4 Num Jeep

In post-war Vienna, four sergeants, each from a different occupying power, share a jeep patrolling the International Sector at the heart of the old city. They get along pretty well -- American Ralph Meeker and Russian Yossi Yadin had actually met during the War -- but when Viennese Viveca Lindfors enters their view, matters become confused. She is waiting for her husband, Hans Putz, to be released from internment camp in Hungary. Word comes he will be in the next batch, but he fails to show up; he escaped just days earlier. It's obvious he's making his way to Vienna and his wife. Meeker, the French sergeant, and the British one are pretty easy-going about the situation, but Yadin has orders to capture him.

It's a well written, shot, and acted drama about the attitudes of the non-coms; even as the tension surrounding the Berlin Air-Lift roils international relations, Vienna is a city in which the occupying powers are still cooperating. Unfortunately, the last half hour is shot at night-time, and the print I looked at was pretty dark, so it's sometimes hard to tell what's going on during the pursuit of Putz. Still, there are plenty of good moments here, and it was time well spent watching this.

This movie is not exactly a household name. In fact, this movie may be one of the best kept secrets in the pantheon of movies. Has anyone ever heard of this movie besides me? I guess not. So I'm doing this critique for an audience of one - me. Oh well, might as well proceed. This movie is about four soldiers, one American, One Russian, One British and One French, patrolling in post-war Vienna, Austria, in the period immediately after the end of World War Two and how they interact with each other, and with a certain woman who wants to leave the Russian zone. The American is played by the excellent, and regrettably forgotten actor Ralph Meeker, which gets to the point of this essay. Ralph Meeker was a great actor and he proves it in this movie. Mr. Meeker is one of those stars who shown brightly for a little while and then for reasons unknown his stardom burnt out. This is an obscure movie, and perhaps does not deserve any more attention that it has received thus far, but if that's the case, it's not because of Ralph Meeker, whose performance in this movie deserves at least some consideration, even if the movie itself deserves none.

Set just after WWII in Viena, in the 4 different districts, French, English, American and Russian. The viewer follows a jeep with one military of each country. They help a woman who searches her husband, played in too much melodramatic way for myself (played by Swedish Viveca Lindford). The main interest for me is the casting of Ralph Meeker as the American (in his first movie and yet a solid presence) and Dinan as the dynamic french military (and Paulette Dubost as his even more dynamic wife, her numéro with policemen searching is funny). The Swiss director Leopold Lindtberg does competent work, he has directed a few other movies on WWII. The sequence of the return of prisonners of war is interesting.

In 1941, the Jeep company was formally established, and it initially produced cars with military-specific features. The era of SUVs began with the mass production of the first four door vehicle, the Jeep.

Because the government chose a vehicle based on the style of the Bantam Car Company, this Jeep was given the name Willys. Due to a lack of manufacturing capacity on Bantam's part and a need for suppliers on the part of the military, this variant of Jeep was built by Willys in the late 1940s.

Jeeps are incredibly robust and long-lasting automobiles. They are capable of navigating both paved highways and the roughest off-road terrain. Jeeps are very easy to maintain; they don't require a ton of time or effort to stay in tip-top shape.

On Armistice Day (also known as Veteran's Day), Willys-Overland gave the prototype "Quad"-named for the 4x4 system it possessed-to the American Army. Incredibly, the design was finished in under 75 days.

The Army chose the larger Humvee in the late 1980s, which is when a Jeep vehicle served its final military duty.

As a Jeep Fan loved the depiction of the Military Jeeps.

Recently, during a discussion of films made a few years after the end of WW2, I mentioned Four In A Jeep. No one had ever heard of it. I recall seeing it in the early 50s and being impressed by it--possibly because of the times--it was the Cold War, and I was very political then--leftie to the core. This storyline of 4 soldiers of different nations--former allies, patroling a conquered city was just my cup of tea. I found it or wanted to find it-- a plea for peace. The main story itself, trying to reunite 2 lovers torn apart by war and a difficult peace, was secondary to the 4 men themselves; especially the American (Ralph Meeker who was getting recognition in Hollywood,) and the Russian, Voroshenko. Because of the Cold War, they could have made Voroshenko the villain, instead he became for me the pivotal character torn between instinct (perhaps love) and duty. He and the American sergeant were pitted against each, but developed respect toward the other rather than hatred. I found this film to be a good companion piece to The Third Man--same period, many similar situations. Too bad it will probably be seen by so few--no DVD for this one--a real pity!

Chris