Wed 26 Jul 2017
Movie Review: WHEN EIGHT BELLS TOLL (1971).
Posted by Steve under Action Adventure movies , Reviews[7] Comments
WHEN EIGHT BELLS TOLL. J. Arthur Rank, UK, 1971. Cinerama Releasing Corp., US, 1971. Anthony Hopkins (Philip Calvert), Robert Morley (‘Uncle Arthur’), Nathalie Delon, Jack Hawkins, Corin Redgrave, Derek Bond. Screenplay: Alistair MacLean, based on his own novel. Director: Etienne Périer.
From what I’ve read about it, this one was produced with the idea of creating a film franchise to compete with the James Bond films. The hero was to be a young and rather fit-looking Anthony Hopkins as a secret agent named Philip Calvert. (The book was his only print edition appearance.)
But the resulting product turned out so badly, and apparently the box office receipts as well, than any thoughts of further adventures of Hopkins as Calvert disappeared very quickly. The story is confusing, to begin with, and even worse, it’s dull. It’s not clear on a first viewing, but it has something to do with a series of hijackings of cargo ships in the Irish Sea, the most recent one carrying a fortune in gold bullion.
The trail leads Calvert to the port town of Torbay somewhere along the coast of Scotland, where he snoops around a lot, gets into trouble a lot more, and after the grand finale (with a bit of surprise for anyone still awake), the movie’s over.
Only the presence of Calvert’s boss, Sir Arthur Arnford-Jones, also known as “Uncle Arthur” (Robert Morley), livens up the proceedings. He’s his usual prim and proper (prissy?) self, humorously so, but he shows he can still do what he needs to do in a pinch.
July 27th, 2017 at 8:50 am
This is from the period when MacLean did some of his best writing, and from what I remember the book was pretty good. Haven’t seen the movie, so can’t comment on that.
He took a break from writing for a couple of years around 1970, and after that his books took a serious drop in quality, even though they were still entertaining reads, just not up to his usual standard.
July 27th, 2017 at 9:33 am
This was dead from the day Anthony Hopkins was signed on to be an action hero. One look at him in the paid ads sent people scurrying — far away from the cinema.
July 27th, 2017 at 9:53 pm
The book as a great opening in which the narrator discusses the properties of a .44 Colt Peacemaker and how even a wound can maim a victim, then MacLean follows that up with two quick sharp jabs.
Sorry to say that isn’t very cinematic.
July 27th, 2017 at 10:24 pm
Michael Crichton is said to have been bounced from doing the screenplay of his own TERMINAL MAN, reviewed here on this blog, and in the opinion of many, the result was dull. On the other hand here is a movie in which MacLean did do the adaptation of his own book, and it turned out dull (in my opinion). I haven’t decided yet what to make of this.
July 27th, 2017 at 11:13 pm
There is a lot more to filmmaking than the screenplay, important though it is. Contrary to the auteurist’s , I believe that on most projects there is a single important or dominant personality. Ideal when that individual is the director, but often enough it is the principal performer or producer. Just awful when it is a studio executive, but there have been many such people, Darryl Zanuck and Louis B. Mayer for example, that had vision. Best of all when it is Orson Welles, but, it this makes for an uneasy approach in some company, that every competent craftsman is not an auteur but a man, usually, doing a job in order to earn a living. A pretty good one.
July 29th, 2017 at 12:47 am
Barry,
Agreed. Michael Curtis is an example of a director who did brilliant work under steady hands with gifted casts, writers, and the rest.
I think he is more an auteur than given credit for, but certainly he benefited by the machine available to him, and you can look at film credits of his best to see this in action.
July 29th, 2017 at 1:05 am
David, I believe you mean Michael Curtiz?