Can anyone identify this WW2 film?

[Agki]

The movie I am trying to identify and then locate is a film about the German invasion of the Soviet Union in WW2. It dates back at least to the 1960s or the early 70s and was a cooperative production of the Soviet Union, the United States and, I think, some other countries may have been involved as well. The only star in it that I can recall is Peter Falk and I'm not really sure about that. It could have been someone else but I think it was Falk. If I remember correctly, he played a German. I've tried looking it up on IMDB.com with no luck.

 

One scene that I recall was one in which an older German sergeant(?) tries to talk a young Russian boy into singing "The Internationale." He refers to it as "that Russian song" but the boy keeps replying "Я не знаю" ("ya nye znayu" ["I don't know it"]).

 

If anyone has Mr. Falk's contact information (like an email address), I would write to him and ask.

 

I wish I had more about it but I;ve only seen it once and that was on TV a looong time ago.

 

Please post here and email me at Agkistrodon@mindspring.com if you have any information.

[patful]

It might be Peckinpah's *Cross of Iron* . I haven't seen it in ages, but I vaguely remember a captured Russian boy.

[Agki]

Thanks for the reply so soon. No, it's not *Cross of Iron*. I saw *Cross of Iron* about a month ago and there is a captured Russian boy in the plot but I would have remembered James Coburn but he wasn't in the film I'm looking for.

[fredbaetz]

Peter Falk only did two war films. "Anizo" with Robert Mitchum and "Castle Keep" with Burt Lancaster. Neither of these sound like the film you're after. Remember any other stars?

[Agki]

Thanks for the information on Mr. Falk. I must have been mistaken because it's neither of those two. I've seen them and they don't match the plot line. I wish I could remember some more of the actors but I can't recall them. I don't think there were any major stars in it. When I saw the movie, I was impressed mostly with the story line and action. The best I can come up with is the part of the plot that I mentioned and the fact that it was a joint Soviet-American (and some other country?) movie.

[SgtJoeGunn]

I think it might be Attack and Retreat (Italiano Brava Gente). An Italian film that starred Peter Falk and Arthur Kennedy. Curiously, I didn't see it listed at IMDB, but it is available at Amazon.com. Hope that helps.

[EdisonMcIntyre]

Pretty sure that, if it's Peter Falk, the film must be ITALIANI BRAVA GENTE, a 1964 Italian film released in the United States a couple of years later as ATTACK AND RETREAT. The film dealt with Italian soldiers who were involved in the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, and the film was made in Russia with cooperation of the Soviet government. Falk has a brief part as an Italian Army doctor who volunteers to allow himself to be swapped for a Soviet partisan so that the doctor can travel to a partisan camp to treat a badly wounded Russian. The Soviets are the good guys, the Germans are the bad guys, and the Italian soldiers are portrayed largely as victims of their Fascist leaders (including a Fascist officer played by Arthur Kennedy, who is the only other prominent non-Italian actor in the cast). I don't think Falk ever played a German soldier in any film.

 

Despite the '60s Italian political correctness, this is a powerful film and worth at least one look. Unfortunately, the English-dubbed version is not done very well, and the version released in this country and on VHS/DVD may not be the complete film. This would be a good one for TCM to show in the original Italian, with literate subtitles. But the English-dubbed version is better than nothing.

 

Edited by: EdisonMcIntyre on May 19, 2010 9:24 PM

 

Edited by: EdisonMcIntyre on May 19, 2010 9:39 PM

 

Edited by: EdisonMcIntyre on May 19, 2010 9:41 PM