Défi à Gibraltar

In world war II James Mason is the captain of a warship operating in the street of Gibraltar. Fercetti is the head of Italian submarine, that is hunted by white uniformed Cap. Mason. They meet in neutral Tanger (the submarine needs some repair) and can't avoid to meet each other as well as their hostile crews. Not a sailor is Lilli Palmer, at that time 39 years of age and a really beautiful woman. Facetti falls in love with her, so would I, he gets his submarine going, tries to escape into the Atlantic and has to (really?)torpedo the Brit vessel of Mason. Question ? Do they get help in time ? Mason was in in his next of his many pictures. This one, BETA SOM, wasn't his worst. Not at all. He is opposite Italian star Gabriele Fercetti (80 today and still going)and the film is about a possible friendship and the script divides the world not in good and bad. Of cause there is the usual fight in Rick's Cafe at Tanger, which is well cut by the way. There is luckily no political talk on any level. Great Lilli Palmer is swell to look at and has some quiet lines. Sort of a MacGuffin is penicillin. Good camera work also under water and the mines are placed by the bad cigar smoking Mr. Hodge who also walks some times to see Miss Palmer. Mines are no regular weapon for sailors.

Michael Zabel, Offenbach/Rodenbach

This Italo-British production feels like the European equivalent of THE ENEMY BELOW (1957), adapted from the book “Beta Som” inspired by a true WWII incident. For the record, director Frend had helmed the classic naval drama THE CRUEL SEA (1953) – whereas Mason had appeared in THE DECKS RAN RED (1958); also, the film is one of a few instances from this era of an Italian co-production with English-speaking countries: two similar war efforts were THE BEST OF ENEMIES (1961) and THE CAPTIVE CITY (1962) – both of which, incidentally, co-starred David Niven (I’ve lost the former many a time on TV, but should be checking out the latter soon).

Anyway, back to the film at hand: Mason isn’t particularly taxed by his role here, but his graceful presence is a plus to any film; Lilli Palmer, pushing 50, is a surprising choice to provide the romantic interest – yet she carries it with elegance and conviction, Andrew Keir appears as Mason’s burly lieutenant; Geoffrey Keen has a rather memorable role as the nasty head of British Intelligence at Tangier. Gabriele Ferzetti, then, is the rugged captain of the Italian ranks (who manages to hold his own in Mason’s distinguished company); Alberto Lupo is one of his officers (later involved with voluptuous chanteuse Valeria Fabrizi); Andrea Checchi is Ferzetti’s ‘contact man’ at the Moroccan port; and Paul Muller has a small role as the (surprisingly tolerant) district Police Commissioner.

The two sides’ peculiar attachment to one another is tested during a bar-room brawl (the Italians stand up for the outnumbered British sailors against the locals); later, the English oblige in the procurement of penicilin to treat a wounded Italian soldier. The film’s adherence to a serviceman’s code of ethics is clearly wishful thinking, but the proceedings come across as reasonably engrossing for all that – while offering a mix of hysteria, irony and sentimentality at the climax. By the way, co-director Bruno Vailati had been the producer of the Riccardo Freda/Mario Bava horror/sci-fi opus CALTIKI, THE IMMORTAL MONSTER (1959); besides, the film's remaining technical credits include at least two other “Euro-Cult” stalwarts in cinematographer Gabor Pogany and composer Carlo Rustichelli.