A Batalha da Vingança

I liked Shout at the Devil" it is a big, dumb, sill y movie that's impossible to dislike. It's so cheerfully corny, so willing to involve its heroes in every possible predicament, that after awhile we relax: This is the kind of movie they used to make, back when audiences were supposed to have the mentality of a 12-year-old. It's great to be 12 again. The movie involves the exploits of an Irish-American drunk and a proper Britisher who find themselves in German East Africa just before World War I. The boozer (Lee Marvin) has promised to bring a load of ivory out of the interior. He needs help to get it past the German occupying forces, led by a comic Teuton named Fleischer. So he arranges that the Englishman (played by Roger Moore,) will have his money and passport stolen. Since Moore has to stay in Africa, Marvin suggests, why don't they team up?

This rollicking, exotic adventure is one that happens to be inspired by a true story. It gets some mileage out of the teaming of Lee Marvin and Sir Roger Moore, who for a while are at each others' throats. It does go on for an awful long time, and have silly digressions, but that should be no problem for patient viewers who don't mind a film that takes its time telling a story. There is a good portion of the running time with strong comic overtones, until politics and the reality of war rear their ugly head. Then our ne'er-do-well main character must take on a mission for reasons that aren't purely selfish.

Marvin plays rascally American ivory poacher Flynn O'Flynn in the African country of Zanzibar in 1913. He makes the acquaintance of "young" Englishman Sebastian Oldsmith (Moore, who was in his late 40s during filming, but looks good regardless). Oldsmith is stranded in Zanzibar because his property is stolen from a hotel and he is now unable to sail to Australia, which was his plan. He becomes O'Flynns' sidekick, and joins in as the jovial scoundrel makes constant battles with German commissioner Herman Fleischer (Reinhard Kolldehoff). Eventually they will take part in a daring plan to destroy a German vessel docked for repairs in Zanzibar.

The filmmakers, led by director Peter R. Hunt ("Death Hunt"), are quick to remind viewers that they made no move to actually harm animals (there are disclaimers at both the beginning and the end of the film), in case any animal lovers watching get squeamish during some scenes. They deliver a fairly engrossing and rousing action / comedy /drama that really comes to life through the chemistry between Marvin and Sir Roger. Marvin has never been quite this hammy, to the best of this viewers' recollection, and that includes his Oscar winning comedic performance in "Cat Ballou". Still, he's quite watchable, as is the lovely Barbara Parkins ("Valley of the Dolls") as Marvins' daughter and a strong supporting cast also including Karl Michael Vogler, Horst Janson, Maurice Denham, Murray Melvin, and George Coulouris. The real scene stealer for much of the two hour 30 minute run time is Ian Holm, cast as O'Flynns' mute associate Mohammed. The snarling Kolldehoff makes for an effective bad guy.

The music by Maurice Jarre is good, as is the use of eye catching African locations and the expansive widescreen photography. All in all, this is a somewhat predictable but pleasing diversion.

Seven out of 10.

I feel I should mention that the version of "Shout at the Devil" that I watched was the full length 150 minute version. When the movie originally played in theaters, it had been cut by about half an hour. Normally, I feel that the original full length version of a movie is the version to see, but in the case of this movie, I think that the edited version might play better. I'm not saying that the full length version is bad, but I'm saying that it's too long for its own good. There is quite a considerable amount of padding on display, and as a result the movie moves quite slowly at times. There are some good things along the way all the same - there is some good action and suspense, the African backdrop is colorful and catches the eye, and it's fun to see Lee Marvin and Roger Moore paired up and generate considerable chemistry. So it's nowhere near a total loss. All the same, I think a more snappy pace would have helped things considerably.

This guy seems to have been the most under-rated star in the Biz. His dry sense of humor combined with a subtle charisma made Lee Marvin one of the most likeable stars of the war movie genre. Here he played an older soldier, past his prime, that coaxes the younger Roger Moore into doing life-endangering things against the Germans. This is done with much humor, as Moore is in love with Marvin's daughter, and feels compelled out of family honor to do whatever he can. The action is really excellent, and the love story is touching. A must see for any war movie fan, and/or Moore fan. Marvin, himself, delivers another Marvin like performance, and reminds viewers of his earlier days from the film "The Dirty Dozen".

A British action adventure; A story about unlikely partners in the East African ivory trade who join forces to fight occupying German troops in German East Africa. Adapted from the Wilbur Smith novel, it is based on a true story about a raid on the SMS Konigsberg by an ivory hunter in World War I. It is an opulent film, well photographed but pastiche, the sort of actioner that harks back to an older generation of films featuring exploitative, larger-than-life characters put through a cavalcade of action and unlikely situations, out of which humour and thrills naturally arise, with a cartoonish villain to satisfy all tastes. Lee Marvin plays wonderfully, a man on the make, out to plunder the environment, downing copious amounts of hooch in the process, and Roger Moore, as Sebastian Oldsmith, fits his part well, giving contrast as an establishment toff. Both commit and play amiably amidst some slack and silly slapstick comedy. Peter R. Hunt stages scenes with workmanlike efficiency, although some sequences are like longueurs. Overall, it is a treat as a postprandial Sunday matinee. As an aside, the full theatrical release is the version that garnered more credit for the fuller and more rounded characters it portrays, though some extra scenes are stark in portraying the ivory trade.