The Scarlet and the Black – 1983 – Unbelievable but true

Genre – War Drama (true story)

Time:  2 hours 23 minutes

Platform: You Tube (FREE)

Fact:   Rome was occupied by the Nazis in 1943 when Italy decided to surrender to the Allies. German occupation of Rome and rest of Italy was , as expected, brutal. Inside Rome was The Vatican, the seat of the Roman Catholic Church.  The Germans wanted the Roman Catholic Church on their side and had strict instructions from Hitler to go easy on them. One priest Hugh O Flaherty,known as the modern Scarlet Pimpernel, used this to his advantage by rescuing hundreds of Jews and escaped Allied POWs. The SS Commandant Colonel Kapler vowed to kill O Flaherty so that all the escapes and evasions attributed to him would stop. But the Allies broke through and Rome was captured by them on June 4, 1944. Kapler stood trial for many atrocities committed during his rule, including mass executions. In prison he was visited by O Flaherty and converted to Catholicism. He escaped from prison with his wife’s help and died a free man, in 1978, aged 70. (As if to balance that, The Vatican also helped many wanted Nazi war criminals like Adolf Eichmann, etc, to escape to South America, after the end of WW2)

Film:   The film more or less adheres to the overall known facts but also touches upon one of the least spoken aspects of the war – the Roman Catholic Church’s unspoken support for the Nazis as they were against “Godless Communism”. As Pope Pius (John Geilgud) tells O’Flaherty (Grergory Peck), “at times the silence of the Church has been for the betterment of humanity but I see that your interpretation of humanity is different from mine’. This is the closest any film has come to show the Church’s silent support for Nazism which O’Flaherty turns around and shows what it is true to be a human , by literally conforming to the dictionary meaning of the word catholic – all embracing. To him a soul saved is a soul saved and that is all he is concerned with.

Its necessary that O’Flaherty be played by a charismatic actor but then having Gregory Peck in that role is asking for trouble. He dominates the rest of the cast. We also wonder how those stupid Nazis missed the “filmy” priest as Peck is literally shoulders above the other average height. Surely the real priest wasn’t so tall.  As his opponent Kapler, Christopher Plummer is shown as a somewhat concerned “Family Man” and has few carpet chewing scenes when he rants at his underlings as to how an ordinary priest can escape the strict cordon thrown around the Vatican.

There are some ‘filmy’ scenes like the priest being chased through a dark night and jumping to the safety of the Vatican and escaping the pursuing Nazis. The supporting cast are adequate.

The entire film was shot in Rome and that works beautifully in its favour as most of the scenes take advantage of the Roman locations.

This is yet another film that falls into the unbelievable but true category.

The film is FREE on You Tube.

Its 2 hours and 23 minutes well spent and a lesson that in a world gone mad, staying sane is still possible with compassion and saving lives that can be saved.

Historical Background – 4 out of 5

Script – 4 out of 5

Story – 4 out of 5

Direction – 4 out of 5

Photography – 4 out of 5

 Total – 4 out of 5