La guerre de Murphy

Peter O'Toole stars as Murphy, sole survivor of a ship torpedoed by a German U-boat at the close of WW2. He generates a lot of hatred towards the Germans and sets about to extract revenge for his fallen comrades. This is a story of hatred gone ballistic and obsession for revenge. It seems that Murphy has gone mad. Towards the end of the film, a means to get his revenge becomes available and he sets out to kill the U=boat. Will he succeed? A very good film!

Originally to be directed by Burt Kennedy and starring Frank Sinatra, both of whom opted for 'Dirty Dingus Magee'(!) this loose adaptation of Max Catto's novel has been inherited by Peter Yates and features Peter O'Toole, his wife at the time Sian Phillips, highly respected French actor Philippe Noiret and a strangely cast Horst Janson.

By all accounts this proved to be a difficult shoot not least because of disagreements between the director and producer Michael Deeley which resulted in the break up of their professional partnership and one cannot but feel that the finished product is a far cry from screenwriter Stirling Silliphant's original concept. As an actress whose sporadic film appearances have never done justice to her talent, Miss Phillips does her best with an undeveloped, underwritten role whilst Janson's submarine commander who offers a wounded British officer a cigarette prior to murdering him in his hospital bed does not entirely ring true.

This is essentially a vehicle for charismatic Mr. O'Toole who has a particular talent for portraying madness in its various forms. Here his character resembles a maniacal Oirish version of Bogart's Charlie Allnut in 'The African Queen'. Murphy's gung-ho, obsessive desire for vengeance despite knowing that Germany has surrended ultimately renders his character unsympathetic but this may very well have been the makers' intention.

Beautifully shot in Venezuela by veteran Douglas Slocombe, the aerial sequences are stunning whilst many scenes prove more effective without a score. All-in-all a pretty good adventure yarn which for this viewer at any rate could have been so much more.

The ending, which differs considerably fom Catto's novel, calls to mind Gandhi's 'An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind'.

Someone commented that this was 'a typical war movie'. It's not in any way though. Murphy's War is complete 100% unrestricted genius. I couldn't imagine going through life without seeing it. The entire foundation of this movie is captured in a deep focus shot of a trashed barge, a p***ed off soldier, and a beached torpedo. If your heart doesn't start beating faster and if you don't have a smile on your face when you see this shot; you need medical attention. Go rent this movie!

It arises in every war. Destruction on a grand scale and then a private battle on a more secular stage. "In every massacre" quotes the sage, "there is always a survivor." Such is the premise in the film "Murphy's War." During the final months of World War Two, a German U-Boat commander, (Horst Janson) cruising the South American coast line, attacks and sinks a British ship of war, killing all aboard. Examining the ship's wreckage, the German commander is satisfied he not only destroyed the English ship, but did in fact kill the entire crew. Leaving the carnage behind, the audience realizes an English sailor from the stricken ship, survived. His name is Murphy, brilliantly played by Peter O'Toole. Having lived through the terrifying ordeal, many would believe, one should be glad to be alive and to seek a safe distance between himself and the deadly submarine. That is not the conclusion of seaman Murphy who believes the only way he will be able to rid himself of the nightmarish screams of his dying comrades is to seek out and destroy the German U-Boat. This might be a death-wish to some, but not to Murphy who believes that regardless of the inevitable outcome of the war, his sole purpose in life is revenge. Trying to convince him of this mad adventure is Dr. Hayden (Sian Phillips) a female doctor working among the tribal people of the Amazon. In addition, Murphy not only discovers a repairable English sea-plane, but an amiable, aging and exhausted Oil company employee, named Louis Brezon. (Philippe Noiret) Louie has worked in the forgotten, backwaters of the Amazon for years, patiently waiting the end of the war. Now with Murphy seeking his help and relentless revenge, Louie offer's a bit of sound advice. "You're a small and lonely man Murphy, like me, the world will never build us a monument. The only difference is; I know that." Thus the confrontation between the obsessed man and the powerful Submarine easilly become classic drama. ****

I saw this film first time round and, going by the date is was made, I must have been about seven years old. Our cinema in Lochgelly was rather lax about age restrictions.

Scenes still stick in my mind and its themes are still very much with me — the horror and dehumanizing impact of war and the futility of revenge.

I have since seen the film again and I was glad not to be disappointed. Being older and wiser, one is inevitably more critical, but there is so much to enjoy in this film. The performances, setting and story all work together to draw you into its dark and dangerous world.

Most notably of all, the U-boat commander and his men are portrayed as human beings. Efficient, determined, ruthless, but they too have feelings and hate the whole damn war just as much as Murphy. This was unusual in war films up until then, and its progressive, enlightened approach to the war enhances the story. We understand and even feel for Murphy, but we too must understand that sometimes we need to let go, accept our losses, be glad we survived and realise that our enemies are human too.