What a pleasant find this movie was in a 10-movie set, called British War Cinema. It's not a combat film, nor an espionage or resistance film. At its core, it's a film about the hiding and freeing of two escaped British soldiers who wind up in Marseilles in 1943. Around that core story are four or five more stories, and the writers and director weave these nicely into a taught film with intrigue, betrayal, evil and romance.
I won't divulge the plot here, but say that it includes French underground people and others who risk their lives to help people fleeing the Nazis. It also shows the dark side of those who took advantage of the plight of war. The romance is one of the more believable ones I've seen in war movies. And, this film shows something of the life in the seedy area of the Old Port, under Nazi control. The directing, acting, cinematography and music are all excellent. The destruction of the Old Port is shown with very good film footage from some source. I'm not aware of any other film that covered this war-time incident.
The movie is based on a novel by Rupert Croft-Cooke. I didn't read the book and don't know if it's still available anywhere. So, I don't know how much the movie follows the book. But, based on the incidents in the film, the movie comes very close to some things that actually happened during that time. It thus has some historical value as well.
The film opens in the Old Port area of Marseilles in 1943. The so-called Battle of Marseilles, or Marseilles Roundup in the Old Port took place on January 22 – 24, 1943. It was under the Vichy government at the time, and more than 12,000 French police were involved with the Nazis. We see very few policemen in this film – could it be because of sensitivities in 1957 when this movie came out? Surely, there would have been many thousands of people living in France then who had collaborated with Nazi Germany but were never prosecuted for it.
Anyway, the roundup that took place was to arrest Jews. It resulted in more than 2,000 people being sent to death camps. The Old Port neighborhood was also considered a terrorist nest and seedy area, as depicted in the film. So, after the roundup, the authorities razed the entire Old Port, displacing some 30,000 people.
The author and/or screenwriters added the character of Dr. Martout to the events in Marseilles, based on a real-life person who "operated" in and near Paris before and during the war. Dr. Marcel Petiot (1897- 1946), known as the "Butcher of Paris," was executed in 1946 for the killing of 26 people. He was suspected to have murdered more than 60 people. He supposedly had an escape underground operation for those fleeing the Nazis. In reality, it ended in the death of those who put their trust in him, as shown in the film.
"Seven Thunders," had a more apt title, I think, with its first release in England – "The Beasts of Marseilles." I highly recommend this film for any war film aficionados and for any historical film library.
I won't divulge the plot here, but say that it includes French underground people and others who risk their lives to help people fleeing the Nazis. It also shows the dark side of those who took advantage of the plight of war. The romance is one of the more believable ones I've seen in war movies. And, this film shows something of the life in the seedy area of the Old Port, under Nazi control. The directing, acting, cinematography and music are all excellent. The destruction of the Old Port is shown with very good film footage from some source. I'm not aware of any other film that covered this war-time incident.
The movie is based on a novel by Rupert Croft-Cooke. I didn't read the book and don't know if it's still available anywhere. So, I don't know how much the movie follows the book. But, based on the incidents in the film, the movie comes very close to some things that actually happened during that time. It thus has some historical value as well.
The film opens in the Old Port area of Marseilles in 1943. The so-called Battle of Marseilles, or Marseilles Roundup in the Old Port took place on January 22 – 24, 1943. It was under the Vichy government at the time, and more than 12,000 French police were involved with the Nazis. We see very few policemen in this film – could it be because of sensitivities in 1957 when this movie came out? Surely, there would have been many thousands of people living in France then who had collaborated with Nazi Germany but were never prosecuted for it.
Anyway, the roundup that took place was to arrest Jews. It resulted in more than 2,000 people being sent to death camps. The Old Port neighborhood was also considered a terrorist nest and seedy area, as depicted in the film. So, after the roundup, the authorities razed the entire Old Port, displacing some 30,000 people.
The author and/or screenwriters added the character of Dr. Martout to the events in Marseilles, based on a real-life person who "operated" in and near Paris before and during the war. Dr. Marcel Petiot (1897- 1946), known as the "Butcher of Paris," was executed in 1946 for the killing of 26 people. He was suspected to have murdered more than 60 people. He supposedly had an escape underground operation for those fleeing the Nazis. In reality, it ended in the death of those who put their trust in him, as shown in the film.
"Seven Thunders," had a more apt title, I think, with its first release in England – "The Beasts of Marseilles." I highly recommend this film for any war film aficionados and for any historical film library.