Fri 17 Sep 2010
A Movie Review by David L. Vineyard: RAMPAGE (1963).
Posted by Steve under Action Adventure movies , Reviews[3] Comments
RAMPAGE. Seven Arts/Warner Brothers, 1963. Robert Mitchum, Elsa Martinelli, Jack Hawkins, Sabu. Screenplay: Robert Holt & Marguerite Roberts, based on the novel by Alan Caillou. Director: Phil Karlson.
Harry Stanton (Robert Mitchum) is the world’s greatest animal trapper. Otto Abbott is the world’s greatest hunter. The Munich Zoo has hired the two of them to go on Shikar (safari) in Malaya to bring back two tigers, and the prize of the expedition … the Enchantress, a legendary leopard with many kills to her name. [NOTE: See Comment #1.]
From the first, the laid back Harry is intrigued and repulsed by Otto Abbott. The charming German lives for the kill and for acquisition of trophies — including his beautiful young mistress Anna (Elsa Martinelli), who he displays her as another of his trophies.
Anna is much younger than Otto. He took her out of an orphanage when she was only fourteen, and he takes some pride in her lovers, her faceless lovers, but Harry is something different — Harry promises to have a face.
Once in Malaya Otto finds himself playing second fiddle to Harry and he doesn’t like it. The local chief doesn’t like his arrogant ways, and Anna begins to see Harry more and more as a man with a face.
They capture the first two tigers easily, but Otto alienates the chief and they lose the help of the locals so Harry has to trap the Enchantress with only the help of his trackers led by Sabu (in his next to last film).
By the time Harry traps the Enchantress in a native temple Anna is in love with him and Otto has faced both his mortality and his courage — broken without a gun to back it up. Otto’s world has been turned upside down and Anna is planning to leave him. Worst of all is Anna’s pity.
The train reaches Munich and the Enchantress escapes:
Now Harry and Anna with the Munich police as beaters must stalk the rooftops of the city for the killer cat while Otto hunts them.
Rampage is a fine old fashioned adventure film based on a novel by adventure writer Alan Caillou. Caillou, in addition to writing such books as Journey to Orassia, Assault on Agathon, and the “Cabot Cain” and “Col. Tobin” series, was a busy character actor whose extensive career included roles in too many television series to count and playing Inspector Lestrade in the 1972 made-for-television The Hound of the Baskervilles and uncredited in The List of Adrian Messenger (Inspector Seymour) and Journey to the Center of the Earth (the Rector). He was a regular on the science fiction comedy series Quark as “the Head” and appeared in the mini series Centennial, and as Fergus in four episodes of My Three Sons.
Phil Karlson had a long and varied career, directing everything from Kane Richmond as The Shadow to Dean Martin as Matt Helm, but he also helmed fine adventure films like Rampage and the classic film noir Kansas City Confidential.
Rampage also benefits from a terrific film score by Elmer Bernstein that ably enhances the action and mood and a great song written with Mack David. That and Karlson’s direction, a first rate cast, and literate script raise it far above the simple adventure film it actually is.
The film ends memorably on an apartment rooftop with Harry trapped between the maddened Enchantress and murderous Otto with a gun.
This kind of film may seem old hat compared to today’s kinetic CGI ridden action films, but it is nice to watch it and notice the care taken to develop character and relationships.
The three leads, and even Sabu and his wife and the old chief are deeper and more rounded than many of their contemporaries today in a similar type of film. It’s that level of writing and direction that give this film a little something missing in many modern films.
The more leisurely style allows the actors room to show a little depth and dimensionality and adds to the tension so when the action does occur it is explosive.
In short, it’s a movie and not a live action cartoon. Nothing wrong with live action cartoons, but films like Dark Knight, Inception, the Bourne films, and the Daniel Craig Bond’s show that modern audiences can appreciate the deeper characterization and more rounded characters.
Rampage is a slick smart adventure film that will leave you well satisfied, and what more can you want from an adventure movie? It’s an old fashioned popcorn movie. Get the microwave ready, heat up the butter, and stock up on Junior Mints, this is old time movie making the way it used to be done with style and genuine storytelling skill.
At the time it was just another good film, but now it is a reminder of the skills once common in movie making.
September 17th, 2010 at 5:31 pm
I notice I spelled Caillou as Cailliou too (ouch — rhyme unintentional). Anyway it is Caillou which is really confusing if you go to IMDb because there is also an Alan Calliou, and of course that PBS kids animated series.
I wasn’t sure, but if you listen to the natives they keep saying something that sounds a lot like “caillou.”
Also, I said the Munich zoo, which is where it was filmed, but in the book and movie it is identified as the Wilhelm Zoo, unless that is the official name of the Munich Zoo. I only knew it as the Munich Zoo, one of the most famous zoo’s in the world, and one of the first to feature the animals in authentic backdrops and habitats rather than cages.
Many of Caillou’s books were paperback originals, but this one came out in hardcover first. I suspect Steve, like me, had trouble finding a picture of him, but if you watched much television in the sixties and seventies you would likely recognize him instantly — he really was in a little bit of everything — often as either a Scotland Yard inspector or a solider. I think he even showed up on an episode of THE MUNSTERS. He was a very successful and busy character actor as well as writer.
And the Elmer Bernstein score is outstanding. It really enhances the film and adds to the feeling, and the Mack David song, while nothing you will leave the theater humming, sets the mood for the film perfectly.
Sabu is good here, and if it isn’t really acting, he certainly shows the same screen presence that made so many of his early films work. His last screen appearance was in Disney’s excellent A TIGER WALKS.
If the Sakai chief looks familiar it is character actor Stefan Schabel, who among other things had a long run on the soap opera THE GUIDING LIGHT and played Soviet Premier Andropov in the Clint Eastwood thriller FIREFOX among others.
This one may have been a little more interest to me because I grew up in Frank Buck’s home town, and worked one summer in the Frank Buck Zoo (the original animals donated by Buck himself).
September 17th, 2010 at 7:50 pm
David
I corrected the spelling of Caillou’s name, since it was wrong only once and right twice. I did look for a photo of him, but nothing useful turned up, as you discovered yourself.
I left the reference to the Munich Zoo, allowing your comment to clarify it, unless you say otherwise.
After finishing up the review, I discovered that I had one image left over. So as not to waste it, or the effort it took to get it ready to use, I think that here is a good place to display it:
I am discovering many many movies from the 60s and 70s that are out now on DVD that I missed while I living through the era — and many of them are quite good, even if they seem to have fallen into the cracks of what most online reviewers cover. This looks like it falls into that particular category very nicely!
— Steve
September 18th, 2010 at 6:26 am
I’ll admit I have a thing for this basic plot — the wild animal loose in the civilized world — usually in an urban setting. It’s not as common as you might think, but the basis for some good films: Val Lewton’s THE LEOPARD MAN (based on Cornell Woolrich’s BLACK ALIBI), this, THE MANEATER IS LOOSE (TV movie based on Ted Willis novel MANEATER), A TIGER WALKS — and coincidentally all of these based on novels and not original screenplays. Ironic too that two are leopards and two tigers. I guess lions are just too lazy.
Steve
Re the movies from this period we both missed, luckily they showed up on television and video later. They aren’t all as good as this one, but there are a surprising number of them. Other good ones include MISTER MOSES with Mitchum and Carroll Baker, MASQUERADE (reviewed by me here earlier), GAMBIT, and THE WRATH OF GOD with Mitchum again (based on a Jack Higgins novel). They aren’t all equally good, but entertaining films.