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| George Montgomery's Samar (1962) | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 11 2015, 06:40 PM (384 Views) | |
| Fedora | Aug 11 2015, 06:40 PM Post #1 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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, , ![]() Samar (1962) - 89 mins Starring George Montgomery, Gilbert Roland, Ziva Rodann, Joan O'Brien, Nico Minardos, Mario Barri & Henry Feist Directed by George Montgomery "Manila - 1870 The Philippine Islands A colony of imperial Spain - ruled with an iron hand. Disagreement with the authorities invokes swift punishment. Many were shipped off with their families to spend their lives in a penal colony on an island named Samar" Having become embittered with war and suffering while serving in the Civil War, Harvard trained medical doctor, American John Saunders (George Montgomery) has gravitated to Manila where he is now a soldier of fortune, womaniser and heavy drinker. But he has run afoul of the law for wounding a jealous husband in a duel - a senior Army Officer, in fact! John is given the choice of either a cold cell in Manila or taking a 5 year assignment as doctor to Samar - a position which remains unfilled because no Spanish doctor will take it. So he reluctantly accepts and is shipped out to the island along with a boatload of 'political prisoners' - courtesy of a peasant riot against Spanish oppression which had resulted in 9 dead soldiers. Also on the boat is a beautiful young woman, Ana Orteiz (Ziva Rodann) - she is the illegitimate offspring of a relationship between a high ranking Army Officer and a local Moro woman. Ana's very existence could be a problem and so she is being moved on to Samar to avoid potential embarrassment. Army Captain De Guzman (Nico Minardos) is another passenger and when he disembarks from the boat at Samar, like everyone else on board, he is surprised to discover that the colony is far from being a typical prison - by contrast it’s more like a model community, being a well organised establishment without walls or fences. In charge and responsible for this surprising set up (almost an island paradise) is the humane Colonel Juan Sebastian Salazar (Gilbert Roland): 'Prisoners? - no, these people are a great danger to imperial Spain: merchants, peasants, scholars, political exiles who spoke out against injustice!' John is pleased with his lot at Samar and begins to change his cynical view of life as he becomes more involved in treating the island's inhabitants - especially after Ana, an infectious optimist, becomes his nurse. Meanwhile, the cruel and ambitious De Guzman - personal aide to The Governor General and sent to inspect the facility - is appalled by what he sees and demands that Salazar explain his actions to the officials in Manila, personally. De Guzman's plan is to return Salazar to the capital under arrest to face a military tribunal while he takes over the administration of the island and restores it to the brutal prison its supposed to be. In response, Salazar decides to destroy the camp and lead its more than a thousand inhabitants into the jungle to a remote, interior valley called Sierra de Oro - a fabled lush area where they can becomes self sufficient and free from the oppression of the Spanish. Taking De Guzman hostage, Salazar burns every structure in the area and leads his charges into the dense jungle. During the arduous trek, they must weather attacks by Moro head-hunters, traverse dangerous mountain passes and survive drenching typhoons with the slender hope that where they are headed, does really exist and can be found. Although initially resistant, John eventually becomes enamoured with Salazar's vision and the search for a better life for his Filipino charges. He's also grown quite fond of Ana - this 'wild child' has opened his eyes to the plight of her people and he now, at last has a cause worth fighting for. A lively actioner with a sharp script, Samar (1962) is shot on location in The Philippines in gorgeous Technicolor, being produced, directed, written by the star, George Montgomery! Charismatic George is at his peak in this wonderfully outdoorsy film - having a hand in just about all facets of the production, and with hundreds of extras at his disposal, he displays a keen eye for big scale action/adventure in exotic locales. The supporting cast is pretty good too: Gilbert Roland, dominant as the Moses-like Salazar, Ziva Rodann (who had a pivotal role as Kirk Douglas's wife in Last Train From Gun Hill) is a lively and appealing Ana, whilst (mainly TV actor) Nico Minardos, a standout as De Guzman. I'm thinking that this film may well be in Public Domain, as I'm aware that there are some pretty cheap and bad prints out there The review print is a very nice Technicolor print (all my stuff is mastered here to NTSC Region 0 before viewing & reviewing) It’s a genuine 4:3 print. One would think that Big George would have shot in 1.85 to 1 but perhaps it was the arduousness of the location shoot. IMDB is non committal on the matter, but the print which I worked on here shows no evidence of being relensed to 4:3 - no missing or truncated credits, no 'big heads' nor other tell-tale 'aspect' related indicators Finally its an exciting and well made movie - great work, George!!! |
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12:17 AM Jul 11