La Percée d'Avranches

Another in the never ending supply of "War is Hell" films, this one is a time killer and nothing more. Thankfully Mitchum and Steiger are playing Americans, but no thanks to having Burton play a German Sergeant. Now, in my opinion, James Coburn was also miscast as Steiner in 'Cross of Iron,' but since most everything else was well done in that film, his Americanisms could be tolerated somewhat. Not so with the ageing and mostly immobile Burton, his growling Welsh baritone making no pretense of Germanic origin. Surrounded by an all-German supporting cast, Burton stands out badly. And, worse, he's a bore. He rattles his booze-ravaged physique through the motions while his craggy, scowling face makes occasional movements belying its near-comatose state... meanwhile his Great Actor's voice grumbles or barks its lines. Then there is the ever-lethargic Mitchum, phoning it in as an American Colonel. His character's obsession with discovering the German Army's anti-tank capabilities is ludicrous. Sure, it could've been a point to ponder, but having Mitchum prowling behind enemy lines and grabbing German soldiers just to find out what they might have handy to destroy Allied tanks is ignorant nonsense. Just as absurd is the final battle with Burton's character submerged into a muddle of conflicting emotions and actions, alternately killing Americans and trying to save them. Jurgens, as a German General, need not appear on set at all: his performance could have been spliced from footage in any one of a number of films where he plays the same part. And Steiger, as an American Brigadier General, does his surly over-emotional routine yet again... but at least we're spared his usual dissolve into tears.

Technically the film is mostly a bust. Unlike 'Cross of Iron' which benefited from its Yugoslavian location and availability of correct tanks from that period, this one was filmed in Austria and thus uses that country's available hardware which is the usual anachronistic post-war tanks that annoy war buffs. Only the opening footage of the film, which is lifted from 'Cross of Iron' shows the correct tanks of the period. In addition, the main thrust of the plot, concerning Jurgens' and Burton's attempt to obtain a cease fire after Hitler is ostensibly assassinated, is interesting, but badly handled. For instance, it features a forced meeting of our two stars: Mitchum absurdly searching behind the lines for info on those anti-tank guns he's obsessed with, and Burton a lowly sergeant looking for an American to make his cease fire pitch to. Steiger's character is absolutely correct to scoff at the notion that a mere sergeant would be the point man to offer surrender of an entire army AND be privy to a plot to kill Hitler. The only two things that feel right in this film are Parks as the laconic, drily humored sidekick of Mitchum's, and the few scenes of German soldiers razzing each other with the dark humor of soldiers near their doom. And the music score is terrible: a weird mixture of futuristic electronic noodling and medieval-like horn blare.

This film is a sequel to Sam Peckinpah's CROSS OF IRON (1977) which I have not seen. The lead character, Sergeant Steiner of the Wehrmacht, is played by an aging Richard Burton who, despite only being 54 at the time, looks more like 74 because of his dissolute private life. He only had five more years to live. The story of the rebellious German sergeant who does not support the Nazis, has twice refused promotion as an officer and wishes to assist an anti-Hitler general make peace with the Allies in Normandy against the wishes of Berlin is intriguing. The fact that Burton looks so old and 'past it', and is so wooden and stiff in the role, actually makes it more believable. After all, such a man could convincingly be at the limit of what he is prepared to put up with, and might really rebel against his own side in this way. In contrast to the comatose Richard Burton, Robert Mitchum, aged 62, seems twenty years younger than Burton and has all the energy and verve of a twenty-something as he big-shoulders his way through his scenes with all of his usual aplomb and confidence, as an American colonel who meets up with Burton and tries to facilitate a 'deal on the side' to break peace early. Unlike Burton, he had another 18 years to live. Curd (or Curt) Juergens is superb as General Hoffmann, who is part of the plot to kill Hitler and asks Burton to carry a secret message to a senior officer on the other side of the lines. Rod Steiger is also only 54 like Burton, but he looks, let us say 70, not quite as ravaged as Burton but still pretty ropey. He plays an American Brigadier General, but is getting too fat for it, and has lost most of his fire by this stage of his career. There is not much 'young blood' visible in this wartime tale. There are the usual nasty Nazis and gum-chewing Yanks. The result is a mediocre film which has never been issued on DVD, so that I watched an ancient video of it. It's just interesting enough not to switch it off, but not interesting enough to seek out and watch.

I expected rubbish, and that´s what I got. Compared to this, Andrew McLaglen´s Wild Geese is actually pretty classy, and the original Cross of Iron definitely shines! Richard Burton can be pretty awful if needed. His version of Steiner expresses his hatred of war by staring like a madman and looking generally sick. It is also funny to see the two surviving actors from the Cross of Iron (didn´t the other one die?) playing dull, diluted versions of their former selves. The single most annoying element of the film, however, is the score by Peter "Raumpatrouille" Thomas. At his best Thomas is a genius. But here the music is irritating, gimmicky, and totally unsuitable for the film´s style. At one scene a German soldier sits in a hut with a radio, listening to some weird space-age Peter Thomas Singers. 1944, yeah. A fanatic lover of war films MAY want to check this out.

This movie is very disappointing. Following on the heels of the fascinating Cross of Iron, this flick is a true dud. Richard Burtons' Sgt. Steiner (as opposed to James Coburns'portrayal in CofI) might have been intriguing but for the bland, and badly made film that surrounds him. Wheras Cross of Iron had at least a feasable script, the main theme of of war disillusionment and the plot to kill Hitler just gets in the way. I suspect this whole red herring was added to make the movie more palatable for its German co-producers etc.(or vice versa) the score by the Berlin Orchestra is ridiculous, and sounds like something from a fast paced breaking news cast; Also very distracting. Regardless, Burtons' enigmatic portrayal of a stereotypically stoic German soldier stands out. It is just too bad this movie's makers failed to capitalize on their best assets: their actors!

Shoddy, shoestring budgeted alleged sequel to Peckinpah's "Cross of Iron" notable solely for the troika of superb actors who don't seem to care.

Burton as the war loathing Sgt.Steiner is simply too old. Dead-eyed and sunken cheeked, he growls a German accent that slips more readily than a stricken panzer retreating in the Russian winter. Steiger has barely three scenes but exhibits his customary late period bipolarism, roaring from rage to serenity in seconds with little in between. Mitchum is made of teak, reacting to the death of his only pal, the jeep driver, as if he had dropped a grocery receipt.

Every aspect of this accidental comedy is anaemic and threadbare; the implausible plot, emaciated script, jagged cutting and even the celluloid seems to have been dipped in coffee. Perhaps the creme de la cack is the score which seems to feature an orchestra of two.