Post by Eddie Love on Dec 27, 2010 0:41:32 GMT -5
The late 1960s / early 70s were a golden age for the World War II “guys-on-a-mission” picture. These were usually tough, often revisionist takes on “the good war” shot through with the growing cynicism of the era when they were made. A curious by-product of the genre is the Peter O’Toole vehicle from 1971: MURPHY’S WAR. This picture scraps the ensemble cast of the typical GOAM tale and instead we get the adventure of one lone wolf. Call it a “guy-on-a-mission” singular, and it has it moments, even if it falls far short of the gloried hits of its cinematic brothers in arms.
The story begins with a British war vessel being sunk and its survivors strafed and killed by a German submarine in Venezuela. (I think. I had to look that bit up, as no clear mention is ever made of the film’s setting. If there was, I missed it.) One Irish seaman, Murphy of the title, survives and makes it ashore, and from there he plots revenge on the Germans. With the help of the Frenchman (Philippe Noiret) who rescued him, Murphy works to restore a beat-up up biplane under the sufferance of the Quaker missionary (Sian Phillips) who nursed him back to health. Murphy becomes ever more obsessed with mounting his assault on the sub, whatever the consequences and, finally, whether World War II is still being waged or not.
As the warrior willing to fight even after the German’s have surrendered, O’Toole is a suitably obsessed figure. When he goes over the top like he does here, he’s always entertaining, but also frequently a little exhausting. We do get a fair amount of the later here, I’m afraid, and your taste for braying blarney may be tested a bit. Also, his scenes with Sian Phillips, his wife at the time, are strangely lacking in chemistry, possibly due to the fact that, though she’s a skilled actress, she really lacks charm. If the idea was to recreate the dynamic of THE AFFRICAN QUEEN, than it doesn’t really work. The lead German is played by Captain Kronos himself, Horst Jansen, and his brutal reprisals once Murphy sets out on his campaign, do ratchet up the tension and the stakes.
The movie’s directed by Peter Yates and he vividly captures the location atmosphere. He also neatly conveys the largely procedural nature of the script as the bulk of the story is taken up with Murphy’s restoration of the airplane and honing his ability to get it aloft. The first scene of him getting up in the air is still pretty thrilling. Elsewhere, the tale ambles around a bit without much really happening. I loved this film when I saw it as a kid, but viewed today MURPHY’S WAR would benefit from losing about 15 minutes of fat. It’s less than two hours, but feels a good bit longer. Plus, the film's biting final scenes are diffused somewhat by the leisurly paced earlier build-up.
But even over the top O'Toole is a hoot, and while this picture isn't a barn-burner, it's a flavorful and watchable.