SUBWAY IN THE SKY

Hildegard Knef and Van Johnson

SUBWAY IN THE SKY (1959). Director: Muriel Box.

Baxter Grant (Van Johnson of The Bottom of the Bottle) is a military doctor stationed in Germany. He has been accused of stealing drugs and even murdering a colleague who might have testified against him. Stupidly going on the lam, he arrives at his estranged wife's apartment only to find that she has sub-let it to a singer named Lilli (Hildegard Knef of Diplomatic Courier and Fedora). There is an instant chemistry between these two, and Lilli decides to trust Baxter and help him while he tries to find his wife, Anna (Katherine Kath). At the same time a military policeman named Captain Carson (Cec Linder) tries to find Baxter, interrogating Lilli as to the fugitive's whereabouts every chance he gets.

Neff and Cec Linder

Subway in the Sky makes a mistake in starting the story in the middle, leaving out the scenes wherein Grant is accused and never introducing the viewer to the man he allegedly murders. Knef and Johnson give good performances, although there is a scene late in the picture -- after the horrible death of one character -- that he and Cec Linder as the cop are surprisingly unemotional considering what has just happened. Knef sings a song in the nightclub where she works, and her voice is pretty awful. Two other characters include Carl (Albert Lieven of Beware of Pity), a lawyer who is in love with Lilli and has a chance with her until she meets Baxter; and Stefan (Vivian Matalon), Baxter's stepson. One interesting sequence makes no bones about the fact that Lilli and Baxter have just had sex.

Verdict: Good story that needed more dramatic treatment and perhaps different actors. **3/4. 

KING AND COUNTRY

Tom Courtenay and Dirk Bogarde

KING AND COUNTRY (1964). Director: Joseph Losey.

During WW1, British private James Hemp (Tom Courtenay of 45 Years) has been accused of desertion despite the fact that he volunteered for service, and has been in the war for longer than some of his accusers. The somewhat stern Captain Hargreaves (Dick Bogarde) is assigned to defend Hemp in a makeshift court, and develops sympathy for the man in spite of himself. In his opinion, Hemp simply walked away to get away from the noise and have some privacy, but was not really attempting to desert. But will the court see it Hargreaves' way, or is the young man doomed?

Tom Courtenay

King and Country is an absorbing and affecting military drama that presents the story simply and clearly and doesn't beg the viewer for compassion that most will undoubtedly feel in any case. The film has more of the atmosphere of WW2 than WW1, although the acting can not be faulted. There is a little too much time spent on some of the soldiers' attempts to rout or kill some rats, and if this is meant to be symbolic, it doesn't work. While many feel this film takes a back seat to the similarly-themed Paths of Glory -- there are similarities to Billy Budd as well --  King and Country is still a good picture on its own terms. James Villiers, Leo McKern, Barry Justice, Vivian Matalon, and Barry Foster, among others, also give notable performances. Joseph Losey also directed Dirk Bogarde in The Sleeping Tiger.

Verdict: Sad and sobering, eventually infuriating, look at victims of war; the very definition of grim. ***.