Action/Crime/Drama
1 hour and 33 minutes
Rating: Approved
Written by: Robert Carson & Peter Myers
Directed by: Terence Young
Produced by: Kenneth Harper
Cast:
Van Johnson
Martine Carol
Herbert Lom
Sean Connery
How a beautiful blonde and a tough smuggler escape the net of Continental conspiracy!
The 1950s saw a particular rise in animosity between the east versus west struggle that we have all come to call the Cold War that perhaps may not have been rivaled in sentiment within the following decades - although certainly, the closest the two compass points came to really fighting was within the following decade, tensions did seem to ease. Still, Americans and westerners everywhere made it very clear given the new breed of McCarthyist politicians running the show and Red Scaring the hell out of everyday citizens that they in no way, shape, or form wanted anything to do with the big bad Commie Reds. American, and even European, cinema reflected this sentiment in a major way. Nowhere was Commie bashing more prevalent within pop culture in the 1950s than it was within B movie cinema.
Thus was the case with Action of the Tiger, British auteur filmmaker Terence Young's 1957 adventure story. The film was meant to show lovable American and European characters rescuing small children, women, and one blind man from the evil terrors of Communism. If you've seen one 1950s anti-Communist movie you've honestly seen them all.
Terence Young himself would later go on to refer to the film as being an absolute mess, and if a director ever dismisses one of his or her own works, take it on faith that he or she is telling you the truth. The movie's direction is so far beneath Young's capabilities it is a wonder he didn't have his name stricken from the film's opening credits. The scenes bumble and stumble their way from one set piece to the next, never quite getting into a smooth rhythm that would make its audience feel all the more comfortable. Actors seem fidgety within serious moments of dialogue, searching for a cigarette or something that they might fiddle and tinker with while discussing their horrendous situation with one another and means for escape (if only Young could have provided the actors with an escape plan off of the set of this horrible movie!)
The dialogue feels incredibly fat and weighty, and this is nowhere more apparent than in its delivery by more than capable performers such as Herbert Lom, who unquestionably was one of the greatest character actors to have ever worked in cinema, and Sean Connery who has never delivered a bad performance (with the exception of The Avengers but really who remembers that god awful nightmare?) Connery is in less than ten minutes of the film and is perhaps afforded no more than five to six lines of dialogue, but even this smooth Scotsman seems unsure of how to handle the clunky words that screenwriters Robert Carson and Peter Myers had handed to him. Lom seems equally lost, but, to be fair, out of the entire cast he does seem like the only performer on hand actually trying to salvage what has been handed to him. His scenes could probably be called the standout moments within Action of the Tiger, but to say that there are any standout moments within this film is probably affording it too much in the way of credit.
The story follows a mercenary rescuing children and a blind prisoner of war from Communist Albania, which honestly sounds like a really great premise for an action/adventure movie. But the problem is that there's nothing great or interesting about Action of the Tiger's story in the way of execution. Perhaps had the film been a major success for MGM (and make no mistake - it was not) the Commie Reds over in the east could have easily picked it up and showed it as an example of western anti-Communist propaganda. Native Albanians are showcased as brown, unintelligent persons who are so blatantly incompetent at their jobs they have to become double agents working for the west to actually gain any brains. The Communists are equally portrayed as child murdering, sadistic men in black. While there were certainly atrocities being committed by the Soviets during this era in history, any historian watching Action of the Tiger would most likely sigh and ask for the filmmakers to give them a break.
The film's leading man and woman are equally as problematic. Van Johnson stars as the blonde, American hero with shiny, straight teeth - punching Commies and saving women and children despite the fact that he really comes across as a bargain bin Humphrey Bogart. He delivers his lines in the wooden fashion of John Wayne, but lacks all the charm and charisma of that particular American icon. At no point does Johnson ever truly come to be his character to the point that you feel he could really give a damn either way - which, that is not saying he did a fantastic job portraying a smuggler, Johnson really seems like he does not give a damn whatsoever about acting and all the work that has to be put into a performance by an individual. Similarly, Martine Carol is enormously unimpressive. As the blonde bombshell who eggs our hero on to do the right thing by holding his heart in her hands and is always getting herself into trouble as was the fashion of every woman in a 1950s movie, she is one hundred percent forgettable. Sure, she looks good, but what's disheartening about that is that those were probably the exact words that producer Kenneth Harper said when she was cast for the film.
The film's one redeemable quality is perhaps its cinematography, which unfortunately may be difficult for most individuals to see in all its original Cinescope glory. The film has not seen a blu ray or even a DVD release from MGM and probably never will. Versions that exist today are ripped bootleg copies that were more than likely recorded from VHS recordings of the film back when Turner Classic Movies deemed this nightmare of a picture worthy enough to be showcased on their channel. Still, cinematographer Desmond Dickinson captured the beautiful mountains of Spain - doubling as Albania - in magnificent glory.
Despite some capable performers, an exciting premise, gorgeous cinematography, and a more than capable auteur filmmaker at its helm, Action of the Tiger is one of those 1950s anti-Communist movies that slipped into obscurity hard and fast and for a very good reason. Still, it did first introduce Connery and Young who would go on to make three of their most successful films together within the following decade: Dr. No, From Russia with Love, and Thunderball.
1/10
