some monks that just goes on forever. We get endless scenes of unimportant characters wandering around until the Nazis eventually realise something's up, leading to an expectedly downbeat, 'war is hell' climax. HOUR X: SUICIDE PATROL is very much the inferior movie and an entirely forgettable entry in this packed sub-genre.

The only film directed by minor Italian actor Gaetano Quartararo turns out to be one big bore. It's no small wonder he never directed again.

The film has a very loose plot, concerning some American commandos who stay behind on a Greek island to wreak havoc on the German invaders.

A really lousy and boring excuse for a movie, with little acting talent presented and almost no plot. The film features a couple of decent actors, including Gordon Mitchell in a throwaway role as a stereotypical, tough Army sergeant. And I think that's Pierre Richard in the lead as the US officer, but I've not seen him in a film before. Massimo (Max Dean) Righi from THE_BATTLE_OF_EL_ALAMEIN pops up as a German officer a few times, too as a German officer. At least, I THINK it's Massimo Righi, that's only name I could match from the credits with a face. Watch also for familiar Euro-actor Luciano Catenacci in a minor role (well, every role in the movie is minor since it's so SHORT) as another commando.

What really galls me about this movie is that it's under 90 minutes long, and about a fifth of the running time is taken up by pointless stock-footage sequences. The commando group is huge, which gives each character only a few lines of dialog, and then the film wnaders around the monks they hang out with and the Germans, too! I mean, the script has no focus, so it's hard to really be involved with what's going on.

Secondly, there's hardly any action to keep the proceedings the least bit exciting. There's one quick, boring and and unsurprising shootout near the end which resembles - well - a fortress-storming scene from any other movie.

Quartararo tries to make a commando movie, which had already been done too many times by aspiring film directors. It was his first and only directorship; you'd think he do something original rather than rip off other, better works?

Saw this on a decent video from ZIV International. The colors are dull and a little out of focus, and there's occasional HUGE flurries of speckles and scratches, but it's an acceptable transfer.

Try to engage yourself to the awful romantic music score. Strain your eyes for a familiar face in the cast. Listen for some well-dubbed dialog. Look for a character you can relate to, at all. Try not to fall asleep as the lack of action drives you insane. Really, it's a boring movie. At least it's not as bad technically as BRIDGE_TO_HELL , but if it puts you to sleep it's just as bad.

Sorry that this review repeats itself. But there's not much to say about this movie.